Re: [gentoo-user] Difficulty setting up apache, php and joomla

[Peter Humphrey]

On Saturday 25 Mar 2017 21:26:04 Daniel Campbell wrote:
> On 03/25/2017 09:13 AM, Mick wrote:
> > On Saturday 25 Mar 2017 11:13:36 Michael Orlitzky wrote:
> >> On 03/25/2017 10:48 AM, Peter Humphrey wrote:
> >>> I'm setting up a new little box to be a web development server, to
> >>> develop a new website for my choir. I have it running with the old
> >>> site, hand-crafted from HTML and CSS, but after installing joomla
> >>> into the new site and on attempting to open index.php to configure
> >>> it, as instructed, I get this in
> >>> /var/log/apache2/error_log:
--->8
> >> Joomla 3.4.x is not compatible with php-7.x:
> >>    https://downloads.joomla.org/technical-requirements#footnote-3xPHP

Ah. I missed that - thanks. I hadn't properly noticed that PHP had moved on 
to version 7 since I last played with Joomla.

> >> You'll need Joomla 3.5 at least.
> >>
> >> Or if you want some unsolicited advice and you're not picky about the
> >> CMS: avoid Joomla. The user interface is incomprehensible, updates
> >> require manual intervention, extensions are hard to write, and there's
> >> a culture of paid support for things that should just work.

That explains my blank expression when confronted with that terrifying blank 
page.  :-)

> > Your error is due to Joomla, not apache.  I also recommend you give
> > Joomla a wide berth and use Drupal instead, or select a responsive
> > design static template from the interwebs.  There are a few free
> > templates around which will do a fine job for a simple website.

OK. I'm installing Drupal now. I only chose Joomla after a good deal of 
searching the web for recommendations - at least some of which ought to have 
agreed with you two gents' opinion.

> If I may piggyback on the recommendations:
>
> Pelican (powered by Python) is a very powerful static site generator,
> and deployment is basically whatever you want it to be. Pages are
> basically plaintext (markdown or asciidoc by default iirc) and the theme
> (template + CSS) is completely separate from the content. It supports
> translation with standard gettext, too. I use it to power my personal
> site. I write posts, commit and push remotely, and use a post-commit
> hook to rsync the generated HTML into the webroot. If that sounds cool,
> check it out. [1] It might meet your needs.

Pelican looks interesting; I may follow it up. I didn't say this before (one 
thing at a time, eh?) but I need to build a site that another choirman can 
take over from me at some time. That seems to rule out anything that smacks 
of script writing, because as far as I know, nobody else has the slightest 
interest in computers, never mind programming.

I notice that no-one has mentioned WordPress. I had a look at it, but was 
scared off by the Gentoo devs' waving around of garlic and crosses.

> If you must go PHP, you might want to take a look at the PHP-FIG[2]
> (Framework Interoperability Group). I can't say I'm 100% in favor of
> their decisions, but their work has led to some standardization in the
> PHP world and you might find more modern tools through them.

Another helpful idea.

> Best of luck with your site, Peter!

Thank you all for your advice. I'm grateful.

-- 
Regards
Peter