bsw@1045: bsw@1045: jbe@1046: LiquidFeedback Installation Instructions bsw@1045: bsw@1045: jbe@1046:

LiquidFeedback Installation Instructions

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This document gives a short outline about the necessary steps to setup a jbe@1046: LiquidFeedback system.

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1. Install necessary dependencies

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If you're using a Debian system, make sure that the following packages are jbe@1046: installed:

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If you're using any other Linux distribution or BSD system, install the jbe@1046: necessary software components accordingly.

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2. Ensure that the user account of your webserver has access to the database

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The useraccount of the webserver (usually www-data) or the Moonbridge server jbe@1156: process needs to have access to your PostgreSQL installation. This is done by jbe@1156: executing PostgreSQL's shell command createuser as database superuser jbe@1156: (usually pgsql, or postgres for Debian installations):

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su postgres -s $SHELL
jbe@1191: createuser --no-superuser --createdb --no-createrole www-data
jbe@1046: exit
jbe@1046: 
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3. Install and configure LiquidFeedback-Core

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We recommend to create the database with the same user as your webserver jbe@1046: (usually www-data) to avoid having to setup database privileges.

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The example below installs the database as www-data and stores the two jbe@1046: executables lf_update and lf_update_issue_order in the directory jbe@1046: /opt/liquid_feedback_core/:

jbe@1046: bsw@1045:
# Download and unpack LiquidFeedback-Core
bsw@1045: # from http://www.public-software-group.org/pub/projects/liquid_feedback/backend/
bsw@1045: make
bsw@1045: mkdir /opt/liquid_feedback_core
jbe@1196: cp core.sql lf_update lf_update_issue_order lf_update_suggestion_order /opt/liquid_feedback_core
jbe@1191: su www-data -s $SHELL
bsw@1045: cd /opt/liquid_feedback_core
bsw@1045: createdb liquid_feedback
bsw@1045: createlang plpgsql liquid_feedback  # command may be omitted, depending on PostgreSQL version
jbe@1046: psql -v ON_ERROR_STOP=1 -f core.sql liquid_feedback
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A simple configuration may look as follows:

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psql liquid_feedback
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jbe@1046: INSERT INTO system_setting (member_ttl) VALUES ('1 year');
jbe@1046: INSERT INTO contingent (polling, time_frame, text_entry_limit, initiative_limit) VALUES (false, '1 hour', 20, 6);
jbe@1046: INSERT INTO contingent (polling, time_frame, text_entry_limit, initiative_limit) VALUES (false, '1 day', 80, 12);
jbe@1046: INSERT INTO contingent (polling, time_frame, text_entry_limit, initiative_limit) VALUES (true, '1 hour', 200, 60);
jbe@1046: INSERT INTO contingent (polling, time_frame, text_entry_limit, initiative_limit) VALUES (true, '1 day', 800, 120);
jbe@1246: INSERT INTO policy (index, name, min_admission_time, max_admission_time, discussion_time, verification_time, voting_time, issue_quorum_num, issue_quorum_den, initiative_quorum_num, initiative_quorum_den) VALUES (1, 'Default policy', '4 days', '8 days', '15 days', '8 days', '15 days', 10, 100, 10, 100);
jbe@1046: INSERT INTO unit (name) VALUES ('Our organization');
jbe@1046: INSERT INTO area (unit_id, name) VALUES (1, 'Default area');
jbe@1046: INSERT INTO allowed_policy (area_id, policy_id, default_policy) VALUES (1, 1, TRUE);
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If you want to create an admin user with an empty password (CAUTION!), then execute the following SQL statement:

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INSERT INTO member (login, name, admin, password) VALUES ('admin', 'Administrator', TRUE, '$1$/EMPTY/$NEWt7XJg2efKwPm4vectc1');
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Exit the psql interface by typing:

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\q
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And don't forget to quit the www-data shell:

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exit
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4. Install Moonbridge

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# Download and unpack Moonbridge
jbe@1156: # from http://www.public-software-group.org/pub/projects/moonbridge/
jbe@1156: pmake MOONBR_LUA_PATH=/opt/moonbridge/?.lua
jbe@1156: mkdir /opt/moonbridge
jbe@1156: cp moonbridge /opt/moonbridge/
jbe@1156: cp moonbridge_http.lua /opt/moonbridge/
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5. Install WebMCP

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Note: Using Debian, it may be necessary to append -I /usr/include/lua5.2 at jbe@1046: the end of the CFLAGS line in Makefile.options of the WebMCP source jbe@1046: distibution:

jbe@1046: bsw@1045:
# Download and unpack WebMCP
bsw@1045: # from http://www.public-software-group.org/pub/projects/webmcp/
jbe@1156: vi Makefile.options  # Debian requires  -I /usr/include/lua5.2  at end of CFLAGS line
bsw@1045: make
bsw@1045: mkdir /opt/webmcp
jbe@1046: cp -RL framework/* /opt/webmcp/
jbe@1046: 
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6. Install the LiquidFeedback-Frontend

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Unpack source tree into appropriate directory, e.g. /opt/liquid_feedback_frontend:

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# Download LiquidFeedback-Frontend
bsw@1045: # from http://www.public-software-group.org/pub/projects/liquid_feedback/frontend/
jbe@1046: mv liquid_feedback_frontend-vX.X.X /opt/liquid_feedback_frontend
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Make tmp/ directory of LiquidFeedback-Frontend writable for webserver:

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chown www-data /opt/liquid_feedback_frontend/tmp
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7. Configure mail system

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It may be necessary to configure your server's mail system, e.g. running jbe@1046: dpkg-reconfigure exim4-config on a Debian system.

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8. Configure the LiquidFeedback-Frontend

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cd /opt/liquid_feedback_frontend/config
bsw@1045: cp example.lua myconfig.lua
jbe@1046: # edit myconfig.lua according to your needs
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9. Setup regular execution of lf_update and related commands

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The executables lf_update, lf_update_issue_order, and jbe@1051: lf_update_suggestion_order must be executed regularly. This may be achieved jbe@1051: by creating a file named /opt/liquid_feedback_core/lf_updated with the jbe@1051: following contents:

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#!/bin/sh
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jbe@1046: PIDFILE="/var/run/lf_updated.pid"
bsw@1045: PID=$$
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jbe@1046: if [ -f "${PIDFILE}" ] && kill -CONT $( cat "${PIDFILE}" ); then
jbe@1046:   echo "lf_updated is already running."
bsw@1045:   exit 1
bsw@1045: fi
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jbe@1046: echo "${PID}" > "${PIDFILE}"
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bsw@1045: while true; do
jbe@1191:   su - www-data -s /bin/sh -c 'nice /opt/liquid_feedback_core/lf_update dbname=liquid_feedback 2>&1 | logger -t "lf_updated"'
jbe@1191:   su - www-data -s /bin/sh -c 'nice /opt/liquid_feedback_core/lf_update_issue_order dbname=liquid_feedback 2>&1 | logger -t "lf_updated"'
jbe@1191:   su - www-data -s /bin/sh -c 'nice /opt/liquid_feedback_core/lf_update_suggestion_order dbname=liquid_feedback 2>&1 | logger -t "lf_updated"'
bsw@1045:   sleep 5
jbe@1046: done
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This file must be marked as executable:

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chmod +x /opt/liquid_feedback_core/lf_updated
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And this file should be started automatically at system boot.

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10. Start the system

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After lf_update has been executed at least once, you should be able to use jbe@1244: your LiquidFeedback system.

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The server is started by calling:

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su www-data -s $SHELL
jbe@1192: /opt/moonbridge/moonbridge /opt/webmcp/bin/mcp.lua /opt/webmcp/ /opt/liquid_feedback_frontend/ main myconfig
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In the latter case, the Moonbridge server will open a TCP port according to jbe@1162: your configuration. Directly accessing this TCP port through your webbrowser jbe@1162: is helpful for development purposes. For real-life deployment, however, it is jbe@1162: recommended to further proxy the application (e.g. using nginx). The proxy can jbe@1190: also add HTTPS and/or HTTP/2 support (which is not supported by Moonbridge jbe@1190: itself).

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To start the Moonbridge as a background process, please refer to the Moonbridge jbe@1190: command line options:

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Get this help message: moonbridge {-h|--help}
jbe@1190: Usage: moonbridge \
jbe@1190:            [-b|--background] \
jbe@1190:            [-d|--debug] \
jbe@1190:            [-f|--logfacility {DAEMON|USER|0|1|...|7}] \
jbe@1190:            [-i|--logident <syslog ident> \
jbe@1190:            [-l|--logfile <logfile>] \
jbe@1190:            [-p|--pidfile <pidfile>] \
jbe@1190:            [-s|--stats] \
jbe@1190:            -- <Lua script> [<cmdline options for Lua script>]
jbe@1190: 
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