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Sunday is Google Meeting Day at NewMars...
A lot has happened at NewMars in the past week.
We'll open the waiting room at Midnight UTC - 7 PM Houston - 8 PM New Hampshire
The phpBB3 test / demo site on Azzure seems to be working well.
Work is progressing (very slowly) in correcting hundreds of bugs in FluxBB 1.5.11.
The package is actually running (limping) on the Azure site. Today I learned how to debug with a browser, using Visual Studio Code with PHP extensions and a set of debugging tools. The issue I'm currently investigating is the missing data that we ** don't ** see when we run a request to see topics in a Category. All the data is being delivered by the MySQL database, but some of it gets lost before it can be shown to the operator. There are no error messages. The data just goes away!
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Tonight's Google Meeting is setting up...
During the first session, kbd512 and I took a look at the failures in FluxBB 1.5.11 as modified to run with modern PHP.
The error that I first reported turned out to be a symptom of another problem. We were looking at viewforum.php, using Visual Studio Code with PHP extensions and Inteliphense, and with the addition of the browser real-time debugging added two days ago.
kbd512 deduced that the problem is caused (in part) by my having restored from backup.
Update later: In thinking about kbd512's observation, I thought about the difficulty I had trying to restore the FluxBB database from CSV files. Eventually ChatGPT4 and I were able to complete the conversion (or so we thought) but now I realize there may be fields that were not restored correctly. The failure of FluxBB to show the number of posts recorded for topics may be due to an incorrect value in a field called "moved to" ... in the php code, if that is NULL, then hyphens are printed. Apparently in the conversion, I may well have stored nulls when some other value was needed. When kbd512 changed the php code to NOT NULL, the text appeared in the html display.
In short, I now have a clue to follow next week, as I continue working on trying to get FluxBB to run with modern PHP and MySQL. kbd512 has indicated he would prefer to concentrate on conversion to phpBB3, so I am on my own to try to get FluxBB to run without errors.
In the second hour we started work on the conversion. The first step was to compare the posts tables in the two databases.
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For SpaceNut ... here is a comparison of the posts tables in the two databases:
+--------------+-------+--------------------+------------+
| tbl_name | c_ord | c_name | data_type |
+--------------+-------+--------------------+------------+
| phpbb_posts | 18 | bbcode_bitfield | varchar |
| phpbb_posts | 19 | bbcode_uid | varchar |
| fluxbb_posts | 9 | edited | int |
| fluxbb_posts | 10 | edited_by | varchar |
| phpbb_posts | 9 | enable_bbcode | tinyint |
| phpbb_posts | 11 | enable_magic_url | tinyint |
| phpbb_posts | 12 | enable_sig | tinyint |
| phpbb_posts | 10 | enable_smilies | tinyint |
| phpbb_posts | 3 | forum_id | mediumint |
| fluxbb_posts | 7 | hide_smilies | tinyint |
| phpbb_posts | 5 | icon_id | mediumint |
| fluxbb_posts | 1 | id | int |
| fluxbb_posts | 6 | message | mediumtext |
| phpbb_posts | 17 | post_attachment | tinyint |
| phpbb_posts | 16 | post_checksum | varchar |
| phpbb_posts | 28 | post_delete_reason | varchar |
| phpbb_posts | 27 | post_delete_time | int |
| phpbb_posts | 29 | post_delete_user | int |
| phpbb_posts | 24 | post_edit_count | smallint |
| phpbb_posts | 25 | post_edit_locked | tinyint |
| phpbb_posts | 22 | post_edit_reason | varchar |
| phpbb_posts | 21 | post_edit_time | int |
| phpbb_posts | 23 | post_edit_user | int |
| phpbb_posts | 1 | post_id | int |
| phpbb_posts | 20 | post_postcount | tinyint |
| phpbb_posts | 8 | post_reported | tinyint |
| phpbb_posts | 14 | post_subject | varchar |
| phpbb_posts | 15 | post_text | mediumtext |
| phpbb_posts | 7 | post_time | int |
| phpbb_posts | 13 | post_username | varchar |
| phpbb_posts | 26 | post_visibility | tinyint |
| fluxbb_posts | 8 | posted | int |
| fluxbb_posts | 2 | poster | varchar |
| fluxbb_posts | 5 | poster_email | varchar |
| phpbb_posts | 4 | poster_id | int |
| fluxbb_posts | 3 | poster_id | int |
| fluxbb_posts | 4 | poster_ip | varchar |
| phpbb_posts | 6 | poster_ip | varchar |
| fluxbb_posts | 11 | topic_id | int |
| phpbb_posts | 2 | topic_id | int |
+--------------+-------+--------------------+------------+
40 rows in set (0.00 sec)
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It is Sunday at NewMars, and Google Meeting is scheduled for midnight UTC.
If our members are able to free up the time, we'll have the waiting room open at 7 PM Houston, 8 PM New Hampshire.
Items that might come up include:
New GW Johnson files/links
Links to support files from GW Johnson YouTube videos
***
FluxBB clone on Azure ... remaining bugs
phpBB3 forum on Azure ... challenge of conversion of database
Other issues/questions/comments members might introduce
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The waiting room will be ready shortly...
Waiting room is open...
This was a productive meeting ... we achieved several mini-milestones despite technical issues with the screen sharing software.
Todo items:
1) tahanson43206 to prepare a post for GW Johnson to use as an anchor for links to resources for YouTube viewers
2) tahanson43206 to send link to GW Johnson
3) GW Johnson to prepare instructions to load the post with resources and text explaining what they are and how to use them
4) tahanson43206 to implement the instructions
5) GW Johnson to test all the links
6) GW Johnson to edit the description fields under the YouTube videos to point to the NewMars resource post
****
7) tahanson43206 to contact Mr. Burk (Executive Director of the Mars Society) to report on progress with FluxBB 1.5.11 >> 1.5.12 update
8) tahanson43206 to ask Mr. Burk for a contact at Dreamhost to work with kbd512 on setting up a new folder with FluxBB 1.5.12
Note to SpaceNut .... please note the current plan does NOT envision stopping service at all.
I'll take a moment here to explain (as best I can) how the upgrade would work....
No changes to the database are needed, with one exception: the fluxbb_config table needs to be updated to match the new software version.
That change can be made at the time the webmaster switches between the new software and the old.
The existing NewMars side (I'll call it NewMars Prime) would continue in operation exactly as it is now, while the new software is installed.
kbd512 would install the new software into a new folder, which might be an exact copy of the version running in Azure in FluxBB.
The existing FluxBB package would continue running in the "forums" folder while the new software is prepared for service.
On the day the switchover would take place, the old forums folder would be renamed as "oldforum" and the "FluxBB" folder would be renamed as "forums". Apache would be restarted.
At that point, requests from users would flow to the new software. The critical files that must match are the fluxbb_config table and the corresponding config.php file in the new forums folder. kbd512 would have insured that the contents of config.php match the contents of the database table. What this means in practice is that four fields in config.php would be updated to match the ones currently set in NewMars prime.
The rename operation should take no more than a few seconds to complete, and the restart of Apache a few seconds more.
Upon completion of these steps, kbd512 (and anyone else enlisted at the time) would test the system to be sure everything is working.
****
SpaceNut ... based upon the plan described above, you may (if you wish) proceed to implement the changes you might like to make to the existing database. I'm thinking of the new Inactive Member Group, and the new Projects Category, and potentially other Categories you may decide to implement.
We still need to thoroughly test the clone, to wring out any remaining bugs that may exist.
***
For all ... questions about this plan are welcome... Since we are moving firmly in the direction of upgrading FluxBB software, please put your questions and suggestions in the topic:
FluxBB Clone Bug Reports (etc)
However, if your comments/questions show up here that is fine as well.
Finally,.... not everyone has logged into the clone ... please ** do ** long into the clone.... We would ** really ** appreciate help finding any bugs that may remain before we go live with this software. We've been working on this for five months, and don't need to be in a big rush to install it. Let's beat on the system ... just remember that nothing you put into the clone will be saved. Our plan is to seamlessly swap the forum software while keeping the existing database.
There is currently no plan to close the clone on Azure. That service can remain for the full year that Microsoft provides for evaluation. so long as I can afford the rent.
(th)
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Today is Google Meeting day at NewMars....
A lot has happened in the past week...
GW Johnson has completed a first test launch of a new way of delivering information to YouTube viewers, and a priority for me is to see if we can diagnose the parts of the test that failed, and prescribe a remedy for the next test.
We have made excellent progress with the FluxBB clone, and progress is continuing.
The phpBB3 test forum is working well, and we invite all NewMars members who are registered to continue testing there.
We invite all NewMars members who are NOT currently registered to test the phpBB3 forum software to send a request to newmarsmember@gmail.com, or post a request in the phpBB3 topic.
The Google Meeting will open the waiting room at midnight UTC, which is late for our European members.
The US times are 7 PM Houston and 8 PM New Hampshire.
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The NewMars waiting room is open.
All are welcome!
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tahanson43206,
It looks like Google has booted us from the meeting. We either need to start a new meeting or pick this up next week.
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For kbd512 and GW Johnson...
Google refuses to let me start another meeting.
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tahanson43206,
In that case, Dr. Johnson, we'll have to take up this account setup business next week.
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For kdb512 and GW Johnson...
Thank you for a ** very ** interesting meeting!
The free hour flew by and I missed the alert the time was about to expire.
We covered a lot of ground this evening ...
A highlight is the discovery that James Burk (Executive Director of the Mars Society) has been tied up in recent weeks, creating the Mars Technology institute.
Anyone who is interested can ask Google for the web site... All that's there at the moment is list of donors and principles...
The Institute is apparently not related to MIT, althought the appreviations contain the same letters.
It occurs to me that the work of Dr. Johnson would seem a good fit for an institution called Mars Technology Institute.
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I do want to thank Tom and Brian for the help. We got cut off when the session timed out. I tried looking for a follow-on session, but such was not available. I would NEVER have known the links in the text were not the real links!
EDIT UPDATE 5-6-2024: turns out the links I copied actually do work! I also put them in an "exrocketman" blog site posting where "validation" is not an issue, and they work just fine, even when I am not signed in. I tested them.
I just want to make clear who and what I am. I would absolutely NEVER have guessed that an icon looking like a compass on my iphone would have been a link to a browser. Nowhere, not anything in my 73 years of life, would have told me what that icon meant, and the iphone people certainly did not! And THAT is my gripe: nobody ever does decent user manual documentation any more! What I don't comprehend, I must inevitably ignore or avoid, or both. And THAT explains why I cannot cope with modern technology.
THAT is the fundamental difference between me and the people who program these phones and internet things. I do NOT think in icons, not at all!
I've been pissed off at Microsoft ever since they invented Windows. Why? Because what do I need icons for, when I already have words, which stand for the tangible things that I do understand? I quite literally think in words and things (tangible objects). THOSE are the only thought processes that I understand AT ALL! And that situation is very, very unlikely to change.
When Windows came out, I resisted it as long as I could, for that very same reason. I kept my machine as a DOS machine as long as possible, using a shell program from the Germans that let me do do point-and-click with a mouse on literal words: file names. I saw no point to using icons, and to this very day, I still do not! What is the point of learning all these other pictogram languages, when you already have a perfectly good language based on an alphabet?
I understand forces, masses, heat transfers, fluid flow (at ANY speed), and thermodynamics (to include rudimentary chemistry). Those mean I understand the statics and dynamics of all sorts of moving and flying vehicles, and what it takes to survive when you push those motions to extremes. It also means that I understand all sorts of heat engines, AND their limitations. I even understand the creation and transmission of thermal, visible, and radar radiations, but nothing beyond that. It does NOT mean I understand (or am even conversant with) particle physics or especially quantum mechanics. I know the names of those notions, but very little more.
I learned enough about electricity to wire my shop correctly in the school of hard knocks, but I do NOT understand modern 21st century electronics! Not even late 20th century electronics! I know what a transistor is and does, but I come from the vacuum tube days: "a transistor does what a triode tube does". Computer chips? Forget it!
I knew a lot about "scientific programming" in Fortran II and IV, and in BASIC, but NO OTHER LANGUAGES (none at all)!! I NEVER understood what we then called "job control language" (or "JCL"), which was really how to interface with a computer to get it to run your program in Fortran or BASIC. Or your software code that you purchased.
I did have to learn a lot of math to be able to do what I could do. After my defense career involuntarily ended, I was able to take advantage of that, to teach math (and engineering, and physics) to others. As for learning how to teach, that came from teaching young engineers one-on-one on the job in an explosives plant. Not just to survive, but to thrive. No one ever got hurt on my watch!
Most of what they tried to teach me in the education courses leading to a public school teaching certificate was just totally BS. Plain and simple!
With math and science, you simply show them what has to be done, then you show them the best known ways to do it, then you provide multiple opportunities to try it out for themselves, BEFORE they have to prove they can do it for a grade (and that's the mistake so often made). Then (and only then) do you test them for the grade. Simple as that, and just as far from "traditional" ways and means of teaching math (or physics, or engineering) as you might imagine. Those subjects are objective, not subjective. Interpretations have NOTHING to do with it. I cannot speak as to the other subjects.
GW
Last edited by GW Johnson (Today 08:27:28)
GW Johnson
McGregor, Texas
"There is nothing as expensive as a dead crew, especially one dead from a bad management decision"
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