WebDelta 1.0 FAQ



Are you guys computer scientists?
The first thing to keep in mind is that we are NOT computer scientists and we learned some Perl while building this system. Therefore the code is not as essential as it could be and we can not guarantee that is error free.

What is WebDelta and how does it work?
WebDelta is a set of Perl scripts to create an interactive web interface to edit Delta files. It takes a 'CHARACTER', a 'spec' and an 'Item' files and build a form with multiple choice queries, numerical or text fields for the description of particular taxa.

Can I put my Delta files on the web and have several people around the world to fill-out the character description list?
That is exactly the purpose of WebDelta.

What do I need to get it to work?
All you need is an html server, Perl 5.x installed and the WebDelta set of files.

How do I install it?
Read the web installation page

Is the item file overwritten at each submission?
Yes it is. However, before to update the file, a copy of the existing file is appended to a backup file that is unique for each user and that is located in the backup directory.

Can I avoid unauthorized user to look at my database?
Yes. In the config.ini file set  $ALLOW_GUEST_IN = 0;

Can I use WebDelta without putting it in a web page?
I think you can.

Which web browser should I use?
Preferentially Netscape 4.x.

Can I use only the routines to build the image gallery pages?
Absolutely. In that case you just need a couple of perl scripts: image_gallery.cgi and show_image.cgi plus all the icons images necessary.

Can I install WebDelta on a NT or Windows95 system?
Probably you can, but do not ask me how.

Any future directions? 
Drop me a note at rivetti@unipr.it



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