install-win32.txt - Detailed installation guide for Win32
This file is part of WebRSH 1.1b (beta)
Copyright (C) 1997,1998  Yoram Last (ylast@mindless.com)

A. PRE-INSTALLATION:
=====================
1. In order to use WebRSH you must have a web server along with the capability
  to run Perl CGI scripts. If you are already experienced with running such
  scripts you can skip the rest of this section and go to 'INSTALLATION' (unless
  you consider using a Microsoft web server, in which case you should read the
  file 'mssrv.txt' prior to installing WebRSH).

2. If you do not already have a web server, get and install one that has a robust
  CGI implementation. For example, you can download the (no time limits) evaluation
  version of O'Reilly's WebSite (1.1e) from http://software.ora.com. You can also
  use the native Microsoft IIS/PWS for your platform. It comes with WinNT 4.0 and
  late versions of Win95. The Win95 variant can also be downloaded from
  http://msvaus1.www.conxion.com/msdownload/pws/pws10a.exe.
  Note that while Microsoft's servers work well and are the recommended option for
  running WebRSH on WinNT, they are tricky to deal with. Particularly for CGI
  purposes. See 'mssrv.txt' for more information.

3. If you do not already have a Perl interpreter (or that you have a very old
  interpreter), get and install one. We recommend that you get the latest series
  3xx release build (based on 5.003_07 core Perl code) of "Perl for Win32" from
  http://www.activestate.com. It is further recommended that perl.exe will be in
  your 'PATH' (such that "perl somescript.pl" would execute somescript.pl from
  the DOS prompt; this is sometimes being automatically setup by Perl's
  installation), and that you will have a Windows association of the .pl
  extension with 'perl.exe' (such that double clicking somescript.pl's icon in
  explorer would run the script).

4. The way to enable execution of CGI Perl scripts depends on the server. In some
  cases, the Windows association of the .pl extension with 'perl.exe' is the main
  thing. In other cases you should have something like #!<perl> as the first line
  of the script, where <perl> should be the full path to your perl.exe (like it is
  on UNIX). With some servers, you may need to wrap perl scripts in .bat files. A
  simple two line .bat file of the form

  @echo off
  <perl> <script> %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9

  where <perl> is the full path to your perl.exe and <script> is the full path to
  the script, will work with most servers and it is sometimes the best way of doing
  things. With Microsoft's servers you would need to edit the registry
  (see 'mssrv.txt' for more info). In general, you should read your server's
  documentation for precise details.

5. Once your server and Perl installation are in order, you should, at the minimum,
  be able to run the following simple "Hello World" script:

  #!perl
  print "Content-type: text/plain\n\n";
  print "Hello World\!\n\n";

  The 'perl' might need to be replaced by the appropriate path to 'perl.exe' on
  your system. You should not attempt to install WebRSH unless you are first able
  to run a simple script of this type.


B. INSTALLATION:
=================
While there is quite a lot of flexibility in how to install WebRSH, it would
make your life simpler if you stick to the default locations suggested below.
It is always possible to move things around at a later time.

1. Unpack the distribution archive into C:\WebRSH. You must unpack in a way
  that would preserve the directory structure. C:\WebRSH should have the
  following subdirectories: bin, cfg, docs, home, htm, lib, scripts, sfdir,
  and temp.

2. Map C:\WebRSH\scripts as a CGI enabled directory (e.g., as '/webrsh')
  of your web server. Restrict access to this directory to appropriate
  users. Your 'main WebRSH script' is the file 'webrsh-win32.pl'. You
  can rename it (e.g., to webrsh.pl) if you like. The file 'webrsh.cgi'
  is intended for use on UNIX systems, and you should delete it.

3. Map C:\WebRSH\sfdir as '/sfdir' (it should be mapped as an ordinary server
  directory from which files can be retrieved). Restrict access to this
  directory to appropriate users.

If you followed 1-2-3 precisely, your installation should now be complete,
and you should proceed to the 'POST-INSTALLATION' section of the 'readme.txt'
file.


REMARKS:

1. If you need (or prefer) to install in a directory other than C:\WebRSH, you
  will need to edit (with a text editor such as 'Notepad') the 'main WebRSH script'
  file in the scripts subdirectory.
  Look for the line
  $ProgDir = 'C:\WebRSH';
  and change C:\WebRSH to the appropriate path.

2. If you can't (or prefer not to) map C:\WebRSH\scripts as a CGI directory,
  simply copy the 'main WebRSH script' to any CGI enabled directory. However,
  it is strongly recommended that access to this directory will be restricted
  to appropriate users.
  
3. If you can't (or prefer not to) map C:\WebRSH\sfdir as /sfdir, you should
  copy its content to some other directory that is mapped as '/sfdir'. It is also
  possible to use a URI other than '/sfdir'. However, if you intend to use a
  different URI mapping for this directory, you will need to edit the 'main WebRSH
  script' file. Look for the line:
  $SendFilesUrl = '/sfdir';
  and change /sfdir to the appropriate URI.
  
4. If you install on an NTFS partition, you should make sure that the 'main WebRSH
  script' (when it is run through the server) will have write permission to the
  cfg, scripts, and temp subdirectories of C:\WebRSH (and to the files in them).
  It is also recommended to have write permission to the home subdirectory. If you
  install in a non-standard way (e.g., if you run the 'main WebRSH script' from
  another directory) you will need to set write permissions accordingly.

5. If you deviate from the recommended default directory structure, it is
  strongly recommended that you avoid using any directories that have spaces
  in their names (so don't install WebRSH, or any part of it, in a subdirectory
  of 'Program Files').

6. With the above described installation of WebRSH, it should not be used by more
  than one user at a time. It is possible, in principle, to perform a multi-user
  system-wide installation of WebRSH, and to use it as a way of letting many
  users access a WinNT server. However, you should note that WinNT (at least
  versions of it up to and including 4.0) was not really designed for multi-user
  usage of this type. It should probably not be attempted with truly large user
  populations or on systems that require high availability. If you decide to
  "go with it" anyway, you should probably use Microsoft's native IIS server
  with the 'CreateProcessAsUser' option set to 1 (see 'mssrv.txt' for more info).
  The system-wide configuration on WinNT should be done similarly to the way
  it is done on UNIX. In particular, most of WebRSH can reside in a central
  directory, but each user should have his own 'Configuration Directory', and
  run his own, properly configured, copy of the 'main WebRSH script'. Please
  look at the file 'install-unix.txt' for more information on how this should
  be done.

