sifbuilder

The running environment, the web server and the database server are in place. The latest version of sifbuilder has been downloaded and exploded to, let's say, win d:/sifbuilder_1.7.8/. Have a parallel folder ../sifbuilder_local/ created. It will contain the downloaded site packages and the local configuration files.

Let's suppose that the site is to be created locally. Let's suppose also that we want to install the sifbuilder site currently based on the postnuke core.

Run the sib definition of the site to create the site as defined in the sib.

php sifcmd.php file://./sibs/sib_PostNuke08_sif_sif.xml --sifpacksdir=../sifbuilder_local/packages --sifnetconfigfile=../sifbuilder_local/sifnet_config.php --sifnetsite=sbpn_at_localhost --dev

The semantics of the sib_PostNuke08_sif_sif sib was described here

--sifpacksdir option is important. sifbuilder relies on the site packages downloaded from the net. By storing them outside the sifbuilder folder, updating the program will not remove them.

Even more important though for other reasons are sifnetconfigfile and sifnetsite. sifnetconfigfile indicates where sifnetsite is defined. And sifnetsite as here instantiated in sbpn_at_localhost is the class in that file defining the parameters of the target site to be built, or the site itself in a certain sense. Having these options on file permits to refer to each site configuration by name. Take sifnet_config.php in the sifbuilder root folder as example. Wrong setting of those options may erase a whole system. No need to look for a demonstration.

The --dev option is here necessary to trap the postnuke 0.8MS3 sip that corresponds to a development site package.

-x may be added to the command to remove the site root and empty the site database before starting the installation. Do that only if you have the possibility of and know how to restore your working environment.

-f may be used to force the execution of the command in non-interactive mode. It can be used and will be used if you are a programmer when you know to be in control of what you are doing.

Web sites with other cores may be created in the same way with other sibs. for xoops use the sib_XOOPS20_sif_sif.xml sib, for drupal sib_drupal47_sif_sif.xml and for joomla use sib_joomla1_sif_sif.xml.

The installation of the site is normally followed by the creation of content. Can be done with

php sifcmd.php file://./sibs/sib_PostNuke08_sif_content.xml --sifpacksdir=../sifbuilder_local/packages --sifnetconfigfile=../sifbuilder_local/sifnet_config.php --sifnetsite=sbpn_at_localhost --dev