[LON-CAPA-cvs] cvs: doc /build faq.html

Mon, 11 Feb 2002 08:04:41 -0000

harris41		Mon Feb 11 03:04:41 2002 EDT

  Added files:                 
    /doc/build	faq.html 
  Log:
  a first go at frequently asked questions

Index: doc/build/faq.html
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<title>Frequently Asked Questions</title>
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Questions about anything and everything
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<p><font size='+2'>FAQ</font></p>
<ul>
<br />1. <a href='#q1'>What is TtH and how do I know I have it?</a>
<br />2. <a href='#q2'>So I think I'm done with the LON-CAPA installation.
Now what do I do?  How do I begin?</a>
<br />3. <a href='#q3'>Why do I have to worry about choosing a "role"?</a>
<br />4. <a href='#q4'>What kind of computer and operating will this work
on?</a>
<br />4a. <a href='#q4'>Will this work on BSD Unix?</a>
<br />4b. <a href='#q4'>Will this work on Mac OS X?</a>
<br />5. <a href='#q5'>What does LON-CAPA stand for?</a>
<br />6. <a href='#q6'>Who wrote this code?</a>
<br />7. <a href='#q7'>Where is this software being used?</a>
<br />8. <a href='#q8'>What are current plans for the installation?</a>
<br />9. <a href='#q9'>How do I upgrade?</a>
<br />10. <a href='#q10'>What are RPMs?</a>
<br />11. <a href='#q11'>How do I know this will be a secure solution for
my users?</a>
<br />12. <a href='#q12'>How do I contribute code?</a>
<br />13. <a href='#q13'>Is LON-CAPA owned by any umbrella company?</a>
<br />14. <a href='#q14'>What are the costs?</a>
<br />15. <a href='#q15'>What kind of computer do I need?</a>
<br />16. <a href='#q16'>Where can I learn more about the technical
ideas surrounding the LON-CAPA project?</a>
<br />17. <a href='#q17'>How are you similar or different to
WebCT, Blackboard, etc?</a>
</ul>
<hr />1. <font color='blue'><font size='+1'><a name='q1' />What is TtH and how do I know I have it?</font></font>
<p>
TtH = TeX-to-HTML.
You should have a file called tth.so on your system.  If you do not
have it, then you should download and install the binary
http://install.lon-capa.org/3.1/binaries/tth.so
into your
/usr/lib/perl5/site_perl/5.???/ directory.

<hr />2. <a name='q2' />So I think I'm done with the LON-CAPA installation.
Now what do I do? How do I begin?

You will first need to set up a domain coordinator on your machine.
See loncapa/doc/how_to_domain_coordinator.txt in your CVS repository checkout.
After this, it is time to play with the interface. We do not
yet have a user manual, but
<a href='mailto:felicia@lon-capa.org'>Felicia</a> is helping answer
questions related to the LON-CAPA web interface.

<hr />3. <a name='q3' />Why do I have to worry about choosing a "role"?

A critical feature of the LON-CAPA interface is the idea that a user
must select a role before doing anything further inside the educational
system.

<hr />4. <a name='q4' />What kind of computer and operating will this work
on?

The operating system LON-CAPA runs on is the Linux operating
system. LON-CAPA relies on an Intel-based architecture.

<hr />4a. <a name='q4' />Will this work on BSD Unix?

No.

<hr />4b. <a name='q4' />Will this work on Mac OS X?

No.

<hr />5. <a name='q5' />What does LON-CAPA stand for?

The Learning Online Network with Computer-Assisted Personalized Approach.


An eclectic variant is: Look! Our New Car Answers Pizza Appetites.

<hr />6. <a name='q6' />Who wrote this code?

This code was originally written by a group of staff and graduate assistants
at Michigan State University. We are now receiving software contributions
from several other universities. The technical design behind the project
was constructed by Gerd Kortemeyer.

<hr />7. <a name='q7' />Where is this software being used?
<hr />8. <a name='q8' />What are current plans for the installation?

We have been able to run LON-CAPA on RedHat 6.2, 7.1, 7.2, Debian, and
Mandrake.

<hr />9. <a name='q9' />How do I upgrade?

You must use CVS over the network.
Please click on the upgrade button at the top of this web page.

<hr />10. <a name='q10' />What are RPMs?

Software packages that are (usually) very easy to install. RPM stands
for RedHat Packaging Manager software package.

<hr />11. <a name='q11' />How do I know this will be a secure solution for
my users?

LON-CAPA is distributed without warranty as described in the 
<a href='http://mycrow.mph.msu.edu/docs/license/index.html'>license</a>.


We do think our security strategy is fairly robust. Important communications
are encrypted and the server-client validation is instantiated in such
a way as to prevent any remotely conceivable kind of spoofing.

<hr />12. <a name='q12' />How do I contribute code?

Send a diff to <a href='mailto:lon-capa-dev@mail.lon-capa.org'>
lon-capa-dev@mail.lon-capa.org</a>. It helps if you give it context
with the -C option. For example,

<pre>
diff -u -C3 doc/build/faq.html doc/build/faq.html~ | mail lon-capa-dev@mail.lon-capa.org
</pre>
<hr />13. <a name='q13' />
Is LON-CAPA owned by any umbrella company?

No and hopefully never. That's not what we're about.

<hr />14. <a name='q14' />
What are the costs?

Time &amp; Money. You and/or somebody else needs the time to learn how to use
the LON-CAPA system. You and/or somebody else needs the money to set up and
maintain a working computer server(s) for your institution.


More importantly, if your institution wants a sound future and a
increased ability to configure the LON-CAPA software, we recommend
that you assume some responsibility for contributing code to the
freeware project.

<hr />15. <a name='q15' />
What kind of computer do I need?

You need a RedHat 6.2-7.2 Intel-compatible computer.
We do not currently support the SPARC and SGI hardware architectures.

<hr />16. <a name='q16' />
Where can I learn more about the technical
ideas surrounding the LON-CAPA project?

You will find the technical manual to be very handy; please visit
<a href='http://www.lon-capa.org/technical.html'>
http://www.lon-capa.org/technical.html</a>.

<hr />17. <a name='q17' />
How are you similar or different to
WebCT, Blackboard, etc?

I would suggest two major differences
<ol>
<li>In LON-CAPA, the user is the fundamental data object. 
Other educational software systems seem to focus on the virtual
classroom as the fundamental data object.</li>
<li>I look at it like this. Many strictly profit-based enterprises aim to
significantly please 80% of their users. LON-CAPA started out, in the
beginning, aiming for a much higher percentage since the whole project
was about doing what no one had done before.
</li>
</ol>


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