Web-based Automatic Sector Data / Map pdf Generator
- Thread starter Mickazoid
- Start date
forthekill
SOC-11
Ok. I finally have the package done and tested.
Ubuntu SectorMaker
- Works on 8.10, 9.04, and 9.10
- Uses a new version of gensec, gensec4
- Includes the ability to specify the names and locations of systems in a sector
- New HTML instructions for install and use, including the new changes to gensec4, and how to use the sectorName_names.txt file
The changes to the scripts (a bunch of syntax) will probably prevent this particular package from working on a Mac.
For the gensec4 binary, the source is included so it can be compiled on the Mac. I made one programmatic (not syntax related) change to the script (where the gensec call is) to use v4 instead of v3 of gensec.
Ubuntu SectorMaker
- Works on 8.10, 9.04, and 9.10
- Uses a new version of gensec, gensec4
- Includes the ability to specify the names and locations of systems in a sector
- New HTML instructions for install and use, including the new changes to gensec4, and how to use the sectorName_names.txt file
The changes to the scripts (a bunch of syntax) will probably prevent this particular package from working on a Mac.
For the gensec4 binary, the source is included so it can be compiled on the Mac. I made one programmatic (not syntax related) change to the script (where the gensec call is) to use v4 instead of v3 of gensec.
forthekill
SOC-11
BeRKA, did you ever get to try this?
Has anyone else tried this successfully?
Has anyone else tried this successfully?
Tried it a while back.
After playing around enough I got it to run under Ubuntu. That was a few months before the Ubuntu version was posted.
I was just getting it to work, when I last my second machine, that was running Ubuntu. Unfortunately I have been far to busy to deal with replacing the machine.
I liked what I saw, and learning Linux at the same time I was figuring out the program was not terribly difficult, but then I am a tech by trade so your mileage may vary.
I can't answer how well it works to actually make something you can use, I never got the chance to find out. It looked very good, but no longer having a Linux machine makes it hard to play with it any more.
After playing around enough I got it to run under Ubuntu. That was a few months before the Ubuntu version was posted.
I was just getting it to work, when I last my second machine, that was running Ubuntu. Unfortunately I have been far to busy to deal with replacing the machine.
I liked what I saw, and learning Linux at the same time I was figuring out the program was not terribly difficult, but then I am a tech by trade so your mileage may vary.
I can't answer how well it works to actually make something you can use, I never got the chance to find out. It looked very good, but no longer having a Linux machine makes it hard to play with it any more.
Works on Mac Snow Leopard (10.6.8)
I'm happy to report that with the latest Perl modules (PDF-API2, Font-TTF) installed, the sector generator script continues to work like a charm on Mac OSX 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard).
I am hoping to incorporate forthekill's 'sector format output options' improvement (great work, forthekill!) and will investigate any modifications needed for using the SectorMaker scripts under 'Lion' (Mac OSX 10.7) in the coming weeks/months.
The updated Snow Leopard-compatible archive for Mac (including an install instructions page modeled on forthekill's Ubuntu instructions page) can be found here:
http://micki001.cnc.net/trav/SectorMakerScripts.zip
I'm happy to report that with the latest Perl modules (PDF-API2, Font-TTF) installed, the sector generator script continues to work like a charm on Mac OSX 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard).
I am hoping to incorporate forthekill's 'sector format output options' improvement (great work, forthekill!) and will investigate any modifications needed for using the SectorMaker scripts under 'Lion' (Mac OSX 10.7) in the coming weeks/months.
The updated Snow Leopard-compatible archive for Mac (including an install instructions page modeled on forthekill's Ubuntu instructions page) can be found here:
http://micki001.cnc.net/trav/SectorMakerScripts.zip
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altasilvapuer
SOC-9
After following all 35 pages of this thread, I have to admit that I'm a little sad at this, but at the same time, having read those 35 pages (and I can only imagine the volume of PMs and emails you've gotten that I haven't seen), I think to some extent I understand.
Mayhap this will finally get me to get off my bum and check out some of this Ubuntu insanity some of my friends have poked at. I do enjoy tinkering, but just need to find the time to get into it. :toast:
Regardless, I've enjoyed seeing where this concept has gone from those first couple posts and I've pulled numerous links for my bookmarks that I for some reason didn't have, as yet.
Best of wishes in the development! Everything looks better with every update.
-asp
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Windows isn't impossible
Hi Alta!
A Windows version isn't impossible - I am sure forthekill and I would be able to accomplish one with the help of a Windows-savvy programmer.
And thanks for your understanding and for the kind words - this has been an amazing project, born of my interest in becoming a better programmer and of my love of design and typography - but most of all, my love of the LBB style.
The Ubuntu version is nearly identical to the Mac version (with a few nice additions, like a feature to provide various sec file formats), as both are 'unix' based - but a Windows version would require a substantially different approach.
If you do pursue installing the Ubuntu version on your PC, I think you will be very pleased with the functionality and look of the output.
Thanks again!
Hi Alta!
A Windows version isn't impossible - I am sure forthekill and I would be able to accomplish one with the help of a Windows-savvy programmer.
And thanks for your understanding and for the kind words - this has been an amazing project, born of my interest in becoming a better programmer and of my love of design and typography - but most of all, my love of the LBB style.
The Ubuntu version is nearly identical to the Mac version (with a few nice additions, like a feature to provide various sec file formats), as both are 'unix' based - but a Windows version would require a substantially different approach.
If you do pursue installing the Ubuntu version on your PC, I think you will be very pleased with the functionality and look of the output.
Thanks again!
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Hi, this has been a most interesting reading. And it made me think about running this on a website that was proposed in the thread. What would it take to get a webversion of this running. im thinking of us windows users installing a webserver package like WAMP or something similar. I think pearl is included in WAMP. if that could work windows could run this program local under the webserver. I maybe ranting around, its just a mindstorm for now. If it could be done then it would be possible to make som webpages that handled the input in a more userfriendly way.
am i way of or?
am i way of or?
web-serving
Frostvarg: No, you're not way off at all! I've actually posted the script and have installed all the necessary software to my domain address - all I need to do is work out the permissions for running the script, and provide a nice form-based input (probably using php) and a web-based version of the generator will be up and available on the web!
Good news is, the server on which I have installed it is quite high-power, and a simple pdf (no world descriptions or animal encounters) of an average 'dense' sector only takes about 30-45 seconds to generate.
As far as Windows is concerned - posting it in a LAMP environment would be a good start but you will also need to install ghostscript (or the equivalent), pdftk and enscript, as well as the perl PDF modules and fonts.
Frostvarg: No, you're not way off at all! I've actually posted the script and have installed all the necessary software to my domain address - all I need to do is work out the permissions for running the script, and provide a nice form-based input (probably using php) and a web-based version of the generator will be up and available on the web!
Good news is, the server on which I have installed it is quite high-power, and a simple pdf (no world descriptions or animal encounters) of an average 'dense' sector only takes about 30-45 seconds to generate.
As far as Windows is concerned - posting it in a LAMP environment would be a good start but you will also need to install ghostscript (or the equivalent), pdftk and enscript, as well as the perl PDF modules and fonts.
i need some clarifications then.
you say that you run it on a server now and since LAMP or in my case WAMP is a webserver i can duplicate your setup to get it running on my local windows machine? you must have done more or less the same even if you installed it on a webserver some other place.
is it possible to connect to your server and test it out?
you say that you run it on a server now and since LAMP or in my case WAMP is a webserver i can duplicate your setup to get it running on my local windows machine? you must have done more or less the same even if you installed it on a webserver some other place.
is it possible to connect to your server and test it out?
I run the script on a Red Hat Linux server and it requires a few additional software packages to be installed, so in order to run the SectorMaker script in some other 'LAMP/WAMP' environment you will need to install additional software that may not be present by default/and possibly to tweak the script. All the differing flavors of LAMP / WAMP (Linux/Windows, Apache, Mysql, Php/Perl) have different core software, so check out the installation instructions for which add'l packages are needed (I mentioned a few in my recent post) and see if any or all of them are installed by default - and you will know how much additional installation will be needed.
Soon you'll be able to connect to the server and run the script by calling a .cgi from your web browser - I'm working on it in my part-time so progress is difficult to predict. When i've set up the proper permissions, you will merely need to form a URL passing the parameters to the cgi.
Soon you'll be able to connect to the server and run the script by calling a .cgi from your web browser - I'm working on it in my part-time so progress is difficult to predict. When i've set up the proper permissions, you will merely need to form a URL passing the parameters to the cgi.
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Windows {with luck}
Fellow travellers, I have found myself with an injury that leaves me unable to work or even leave the house for several weeks at least.
So I am about to dive over a cliff and see if I can fly....
I have reread the entire thread, and gathered all of the tools I can locale as well as their manuals.... The good news is all of the Linux tools have been ported to windows, so assuming I don't run into differences between versions, that problem is solved. The xcode is going to be tricky, but I will see what I can do.
I am going to try to port this big shiny ball into windows.
No promises, I am way out of date programming and I will have to learn several new tools, as well as learning all the details of how the whole system interacts.
Stay tuned...
Fellow travellers, I have found myself with an injury that leaves me unable to work or even leave the house for several weeks at least.
So I am about to dive over a cliff and see if I can fly....
I have reread the entire thread, and gathered all of the tools I can locale as well as their manuals.... The good news is all of the Linux tools have been ported to windows, so assuming I don't run into differences between versions, that problem is solved. The xcode is going to be tricky, but I will see what I can do.
I am going to try to port this big shiny ball into windows.
No promises, I am way out of date programming and I will have to learn several new tools, as well as learning all the details of how the whole system interacts.
Stay tuned...
The good the bad and the ugly
After discovering all of the tools that Unix provides that are missing in windows, a straight transfer is not practical.
All of those tools are available as open source, so nothing would need to be purchased, but each would have to be downloaded and installed by hand. A tricky process and well beyond most casual windows users.
For Mick and Forth and the other Linux folks, there are too many small bash shell commands that would need to be located and installed in Windows.
I am going to look into re-scripting in Perl, and then try to wrap the tools in an integrated installer.
If I do this correctly, the main code will by accurate and in a form that the folks that have done the heavy work can use.
Stay tuned, but the project has grown much larger, and may take a long time to finish.
After discovering all of the tools that Unix provides that are missing in windows, a straight transfer is not practical.
All of those tools are available as open source, so nothing would need to be purchased, but each would have to be downloaded and installed by hand. A tricky process and well beyond most casual windows users.
For Mick and Forth and the other Linux folks, there are too many small bash shell commands that would need to be located and installed in Windows.
I am going to look into re-scripting in Perl, and then try to wrap the tools in an integrated installer.
If I do this correctly, the main code will by accurate and in a form that the folks that have done the heavy work can use.
Stay tuned, but the project has grown much larger, and may take a long time to finish.
Try Cygwin, which is like "unix in a box" for Windows. It will provide all of those little tools you need.
And still be beyond the complexity and skill of a lot of Windows users.
I have managed to put together an integrated installer, but it is complicated. Each of the tools should only install if there are not equivalents already installed.
The installer at least is coming along nicely.
My apologies - I was reading this thread on my phone and missed the bit where you planned to recode the scripts to reduce dependencies on various utility binaries. A noble effort, and I agree that's the right direction to go. Good luck, and let me know if you need any assistance.