DP Libraries Setup: Installation

The DP Libraries are provided as a single ZIP archive containing all of the libraries and associated materials. Instructions for installing and using this archive follows.

1) Obtain the Libraries

The latest archive (in .ZIP format) will always be available on the DP Libraries History and Archives page. This page will provide links to all iterations of the Libraries and an overview of their change history.

2) Set up your Mapping

All of the CFC (ColdFusion Components) Packages reside in a folder named "cfc_DepressedPress" and a ColdFusion mapping (set up in, you guessed it, the ColdFusion Administrator) to that folder is required.

(I'm not pleased that a mapping is required, but that's something better taken up with Macromedia. Suffice to say that the code makes use of CFC type validation, multiple packages and other aspects which make a mapping pretty much inevitable.)

3) Placing Files

The ZIP-format archive will contain the following directories:

cfc_DepressedPress: These are CFC files and should be placed, with the directory structure intact, in whatever folder you've mapped as "cfc_DepressedPress". Since many of these files (namely the Root and Utility packages) are required by other libraries it's recommended that you keep this folder intact and do not attempt to delete libraries you'll not be using.
Web: These are web files and should be placed, again with the directory structure intact, in any web accessible folder. This material will mostly consist of sample files and applications. Although there are no known security issues with these files it's recommended that you do not place them on a production server unless they are being used.
Documentation: Any included documentation or test data would be placed here. These files are not directly required to run any code so do not need to be placed in a web-accessible area.

4) Configuration (Installation/Uninstallation)

Some packages or applications will require that an installation script (normally to set up the persistence entity) be run before using them. Such scripts will normally be found in an "Installation" folder in the archive. These scripts should be examined before they are run to ensure that the proper persistence entity (database) is selected and to modify any configuration options that may be present.

General installation services for each Library is provided by a configuration CFC named for the package (for example the Framework Package is installed and uninstalled via the "FrameworkConfiguration.cfc" and the Security package uses the "SecurityConfiguration.cfc"). These CFCs can be accessed directly (using the provided installation scripts as guides) to create your own complex installation and uninstallation routines.

5) Running/Testing the Code

Most DP Libraries will have a coresponding folder in the Web folder of the archive. This folder will contain any test code, sample applications or installation materials provided. A file named "Index.cfm" is generally provided as a starting point.

Complex systems will usually contain at least one complete sample interface (which you can modify) while simpler system might just contain some sample scripts you can explore.