Railo on mac

I have had a great time at CFUNITED this year.  One of the things that has been a hot topic, which I haven't really caught wind of until today, is the battle between Adobe and the CFML open source alternatives, mainly Railo and Open BD.  I will save that topic for another post.  But that, along with the fact that I have been wanting to do it anyway, prompted me to give Railo a run.

I am mac challenged.  I spend 95% of my time on a PC.  The only time I seriously use my mac is when I travel, and at home in the evening, so maybe I only spend 80% of my time on a PC.  So I can't handle any advanced stuff on a mac.

Railo provides a version that you don't have to install.  That is good for me.  It is called "Railo Express (Jetty)".  It worked just as expected.  I dropped in my apps folder after unzipping the archive and double clicked on "Start" and there you go.  I pointed my browser to http://localhost:8888/ and up came a screen prompting me for a new password.  After selecting one I was presented with the admin interface for railo.

I snooped around the admin interface for a minute, but then I wanted to just see a regular page.  I opened up the index.cfm file in the railo directory (under applications for me, it had a weird name that represented the relase number and everything) under webroot and noticed there was a cflocation:

<cflocation url="railo-context/admin.cfm" addtoken="no">

I commented that out and then I was able to use that page like any other cfm page and add cfml to it however I want.

Pretty nice that railo makes it so easy to get started with CFML.  I have a hard time articulating my thoughts on stuff, like the adobe vs open source battle, but being able to start coding in CFML so easily seems like a good thing for our community.

mySql server won't start after upgradge to mac osx 10.6 Snow Leopard

After upgrading to Snow Leopard the mySQL server would not start. I found the solution here:

http://www.macintouch.com/readerreports/snowleopard/topic4883.html. You have to search down the page to find the solution, search for Ralph Martin or mySql.

The upgrade to Snow Leopard seems to have broke the symbolic link.

Ralph Martin

I too found that MySQL wouldn't start after upgrading to Snow Leopard.

The answer seems straightforward. Previously there was a symbolic link from
/usr/local/mysql
to
/usr/local/mysql-5.1.37-osx10.5-x86_64
and this seems to have been deleted by the upgrade process.

I got MySQL working again by doing

cd /usr/local
sudo ln -s mysql-5.1.37-osx10.5-x86_64 mysql

(note that you may have to modify this slightly if your MySQL is a different version).

Show hidden files in finder

There are many times when I want to see hidden files and folders when using my mac. When making changes to the Apache config is one of those times. So how do I make it so I can easily see those files? I found talk of this on this page:

http://www.macworld.com/article/51830/2006/07/showallfinder.html

Which has a link in one of the comments to this nifty little program:

http://gotoes.org/sales/ShowHiddenFilesMacOSX/

I installed this and it makes it easy toggle on and off the ability to see hidden files and folders.

Forbidden You don't have permission to access / on this server

I have been using this mac more and more. In fact, I hooked up to the monitor,keyboard and mouse, that were attached to the docking station for my dell laptop (Which isn't working right now) and used the mac all day on friday. No problems other than the keyboard quirks that still drive me nuts.

Anyway, over the weekend I saw a demo by Joe Rinehart on the new Moldel-Glue 3 (gesture) that has been out for some time in alpha release. I really wanted try a couple of the features, so I continued something I had briefly tried a while ago, and that is setting up virtual hosts on my mac to point different urls to different directories on the computer. I found alot of information on that and made what I thought were the correct changes as indicated in the various articles. (this is a whole other blog post). But whenever I tried to pull the new site up in a browser I got the error: Forbidden You don't have permission to access / on this server. I probably spent 4 or 5 hours changed in my settings and stuff, until finally I just moved my files to /Websites/myweb. The problem all along had to do with accessing directories in the /users directories, which is where the files I originally wanted to access were located. There were some articles on making this work, but I didn't mind just moving them to a lower directory that would be easier to find anyway.

How to restart Apache on the Mac

Made a change in the httpd.conf file and wanted to restart the Apache server to pick up the changes. How did I do that?

Open up the terminal window (/applications/utilities/terminal)
Then Type: sudo apachectl restart

Seems to have worked for me.

Location of httpd.conf for Apache on the mac

It is hard for me to find things on this mac still. Some of the stuff is hidden and it always takes me a while to get around. The last thing I was looking for was the httpd.conf file for the apache web server configuration. I wanted to see where the webroot was. Then maybe change it.

Anyway, it was at /private/etc/apache2/httpd.conf.

Amazing how many posts I saw asking this same questions.

Mac drives me crazy 1/2 the time and I love it 1/2 the time.

I have not posted forever. Probably because this macbook pro drives me absolutely nuts sometimes. After slowly getting use to the different key combinations I can actually get around ok, although I still have alot to learn.

The battery lasts for about 3 hours, maybe slightly more, depending on what I am doing. This is great. It does run fast. But to be fair a new pc laptop with the same config would probably do the same. It wakes up from sleep mode faster than I think a pc with windows ever could. And it is sleek and cool.

But, I can't beleive how hard it is to use some of the dvd/movie features. I have tried to create dvd's from a panasonic mini-dv camera and it has been a frustrating nightmare. Even once you learn how to do it there are quirks that drive me nuts. If you don't catch some of the subtle things, it just fails and you don't know why. Thank goodness for my daughter's basketball coach, she figures it out, even thought it sometimes takes her a while too.

Anyway, my macbook pro isn't going away. But it won't be my main machine anytime soon.

Oh, one huge plus is the touchpad. Dragging 2 fingers scrolls. 2 Finger touch is like a double click (Although Steve Jobs is crazy for not just putting 2 stupid buttons on there in the first place). With the pc I ALWAYS pull out the wireless notebook mouse. With the macbook pro I am more comfortable with the trackpad because it is so responsive and nice. I catch myself trying to 2 finger drag back on the pc and it doesn't work.

Installing mySql on Mac OSX Leopard

Just got done installing mysql on my macbook pro. Installation went just fine. Followed the same document that also had php installation instructions. Click here to view that document again.

I accepted all the defaults and have not yet gone through the instructions for connecting to php. A couple of places I stumbled only briefly. As mentioned in the article I downloaded the MySQL GUI Tools. This gives a visual interface and will definately work better for me as I still have no clue to all the command line stuff on this mac. After installing the gui and clicking on the MySql Administrator app in the applications folder I was given the option for a server and username and password. Server Hostname can be set to "localhost" and username to "root". Then you can change the password when you get in there.

Very simple. Now I gotta learn the interface.

Installing Coldfusion 8 on Mac OSX Leopard

I just installed coldfusion 8 on my macbook pro and didn't have any problems. I read through this post first and it had instructions, but all the settings in that article were the defaults so I just clicked through and it installed no problem.

I am, once again, not sure about the directory structure. Not sure if the default /library/documents/webserver is the best place but it does work, at least the CF administrator does.

I installed the 64 bit version. The way I understand it is that with the core 2 duo processors you can get the 64 bit versions of the files

Now on to mySql.

Viewing Hidden Files

I Figured out how to view hidden files, but it wasn't easy and I am still not 100% comfortable with it. I followed the instructions here: http://guides.macrumors.com/Viewing_hidden_files_on_a_Mac but that did not seem to work. I wanted to just use finder to see the hidden files. When I typed in the suggested commands, I didn't get an error but it is definitely not working. So I resorted to downloading a couple of additional programs. Textwrangler and Coda.

I actually downloaded Textwrangler first and struggled a little so I began to download coda. Before it finished I had figured out Textwrangler so that is what I ended up using. From the textwrangler menu you choose "File/Open Hidden". After that it still isn't easy as I still am learning to understand directory navigation on the mac. I was able to find the private directory by clicking on the "Macintosh HD" in finder. It would be more intuitive at this point if it would have been under Desktop, Home, Applications or Documents which is where most stuff seems to be.

I haven't got back to using this (modifying hidden files) yet, but I will and I think I will be alright now. I still need to install mysql and coldfusion.

I did get php working by just modifying one line as instructed here: http://reverbisnotalie.com/code/php-mysql-apache-mac-osx-leopard

Apache, ColdFusion 8

I want to install apache and coldfusion 8 on my mac so that I have a complete development environment on this machine. I enabled web sharing which I think is apache and It works. But I can't find the apache directories. It looks like you have to make hidden directories and files viewable and I did that as instructed here:

Viewing hidden files on a Mac

But I still can't figure out where the http.conf apache file is. This is not easy so far, unless I am just missing it.

Gmail on a Mac

This one is going to drive me nuts. On a pc using gmail you can type an email, press tab and then enter and it sends the email. When you press tab it moves focus to the send button. On this mac that doesn't happen. Tab never performs like I expect, at least on web pages. Driving me nuts. Funny how such a little thing can make such a difference. But I at least need a comparable key combination so I don't have to touch my mouse in gmail.

----------------
Just found the answer to this. System Preferences/Keyboard & Mouse/Keyboard Shortcuts then at the bottom you see "Full Keyboard Access". Make sure you choose the "All Controls" option and it works like a charm. Wahoooo!

Touchpad greatness

Just reading through the little white booklet that was the only documentation that came with the macbook pro. The info from that booklet that I liked the most was the info on the touchpad. Two fingers sliding will scroll up and down or side to side. Two fingers and click is like a right mouse click. I also enabled touch click in system preferences because I prefer to just tap the touchpad instead of having to use the button, which can be awkward for my thumb. Three fingers does something too, but I can't remember what.

Mac Spaces

Just started using spaces. This is a cool feature where essentially you have 4 desktops and can easily switch between them. I will probably use this more as I get use to it. I might have email in one, eclipse for coding in another etc...

Even with this 15" screen there is not alot of screen real estate available with the dock and a few desktop icons you don't want to cover up. Spaces will make this easier to deal with.

Lighted keyboard

The macbook pro's lighted keyboard is sweet. With my dell I always had to angle the monitor down to be able to see the keyboard in the dark. Not with my mac.

Save pdf to web receipts folder

My Macbook pro has a cool feature. When you print a web page you can click on the pdf button and there are several cool choices. The one I just used "Save pdf to web receipts folder" is a great time saver and very convenient. How many times do you just want to do that. In windows there are a few extra steps and I think you have to have adobe acrobat pro in at least some cases.

unable to load default svn client

Installed Eclipse no problem. Although I did install the latest version, Ganymede first. But I installed the latest Europa (3.3) once I found out that CFEclipse doesn't yet work with Ganymede (3.4). I then installed the SVN client and it seemed to go well. But I was getting an error "unable to load default svn client" error.

Found a little help here: http://subclipse.tigris.org/servlets/ReadMsg?listName=users&msgNo=12087

But I already had installed JavaHL and still I was getting the error. But after installing SVNKit (there were 2 and I chose both, a client and something else) it worked. Another problem solved.

No Docking Station

It looks to me like there is not a docking station available for this macbook pro. That is a shame. Apple seems to have it all going on and then they don't have docking stations. I currently use my dell latitude laptop primarily between 2 different offices. At each of these offices I have docking stations with external monitors, power, network and other accessories hooked up. It is VERY simple to just drop the laptop onto the docking station and I am off and running. This is a big minus for the mac.

Cool Power Adapter Connector

This is one of those little things that don't matter much, but I notice. The way the power cord hooks into my mac is pretty cool. It is magnetic so once you get close it kind of grabs it and inserts right to where it needs to be. Makes it easy to plug it in.

That's lost a little in the enormity of the whole power aparatus itself. I am use to the dell power adapters that have a nice way to wrap both sides of the cord around itself.

Mac Crash

So, I am a little confused about if I can just shut the lid and this mac will go into sleep mode, or what. I have no idea how to tell what it is doing. So far, this is one big deficiency. I have no insight into the workings of this machine. I even find myself missing the disk actvity light, even though it doesn't mean much, at least I know something is going on.

Anyway, I left my house to go over to the in-laws and chose sleep from the apple menu. When I opened it back up at the in-laws it just froze. Wouldn't do anything for 3-5 minutes. Finally just held the power button down until it restarted.

So I had a mac crash in my first day owning my first mac. I am loving the experience so far, but I think that is mostly the newness of the whole thing.