Installing the ActiveGrid Studio

Installing the ActiveGrid Studio
This chapter explains how to install the ActiveGrid Studio. It contains the following sections:
Platform Recommendations
This section specifies operating system requirements and hardware recommendations for the ActiveGrid Studio.
Operating Systems
The ActiveGrid Studio runs on the following operating systems:
Hardware Recommendations
ActiveGrid recommends the following minimum configuration for the ActiveGrid Studio:
Installing the ActiveGrid Studio
When you install the ActiveGrid Studio, the installation wizard prompts you to enter the following configuration information:
Installation Directory: The installer puts all the files and sub-directories for the ActiveGrid Studio in the directory you specify.
File Associations: The file types that you want the system to associate with the ActiveGrid Studio. File types that you select here open by default in the ActiveGrid Studio.
Using Your Own External Packages
All third party components are installed as part of the ActiveGrid installation. They do not interfere or interact with the system binaries (such as /usr/bin/python for example).
If you need to use the system Python, rather than the Python installed with the ActiveGrid Studio, then change the start script to point to the correct Python executable. Make sure that the required Python extensions are installed in the system Python directory.
What is Installed
This section covers the following topics:
ActiveGrid Studio File Structure
The file structure for the ActiveGrid Studio installation depends on the operating system you’re using. The exception is the demo and log configuration files, which are always installed in a folder called ActiveGrid in your home directory:
File Structure on Linux
The ActiveGrid Studio installation on Linux includes the following four sub-directories:
3rdparty: The 3rdparty directory contains third-party software required by the ActiveGrid Studio.
bin: Contains log files and executables.
lib: Holds the common subdirectory, which contains the demos, python and wsdl directories:
python: Contains files used by the ActiveGrid components, including the ActiveGrid Studio executable, ActiveGridAppBuilder.exe.
demos: Contains various demo projects packaged with the ActiveGrid Studio, some of which are available through the Welcome Wizard in the ActiveGrid Studio.
wsdl: Contains ActiveGridKeyService.wsdl which is a WSDL document used for automatic key generation feature in ActiveGrid Applications.
docs: Contains the the release notes, as well as sub-directories for the product documentation.
File Structure on Windows
The top directory, ActiveGrid Studio/, by default is installed in the Windows Program Files/ directory, but you can specify where to put it during installation.
The ActiveGrid Studio/ directory contains the uninstall script, as well as the start.desktop and stop.desktop scripts (these are mapped to desktop icons). The ActiveGrid Studio/ directory also contains the following sub-directories:
3rdparty: The 3rdparty directory contains third-party software required by the ActiveGrid Studio. This directory is organized into the following sub-directories:
python2.4: Python binary and libraries. A full python distribution that's used by the IDE itself as well as the application at runtime.
php: PHP binary and libraries
pywin32: Holds the file pywin32api.pyd used by the debugger.
prod: Includes subdirectories for Python, PHP and WSDL:
python: Contains the full product source code.
activegrid: Contains ActiveGrid source files.
static: Contains ActiveGrid source files.
demos: Contains various demo projects packaged with the ActiveGrid Studio.
wsdl: Contains ActiveGridKeyService.wsdl which is a WSDL document used for automatic key generation feature in ActiveGrid Applications.
docs: Contains the release notes, as well as sub-directories for the product documentation.
Your ActiveGrid Directory
The first time you run the ActiveGrid Studio, it creates an ActiveGrid directory in your home directory. The ActiveGrid Studio creates this directory in the home directory of each user that runs the product. The ActiveGrid directory contains two subdirectories:
demos: The project files for all the demo applications are installed here. You can access all ActiveGrid demos from the Welcome Dialog (Tools > Welcome Dialog...). For a description of the available demos, see “The Demo Applications” on page 21.
logs: The configuration files for all the loggers are installed here. See the Appendix on Logs in the ActiveGrid Application Developer’s Guide for information on using these configuration files.
The ActiveGrid directory also contains the PHP configuration file, called php.ini. See the Appendix on Logs in the ActiveGrid Application Developer’s Guide for information on the php.ini file.
Third-Party Components
The ActiveGrid Studio installation includes the following required third-party packages:
The installation also includes the following optional Python extensions:
The installer puts the Python extensions in the site-packages subdirectory of your Python installation.
Installing and Configuring Databases
This section explains how to set up your databases to work with ActiveGrid. The ActiveGrid Studio supports the following databases:
SQLite
SQLite is automatically installed with the ActiveGrid Studio. No additional configuration is needed.
MySQL Server
The ActiveGrid Studio supports MySQL versions 4.1.7 - 4.1.14. Python support for MySQL is automatically enabled. To enable PHP support for MySQL, you need to add a line to the php.ini file.
On Linux, add this line:
extension=pdo_mysql.so
On Windows, add this line:
extension=pdo_mysql.dll
Note: The php.ini file is installed in the ActiveGrid directory in your home directory (Your ActiveGrid Directory).
Oracle
This section explains how to enable support of Oracle on Python (“Python Support”) and PHP (“PHP Support”).
Python Support
The ActiveGrid Studio supports the cx_Oracle Python extension module for Oracle access from Python. The specific driver you use depends on the version of Oracle you’re using. By default, the 10g version of cx_Oracle is enabled. The 10g cx_Oracle version also works with both Oracle 10g and Oracle 9i. To use Oracle 8i, follow these steps:
On Linux:
1.
Open the INSTALL_DIR/3rdparty/Python/lib/Python2.4/site-packages directory.
2.
In that directory, find the following files: cx_Oracle.so.8i, cx_Oracle.so.9i, cx_Oracle.so.10g.
3.
On Windows:
1.
Open the INSTALL_DIR/3rdparty/python24 directory (typically c:/Program Files/ActiveGrid Studio/prod).
2.
In that directory, find the following files: cx_Oracle.so.8i, cx_Oracle.so.9i, cx_Oracle.so.10g.
3.
If you have problems with these steps on either platform, you might need to download and install a cx_Oracle from the following site:
http://starship.python.net/crew/atuining/cx_Oracle/
PHP Support
To enable PHP support of Oracle, first install the client-side software from Oracle. You also need to add a line to the php.ini file:
On Linux, add this line:
extension=pdo_oci.so
On Windows, add this line:
extension=pdo_oci.dll
The php.ini file is installed in the ActiveGrid directory in your home directory (Your ActiveGrid Directory).
PostgreSQL
The ActiveGrid Studio installation includes the database driver for PostgreSQL (PyGreSQL 3.6.2). This is a Python library that allows the ActiveGrid Studio to communicate with a PostgreSQL database. In addition to this library, you need to install the PostgreSQL database, as well as the native client libraries that you need in order to communicate with PostgreSQL.
PHP Support
To enable PHP support of PostgreSQL, you need to add a line to the php.ini file:
On Linux, add this line:
extension=pdo_pgsql.so
On Windows, add this line:
extension=pdo_pgsql.dll
The php.ini file is installed in the ActiveGrid directory in your home directory (Your ActiveGrid Directory).
DB2
Python support for DB2 is included through the PyDB2 Python library (version 1.2). This library is available at:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/pydb2
To enable PHP support of DB2, first install the DB2 client-side support from IBM. Then you need to add a line to the php.ini file:
On Linux, add this line:
extension=pdo_odbc.so
On Windows, add this line:
extension=pdo_odbc.so
The php.ini file is installed in the ActiveGrid directory in your home directory (Your ActiveGrid Directory).
MS SQL Server
ActiveGrid uses the pymssql (0.7.3 or higher) python module to connect to MS SQL Server. This module is not bundled with ActiveGrid. Download it from:
http://pymssql.sourceforge.net
On Windows, pymssql requires Microsoft's ntwdblib.dll. You can get a compatible version of this dll from MS SQL Server 2000 (yes, 2000) service pack 4.
On Linux systems, pymssql uses FreeTDS (0.6 or higher) as communication layer. FreeTDS is not bundled with ActiveGrid. Download it from:
http://www.freetds.org/
You also need to configure FreeTDS. A simple .freetds.conf entry looks like this:
[somename] # you need to use this name as the
#"Connection String" when you configure
# the data source in the ActiveGrid IDE.
host = <MS SQL Server host>
port = 1433
tds version = 8.0
For more information about how FreeTDS works with pymssql, see:
http://pymssql.sourceforge.net/
To enable MS SQL Server support on PHP, you need to add a line to the php.ini file:
On Linux, add this line:
extension=pdo_odbc.so
On Windows, add this line:
extension=pdo_odbc.so
The php.ini file is installed in the ActiveGrid directory in your home directory (Your ActiveGrid Directory).
 

ActiveGrid
Installation and Deployment Guide
Version 2.0