Re: [Arches] Falling at first hurdle, then the next, then the next.

[Adam Cox]

Hello, the error you found won't be especially difficult to overcome, but it does sound like perhaps you may like to just try out the demo installation that you can get to from the archesproject.org home page?

To handle the error, you'll need to activate your virtual environment, as described in step 3 of the installation guide you linked to.

Hope that helps!

Adam

On Wed, Apr 10, 2019 at 2:01 PM 'Researcher' via Arches Project <arches...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

Hi all,

I've been struggling through trying to install Arches all day today (historian background, not IT professional!) and I thought I was getting somewhere reaching the point where it told me Arches had been installed (in Windows command prompt) but even our IT support are unable to get very far beyond that. Anyone got any advice? Is there a simpler way? I just wanted to try out the software, not get a degree in coding before I had even seen what it looked like.

I tried to run step 7 on the install guide: https://arches.readthedocs.io/en/stable/installation/

but it says you need elasticsearch running. I tried to install elasticsearch from the "easiest way" (dread to think what the hard way looks like) as per below:

The easiest way to install Elasticsearch is to use a command that comes with Arches. Once you have installed Arches (either with pip or from the Arches repo), activate your virtual environment, enter your app/project root directory (the one that contains manage.py), run

python manage.py es install

Elasticsearch will be installed in the root folder. You can specify an alternate destination for the installation by using the -d argument. For example

python manage.py es install -d C:\Projects

will result in a new directory C:\Projects\elasticsearch-5.2.1 from which you’ll be able to run Elasticsearch.

I tried this and got the following:

(ENV) C:\Users\FIMNT\my_project>python manage.py es install
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "manage.py", line 27, in <module>
    from django.core.management import execute_from_command_line
ImportError: No module named django.core.management

Obviously I or the software have done something wrong but I've spent the entire day working like this with every single step having some kind of problem and our IT support service is also struggling to see why it's having so many issues.

Anyone able to guide us through in a simpler way, enlighten me past this step and onto the next error or should I give up on Arches now seeing as it's taken me a day and I can't even install it, yet alone set it up or operate it?

Thanks,

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[Ben O'Steen]

Sorry to hear that you have had trouble! If you just want to test it out, I agree with Adam that the demo installation is a good option. The direct link to that is http://v4demo.archesproject.org/

Ben

[Alexei Peters]

It looks like you have your virtual environment activated, but some of your dependencies might be missing (django perhaps).  

When you installed Arches did you use this command:

pip install arches --no-binary :all:

If you just ran "pip install arches" then you'll be missing all of your dependencies.

Hopefully that's the issue.

Cheers,

Alexei

Director of Web Development - Farallon Geographics, Inc. - 971.227.3173

[Adam Cox]

Hi,

I just tried those exact steps locally on my laptop, and everything actually worked just fine. It's very strange that django (and presumably other python dependencies) do not get installed along with Arches for you. Try this, with the virtualenv activated:

pip install ENV\Lib\site-packages\arches\install\requirements.txt

As for the demo site, I hadn't actually signed up for it myself yet, so I did now to check it out. You can create a new account by going to the login page and clicking "Create a new account". With an account, you are able to log in and create new resources, and within 2-3 days you will be granted access to the RDM (Reference Data Manager) so you can see how controlled vocabularies are managed. However, it doesn't seem like there is anywhere for you to gain access to the Arches Designer, which is the portion of the app that allows you to create new resources models. If this is the part of the app that you are wanting to see, please get in touch with me directly and I can set something up for you.

As for existing implementations of Arches, you can see a list here: https://www.archesproject.org/implementations-of-arches/ though the only one that is version 4 (the current version of Arches) is the one at the bottom of the list (Heritage Monitoring Scouts).

Other v4 installations not on that list:

https://www.globaldigitalheritage.org/

http://hk.legiongis.com and http://yg.legiongis.com

Cheers,

Adam

On Thu, Apr 11, 2019 at 9:37 AM 'Researcher' via Arches Project <arches...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

I've tried again today and the following is the entire process I've been through to the same point - is anyone able to help?

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.17134.1]
(c) 2018 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Users\FIMNT>mkdir Projects && cd Projects

C:\Users\FIMNT\Projects>pip install virtualenv
DEPRECATION: Python 2.7 will reach the end of its life on January 1st, 2020. Please upgrade your Python as Python 2.7 won't be maintained after that date. A future version of pip will drop support for Python 2.7.
Requirement already satisfied: virtualenv in c:\python27\lib\site-packages (16.4.3)

C:\Users\FIMNT\Projects>virtualenv ENV
New python executable in C:\Users\FIMNT\Projects\ENV\Scripts\python.exe
Installing setuptools, pip, wheel...
done.

C:\Users\FIMNT\Projects>ENV\Scripts\activate

(ENV) C:\Users\FIMNT\Projects>pip install arches --no-binary :all:
DEPRECATION: Python 2.7 will reach the end of its life on January 1st, 2020. Please upgrade your Python as Python 2.7 won't be maintained after that date. A future version of pip will drop support for Python 2.7.
Collecting arches
  Using cached https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/a2/53/d96a12dea3e0aaea9084ab7275ccc56192e07c6a822ca9065a82fbc27b2f/arches-4.4.1.tar.gz
Skipping bdist_wheel for arches, due to binaries being disabled for it.
Installing collected packages: arches
  Running setup.py install for arches ... done
Successfully installed arches-4.4.1

(ENV) C:\Users\FIMNT\Projects>python ENV\Scripts\arches-project create my_project

Traceback (most recent call last):

  File "ENV\Scripts\arches-project", line 12, in <module>
    import django
ImportError: No module named django

(ENV) C:\Users\FIMNT\Projects>

I've looked at the demo but I'm keen to see a working example of it (if anyone knows of one online and running?) and also to see how it is to actually use. I assume there is a point where you get past the maze of installation and get to an interface that you can actually use and alter, so I'd like to reach that point if possible.
Has no-one else had issues installing?

Thanks,

[Alina Myklebust]

Hello,

 

Thank you for connecting here on the Arches Forum and thanks to everyone who has responded to the install questions so far.   I understand you may be looking into the Arches demo site and public implementations suggested by Adam Cox.  As others have mentioned, that’s a great place to start.  

 

Regarding installation of Arches, generally, it does require a certain level of technical skills and experience.  If you find that your good efforts don’t result in a successful install, I recommend working with an IT service provider familiar with setting up an enterprise level system like Arches.  In addition to the install, you may also need support with basic configuration and customization depending on your intended use. 

 

Also, it would be very helpful for us, if you introduced yourself and told us more about your project. One of our community members started a signing-in post and you can find it here: 

https://groups.google.com/d/msg/archesproject/K8LGizXh1a0/TAIyXMYmwgUJ

 

If possible, I may be able to connect you to someone who has undergone an implementation similar to the one you are considering and that can be very helpful in your assessment process.

 

Thanks for your interest in Arches and I look forward to hearing more about your project! 

 

Alina

Arches Project Team

The Getty Conservation Institute

On Thursday, April 11, 2019 at 8:34:33 AM UTC-7, Adam Cox wrote:

Hi,

I just tried those exact steps locally on my laptop, and everything actually worked just fine. It's very strange that django (and presumably other python dependencies) do not get installed along with Arches for you. Try this, with the virtualenv activated:

pip install ENV\Lib\site-packages\arches\install\requirements.txt

As for the demo site, I hadn't actually signed up for it myself yet, so I did now to check it out. You can create a new account by going to the login page and clicking "Create a new account". With an account, you are able to log in and create new resources, and within 2-3 days you will be granted access to the RDM (Reference Data Manager) so you can see how controlled vocabularies are managed. However, it doesn't seem like there is anywhere for you to gain access to the Arches Designer, which is the portion of the app that allows you to create new resources models. If this is the part of the app that you are wanting to see, please get in touch with me directly and I can set something up for you.

As for existing implementations of Arches, you can see a list here: https://www.archesproject.org/implementations-of-arches/ though the only one that is version 4 (the current version of Arches) is the one at the bottom of the list (Heritage Monitoring Scouts).

Other v4 installations not on that list:

https://www.globaldigitalheritage.org/

http://hk.legiongis.com and http://yg.legiongis.com

Cheers,

Adam

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[Adam Cox]

You must add that line to the settings file that is mentioned in the docs: my_project\my_project\settings_local.py.

The difficulties you are encountering do indicate to me that there are some things we could improve about the installation steps. However, it is difficult to clearly document the installation of what is actually server-level software but is also expected to work on local laptops/lab computers.

Adam

On Friday, April 12, 2019 at 10:13:54 AM UTC-5, Researcher wrote:

Latest update:

I've been messing around again and managed to get back to the 'Arches installed stage' and even created a project (step 5), and lo and behold step 6 has also thrown up an issue.

Firstly, I don't understand what any of this means:
"Before you continue, you may need to open my_project\my_project\settings_local.py and change some environment-specific settings.

• Depending on your Postgres/PostGIS installation, you may need to uncomment the DATABASES section and change the username and password, as well as the name of your PostGIS template database. If you will have multiple Arches projects using the same Postgres server, make sure to change the database name here as well."
  
  BUT I've tried the second part of step 6 and come up with this now too:
  

(ENV) C:\Users\FIMNT>GDAL_LIBRARY_PATH = "C:\OSGeo4W64\bin\gdal204.dll"
'GDAL_LIBRARY_PATH' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

Any more thoughts from anyone on this one, so I can get to stage 7 and see what new problems that has?
(in simple/step-by-step terms, ideally)

[Dennis Wuthrich]

Hello Researcher.

I'm sorry that you're having such a difficult time installing Arches.  And I get that it's very frustrating when you keep seeing errors at each step.  However, please keep a few things in mind:

1. The Arches development team is not trying to make it hard for you to use the software.  However, it is sophisticated technology and we assume that people installing Arches have appropriate IT experience

2. There are many reasons your specific computer might not have installed the software properly.  That is, the problem might be your machine configuration, not necessarily Arches

3. Arches has been installed successfully many times by many people all over the world.  It can be done!

I've heard from several members of the Arches community, and there is a concern that the tone in your posts requesting help is a bit off-putting and not in line with the Arches community's guidelines.  Please have a look at https://www.archesproject.org/code-of-conduct/ to review our code of conduct.  Many of the people trying to help you have invested a lot of effort in building the software, and many volunteer their time to help community members like you who ask for assistance.

Cheers,

Dennis

[Researcher]

Hi Dennis and Adam (and all),

Thanks for your responses and I apologise if I've come across as unproductive or critical, it was not my intention and I did not intend to cause any offense - I do appreciate that many people have used Arches well, it is amazing that it is offered free and that these issues do seem to be specific to my system.
Looking back, I can see now that some of my comments could have been interpreted in a way other than the jest in which they were meant - I have a sarcastic nature, but it's so often lost in text and I'll keep it in check.

I do appreciate the time and effort that people are going to in order to help me and others (often in their own time) and I imagine there are now similar levels of frustration around albeit for very different reasons.

I've had some very encouraging messages from several members of the community and I'm glad to see that Arches is a popular platform used by many. I know I am operating way out of my level of expertise but I was hoping that we could still pursue Arches with appropriate support, but I accept that it may just be the case that we need to look elsewhere for our particular circumstances. I'll spend some more time this week seeing if I can get anywhere with it (and seeing what our IT support can do). I'd appreciate any more assistance that the community can offer along the way.

Thanks,

[Alina Myklebust]

Hello,

We appreciate your response and thank you for clarifying.  It may be helpful to share this Implementation Considerations page with your IT support: https://www.archesproject.org/implementation-considerations/

Also, if you decide to source additional support, you will find experienced Arches service providers here:  https://www.archesproject.org/service-providers/

The community forum is a welcoming space and many new Arches developments are a result of the collaborative work of community members.  You are welcome to participate here and we hope you continue to pursue your evaluation of Arches.  Please introduce yourself next time.  Thank you.

All the best,

Alina

[Martha S]

Researcher,

I hope you've conquered your install difficulties, but I have one more bit of information that might help. Two of us who were doing 4.4.1 installs on fresh machines ran into similar issues with missing modules. Colin Wu shared his discovery that pip needs to be upgraded both before you enter your virtual environment and again after. That worked for me and the install went very smoothly after that. 

Hope that helps,

Martha

[Alexei Peters]

Thanks Martha for mentioning that!  We should make sure to add that bit of information to our documentation.

Director of Web Development - Farallon Geographics, Inc. - 971.227.3173

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