Phonics Alive - literacy software - frequently asked questions

FAQ: [INDEX] - [2] - [3] - [4] - [5] - [6] - [7] - [8] - [9]

Networking

Section Two - The Speller, Grammar and Typing

The system used by these newer programs is slightly more complicated, but also contains significant improvements.

Runtime and Installation
Due to the fact that each program gets a bit bigger than the previous one, and in the case of Blender to Speller, we decided that there should be some sort of local installation to cache the most used parts of the program on the local hard drive. This reduces loading times and increases the program responsiveness. By building this cache system, where the content can be in more than one place at a time, we also allowed ourselves to have a minimal local (or client) installation, with the CD installed to a server (or the CD shared across a network) so that school networks could install and use the program without the CD.
This changed a few things from the previous programs. For example, you MUST follow the instructions to the letter and can't just drag the files around and put them wherever you want.
Although it has more steps to follow, the installed does do some things automatically for you. Here are just a few of those benefits:

The server installation copies all the files that are required and allows CD-less operation
When you run the client installation, it will check to see that the client does actually have read and write permissions to the results file, and make suggestions as to how to solve some common issues.
Sometimes drive letters change under Windows. If the server isn't in the place that it thought it was the last time, it will go looking and automagically change to the new drive letter if it can find it.

Results -
The results are no longer kept in individual folders, but are stored in a single results database file.

- For Speller this file is called "Sresults.v12"
- For Grammar this file is called "gresult.v12"
- For Typing this file is called "Tresults.v12"

This new results management system now allows classes as well as students. It also has printing and file exporting functions from the View Results section of the program, and provides more detail about actions and results than before.

Only having a single results file reduces the number of security and permissions issues that occur. Note that it also *creates* an issue, where every student must have read and write, and therefore delete access to the results file. This is an interesting situation. Neither Windows nor MacOS currently implement the Unix concept of the SUID flag. This means that the user can do anything, including delete the file by using the Mac Finder functions, or Windows Explorer. If they did, then potentially you could solve this issue, by setting the program executable to SUID phonicsadmin, which would allow anyone running the program to do things to the results file that the program was *meant* to do, such as occasionally deleting and rebuilding the results database, but stop the end user from actually removing the file using the operating system tools.

Basically, the decision was to stick them all into a single file, so that it makes the initial installation a bit easier. Besides, each site should be running some sort of backup service on a regular basis.

You *are* running a backup service on a regular basis aren't you?

Preferences -
The "preferences" file, or program information file contains a few more variables than the earlier programs. This file can be edited by using a text editor, but remember to make a backup before making any changes to it. Sometimes, you can edit this file manually to solve having to reinstall the software. Sometimes, you just have to reinstall. Alternatively, this file can be copied to a new machine, and perhaps edited in the case of advanced network configurations such as netboot clients.
Windows - System Windows folder
PA3 - The Speller! v2.0 PSpeller.ini
PA4 - Grammar! v2.0 PGramm.ini
PA6 - Typing! v1.1 P6Typing.ini

MacOS - System Preferences folder
PA3 - The Speller! v2.0 Speller Preferences
PA4 - Grammar! v2.0 Grammar Preferences
PA6 - Typing! v1.1 P6 Typing Preferences