Home

Taporware 2.0 Download Page

    The previous version (1.0) download page is in here

    Introduction

    TAPoRware 2.0 is a set of text analysis tools with bug fixed and function enriched from the previous version that enables users to perform text analysis on XML, HTML and plain text files. This set of prototype tools is made available so that educational users can download and install TAPoRware on their own machines. For information about copyright, see our copyright notice.

    TAPoRware is written in Ruby. The current version is based on version 1.8.1. However, we have run it in version 1.8.4 without compatibility problem occured. Version 1.8.5 should be fine but not tested. You can try the tools from our server at TAPoRware Prototype.

    You may need to install Adobe SVG viewer to see the SVG image generated by the distribution tool. (Windows and Mac only;  there is currently no support for Unix/Linux). Your browser needs also to be Java enabled to view the Java applets generated by the fixed phrase tools and several other graphics tools.

    System Requirements

    For Unix Users

    Unix users need to have an extra user account named "taporware" (all lowercase) on a machine running the Apache web server and the Ruby interpreter. You also need to be able to run Ruby scripts under the "taporware" account. To make sure you can use the TAPoRware tools you will need:

    • A new Unix user account called "taporware" (specially created for these tools and which you should own) in addition to your own personal user account. The taporware tools will be placed here.
    • Ask your web administrator to enable cgi scripts execution for the directory named "cgi-bin" under the taporware web root.
    • Ask your web administrator to enable Apache SSI (Server Side Include) to support suffix .shtml. Add "index.shtml" at the end of the "DirectoryIndex" directive of the Apache configuration file "httpd.conf".
    • The Ruby interpreter and associated libraries for REXML, Ruby/Google and Ruby/SVG, etc. Ask your Unix administrator to download and install the following packages:
      • Ruby1.8.x Package
      Ruby REXML Package
      Ruby SVG Package
      Ruby XSLT Package
      Ruby linalg Package -- This is a wrapper of Fortran math library. So you need to install the related library first. See the readme file in the package for details.
      RubyGems. -- See the RubyGems User Guide for how to install Ruby gems
      Then use the RubyGems to install the following Gems: (Note: during the gem installation process, it may ask you if you want to install the dependencies, please enter "yes" when this happens.)
      • Chardet
      • sparklines
      • rmagick
    • Some of the packages depend on other Ruby packages or libraries. Check and install the dependent packages as well.

      * The hypergraph tool depends on the Ruby-xslt package which requires the newest version of system libraries libxslt and libxml. If the Ruby-xslt package cannot pass compilation, we recommend using the hypergraph tool on our server. (Note: If the hypergraph tool works on your machine, it will save xml files to taporware-web-root/cgi-bin/prototype/tmp directory. You may need to manually delete these xml files or use cron utility to delete the xml files periodically).

    For Windows Users

    Windows installers will need:

    • The Apache web server (version 2.0 is recommended). (Download the binary installer of the Apache web server for Windows from here and install it. Start the server and make sure that it works properly.)
    • Configure the web server to permit Server Side Include (SSI) and support suffix .shtml. For SSI documentation, see here
    • The Ruby interpreter and libraries. Download the Ruby interpreter 1.8.x executable for Windows from here (version 1.8.4 or above is recommended because many ruby packages have been integrated in the standard release such as REXML, RubyGems etc. If you prefer the earler version, you may need to download and installed these packages as well) Double click on the .exe file and then follow the install instructions (Note: Install it under the directory c:\ruby.)
    • Set the user environment variable for Ruby interpreter. (After installation, open a DOS console, and type in ruby -v. If you see a ruby version infomation, skip to next entry. Otherwise, setup the environment variable based on the following instruction):
      • For Windows NT, XP or 2000, do this:
             start-->setting-->control panel-->system-->advanced(tab)--> environment variables(button).
        If there is a variable called "path", click "edit" to add the Ruby path (for example: c:\ruby\bin) to the end of "path" variable (note, separate each path with a semicolon ";"). If there is no "path" variable, click "new". In the variable name field, type in "path" (no quotation marks) and type in your Ruby path (c:\ruby\bin for example) in the variable value field.
      • For earlier versions of Windows: Select
             start-->run
        then type in "sysedit" and press Enter. Cascaded windows will open (Warning: These windows contain system settings, so do not change them!) Find the window called "autoexec.bat". If you see the "path" variable in this window, add the Ruby path to the end of it (for example: c:\ruby\bin).  Otherwise, add a new line such as "path=c:\ruby\bin" depending on your Ruby path. Save the change and exit. Restart the computer to enable the environment variables.
    • Test that Ruby works. Open a DOS console and type in the following command:
           ruby -v.
      If the output is:
           Ruby is not recognized as ......,
      then type in the following command:
           echo %PATH%.
      If the output contains a Ruby path, the path may be wrong. Check and modify. Otherwise, consult an expert.
    • (Note: if you install ruby1.8.4 or above, skip this entry.) Download the REXML package here and unzip it (you need WinZip or other Zip utilities to do this). Then open a DOS console. Change to the unzipped folder and type  the following command:
           ruby bin\install.rb.
      If you see a full screen of text such as "chmod 0644 c:\ruby\......". congratulations! Otherwise, consult an expert.
    • Download Ruby-SVG package here.  Unzip it to a folder. Open a Dos console and change to the directory of your unzipped folder. You will see a file called install.rb. Now type in the following commands in order:
           ruby install.rb config,
           ruby install.rb setup and
           ruby install.rb install.
      If your commands all work properly, you will see "install.rb: install done" in  the last line of the last command. Otherwise, consult an expert.
    • Download and install Ruby linalg package 'linalg-0.3.2-i386-mswin32-ruby18.zip'. Note: This is a pre-build package. Change to the unziped folder and run ruby install.rb. If you download source package, you need to download and install the dependencies and compile etc.
    • Download and install RubyGems. (Rubygems and the gems listed in this entry are included in the version 1.8.4 or up package already. So if you installed the ruby 1.8.4 or above, skip this entry.) After the RubyGems package is installed, using the "gem" command to install the 'Chardet' gem. For usage of the "gem" command, see the RubyGems User Guide or type in gem --help to see its usage.
    • Download RMagick gem package for win32 (RMagick-1.14.1_IM-6.3.0-7-Q8.zip) and unzip it. Open a DOS console and change to the folder where the folder that RMagick is unzipped. There is a .exe file called ImageMagick.x.x.x.exe, (where x stands for digits), install it by double click the icon and followed the instruction. Then run the gem command gem install rmagick --local. (Please read the README file included in the package for details). You may need to restart you computer to make this installation effective.
    • The hypergraph tool and XML transformer tools require the  Ruby-xslt package and linux system libraries libxslt and libxml. We did not test it on the Windows platform but they are available for testing. It is recommended these tools be used on our server.

    Download and Install Taporware

    Now you are ready to install the TAPoRware tools.

    For Unix Users

    • Download the taporware2.0.tar file and place it right into the newly created user account "taporware", for example /home/taporware/.
    • Untar it by entering the command:
           tar xvf taporware2.0.tar
      You will see a new directory called "public_html" added here. The directory (its name is determined by UserDir directive of your Apache web server. Check with your web administrator. If it is different from the value of UserDir, Change the name accordingly) will be referred as the "taporware web root". Make this directory executable for everyone.
    • Enter the command: which ruby. If it is "/usr/local/bin/ruby", you don't need to do anything more. Use your browser and point to http://your.domain.name/~taporware to play with TAPoRware. (Note: "your.domain.name" should be your server's URL address).
    • If your which Ruby command gives you something other than "/usr/local/bin/ruby", switch to the directory ./cgi-bin/prototype and change "/usr/local/bin/ruby" in the first line of all the .cgi files to whatever the which ruby command returns.
    • Then play with TAPoRware.

      • Note: If you see a server error message, please go to the Apache error_log file (located at Apache_home/logs directory) and see the reason.

    For Windows Users

    • Download the taporware2.0.zip file.
    • Extract (or unzip) the contents of taporware.zip into the "htdocs" directory of your Apache installation.
    • Change to the "htdocs\cgi-bin" directory of your Apache server and copy the directory "prototype" with its contents to "cgi-bin" directory of your Apache installation. For example, if your Apache installation is located at: "C:\Program Files\Apache Group\Apache2", move the folder "C:\Program Files\Apache Group\Apache2\htdocs\cgi-bin\prototype" to folder "C:\Program Files\Apache Group\Apache2\cgi-bin"
    • Switch to directory "cgi-bin/prototype", change the Ruby interpreter command path in the first line of all the .cgi file to your machine's Ruby interpreter command path, for example: c:/ruby/bin/ruby.
    • Create a folder named "tmp" under your C: drive.
    • Open your browser and point to "http://localhost" and play with taporware.

      • Note: If you see a server error message, please go to the Apache error_log file (located at Apache_home/logs directory) and see the reason.

    Help and Warning

    These tools are made available without support. They can be accessed and used off of our server at TAPoRware Prototype without being installed. Anyone planning to install them should be an experienced server administrator.

    Version 2.0 is our third release of the prototype tools. It is a modified version of the second release and we have fixed some of the bugs in the earlier version. We have also added some new tools. This version has not been intensively tested at other locations. If you would like to work with us to improve the tools and test them,  e-mail Lian Yan at lyan (at) mcmaster (dot) ca. We are looking for computing humanists who are willing to extend, improve and test these tools, and we will support a limited number of appropriate users.