Before you begin

The Football Basics software is server-based, hence it is slightly trickier to install than similar desktop software. There are several pieces of software that you should have installed and correctly configured on your server:

• Web server: Apache 1.3 or above, IIS 5 or above
• Web server OS: Windows XP, 2000, or Windows Server 2003
• MySQL database 4 or above
• PHP 4 or above

There are also several other criteria that you need to check before you can proceed with the installation procedure. You will need:

• an administrator account on the MySQL database with correct privileges to be able to create and insert into databases and tables as well as grant privileges to other users,
• the name of the server which runs the MySQL database
• permission to change the 'football_basics/tutor/Connections/' directory to be world-writable,
• JavaScript support enabled in your web browser.

It is not necessary for the MySQL database to be running on the same machine as the web server. However if MySQL is running on a separate server the above requirements also apply to this machine.

Preparing for installation

Copy the installer directory and its contents into the root directory of your website.

e.g. Under Windows and running IIS, copy the 'football_basics' folder into directory C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\

In order for the installer to be able to save the settings you provide it, it must write them to a file. This file will be stored in the directory 'football_basics/tutor/connections/', to which the installer must be able to write.

Using a web browser navigate to the install directory. This will start the installation, e.g.

The first screen of the installer is the welcome screen and reiterates the points raised above. Click next to continue with the installation.

Configuring the settings

This screen asks for a few pieces of information necessary to continue with the installation. You must enter the name of the server to connect to in order to access the MySQL database. You must also enter the name and password of the administrator account, so that the necessary database and tables can be created. You are also asked to choose a name for the database. The default name for the database is 'football_basics', which we recommend you use.

Confirming the settings

You are next asked to confirm the settings you have just provided. Please review these carefully as they are vital to the success of the installation.

Saving the settings

The settings you have just entered are saved to a file for future reference by the Football Basics program. Please note that the administor password is not stored in this file. If the saving of the file was successful (indicated by green tick marks ) click next to continue. If the save failed (indicated by a red cross ) it is most likely because the installer does not have permission to write to the directory. It is necessary to change the permissions on your chosen install directory to allow anybody to write to it.

Initalising the database

Now the installer creates the database where the Football Basics program will store its data. It also writes some initial data to it. If this part of the installation fails for any reason, you should check the following:

• The username you supplied is a valid user.
• The password for the username is correct.
• The user has the correct permissions to create databases and insert into tables.
• The user has the ability to grant privileges to other user accounts.
• The database with your chosen name does not already exist.

If the database already exists, you have the possibility to delete and re-initialise it. This should be considered with extreme caution as you will lose any question data that already exists.

Finishing the installation

The Football Basics database has now been setup.