"Note that in order to install WikkaWiki, you will be required to fill in your DB parameters (server, DB name, DB user, password)."

Just to be complete: Wikka does not _create_ a database; the database and a user with sufficient permissions to create, alter and update tables in that database needs to be created _before_ starting the Wikka installation.

For OS X 10.4.2, the /etc/httpd/httpd.conf needs to be modified. Enable (uncomment) LoadModule php4_module libexec/httpd/libphp4.so and enable (uncomment) AddModule mod_php4.c to start. Send a kill -HUP to the root httpd running. And everything will turn out okay.

"All the installation is done through a web-based wizard and you should not need to open the terminal a single time." clashes with "MySQL - is not installed by default. The package and install instructions are available at entropy.ch" a bit further in the instructions. Furthermore there are the 2 comments prior to this one.

Could some kind soul please adapt these guidelines to make them understandable to someone who would like to install and try Wikka Wiki under OSX10.4.2, but who has never before tinkered with the Terminal app or Unix or MySQL. Please give us a manual that a small child could follow :-)

Hi, as I specified under the System Requirements heading: "This tutorial assumes your machine is configured to allow installing PHP/MySQL applications"

Explaining how to enable PHP and MySQL on Mac OS X is - helas - beyond the goals of this small how-to (and this would probably take more than a couple of lines). Having PHP and MySQL on your machine can be very useful to run locally a lot of web-applications. I suggest you take a look at the two links from the entropy.ch website for detailed instructions on how to install both packages. There are also dedicated discussion forums (http://www.entropy.ch/phpbb2/) for each of these installations where you should be able to find support. Hope this helps.

I didn't check out the links to entropy.ch, but to create a database, and a db user (see JavaWoman's comment), you should install PhpMyAdmin on your local Apache server. To do so, download PhpMyAdmin (it's open source).
This still requires you to activate php and mysql on your mac beforehand using the terminal. Again, I haven't seen the entropy.ch links (or don't remember), but I had used the following very clear instructions (in French): http://www.spip-contrib.net/Installer-spip-sur-Mac-OS-X
If you don't understand French, try to guess what you have to do by skipping most of the explanations and just doing what's on the pictures...

YanB, you don't need anything else than MySQL itself to create a database and a DB user: phpMyAdmin is just a handy PHP-frontend for managing MySQL data. For further reference on installing and running a MySQL database see: http://dev.mysql.com/doc/mysql/en/

Agreed! but I believe you would have to do this via the commandline (Terminal) -- or did I miss something? Using phpmyadmin makes it much much easier to visualize DB- and DB-user creation. Using the commandline is daunting, and not everyone masters geekspeak. What you find in the link you provided would instill fear in most people! :D

Here is my way to install WikkaWiki on Mac OS X without any intrusion in the OS.
1) Download MAMP at http://www.mamp.info (it's like EasyPhp but for Mac...)
2) Open the image disk and drag the MAMP directory in the "Applications" directory
IMPORTANT: you must install MAMP in the "Applications" directory
3) Install Wikka directory in MAMP/htdocs
4) Launch MAMP
5) Follow the "classic" Wikka's install, that's all !

MAMP offers PHP 4.3.11-dev, PHP 5.0.4-dev, MySQL and phpMyAdmin.

I'm pulling my hair out trying to get this up and running. I'm running 10.4.7 and use Camino 2.0.4. I installed mysql-standard-5.0.22-osx10.4-powerpc. I originally installed entropy-php-5.1.4-5-apache2.tar.gz but then I saw that php 5 caused some problems so then I went and installed Entropy-PHP-4.3.11-1.dmg. I followed all the instructions (downloaded Wikka-1.1.6.2.tar.gz) but when I follow #3 and type in http:localhost/~Rios/Wikka I get "Address Not Found www.computer.local could not be found. Please check the name and try again." So I tried all sorts of differnt addresses and I did get a bunch of code at one point from wikka.php. Then I decided to try use Safari (because that is what is used in the instructions) and finally after trying http://fall.local/~Rios/Wikka I got the installation screen. So I filled out the info the best that I could and hit the continue button and got a "Testing MySQL connection settings... FAILED" screen. I'm not a real terminal savy user but if anybody could walk me through troubleshooting I'd be eternally grateful. I'm just about to chuck it and go with Instiki 0.10.2. I got that up and running with no problems. I would rather go with Wikka if possible because there are things I can do with Wikka that I can't do with Instiki. It's oxymoronic in a way, Wikis really are quite easy to use but the installation involved is aneurism inducing.

I tried it again using MAMP and this time I got "Looking for database... FAILED: The database you configured was not found. Remember, it needs to exist before you can install/upgrade Wakka! Press the Back button and reconfigure the settings." So now I see the instructions on how to create a database except that I'm not very good at using the terminal. It works all right if I have a step by step break down. I tried copying and pasting the entire "CreateNewDB" (and bits and pieces) into the terminal but all I ever get is "-bash: $: command not found" I grabbed the code snippet but that didn't help either.

Chris, the easiest way would be if phpmyadmin is included in the MAMP package. Otherwise take a look at http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/4.1/en/creating-database.html and http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/4.1/en/adding-users.html

phpmyadmin is included in MAMP. (http://www.mamp.info/en/help/releases/index.html) The real problem isn't the software, it's me. I'm just not code savy enough to pull this off. I can follow detailed instruction and have copied and pasted into terminal, but I need specific instructions. All of the tutorials I've found assume that you have some coding background which I don't. I think I'm going to have to throw in the towel on this one. I'm going to be using Instiki. This is all for a grad school project but eventually I do want to take it live at which point I'll probably bring in someone with expertise to install a more full featured wiki. This is something that I think the wiki community really needs to think about. I'm working with 2 other teachers that are also interested in using wikis in their classrooms but want to do some preliminary work before putting it on their schools website. They are unable to do this because of the technical hurdles involved. I am the most computer proficient out of the 3 of us and I'm pulling my hair out. People want to use wikis they just don't know all the technical aspects to do it.

With MAMP, your wiki URL is http://localhost:8888/index.html
In your htdocs directory you need to put index.html and wikka directory (which contains all other wikka files and directories).
In wikka.config.php, check the line with "base_url". Your "base_url" should be "http://localhost:8888/wikka"

For PhpMyAdmin try this URL: http://localhost:8888/MAMP/?language=English

Has anyone had any luck installing Wikka on OS X server? I have tried both Wikka and MediaWiki on OS X Server 10.4.8 and get the same behavior. It installs just fine and when you try to enter the wiki, nothing happens. The browser times out.

Other php based software runs just fine. Just wikis do not.

So far no solution. Any thoughts?

Hi PureLancelot, I'm running several Wikka installs on my OS 10.4.X (desktop version) and I assume Mac OS server version should work as well. If you have problems with different packages this could be an issue with your Apache configuration. My feeling is this could be a problem with your mod_rewrite settings (used both by MediaWiki and Wikka). Have you checked your server logs? What is your base_url and rewrite_mode configuration in wikka.config.php ? Please give use some more information so we can help you fix your problem.

I have some notes on what I had to change to get this working on Leopard: http://blogs.sun.com/tdh/entry/installing_a_wiki_on_my

Note that you should take the accounts I added to MySQL with a grain of salt.

Thanks for sharing this MrLoghyr!