Talk:Main Page

new front page comments

• use icosahedron logo for hosting
• keep WW icon for introduction -- but this is really more overview for everyone not an introduction for Instructors -- move this up to document section?
• replace "introduction" in instructor section with "quick start" and point and/or create a quick start page in Category:Instructors
• get person photo for Category: instructors? -- something with color -- other ideas

Complete set of docs

Found on the TWiki:

As far as I can tell, the "complete" set of documentation for WeBWorK should consist of the following:

• a description of webwork for the student, professor, and administrator
• system requirements (in the installation manual)
• installation instructions (installation manual)
• configuration instructions
  • basic configuration is in installation manual
  • a comprehensive list of course environment variables is now in the comments of global.conf and database.conf, but needs to be made accessible. convert to POD?
  • Constants.pm has POD docs, but they have to get put on the wiki
  • the NETPBM stuff is in the installation manual (but really should go away!!!)
• task-oriented usage instructions
  • admin tasks (like course creation)
    • course admin tasks
  • instructor tasks
  • student tasks
• command line script documentation
• library reference (this is/will be POD)
• pg language reference
  • basics
  • cookbook techniques
  • standard macro packages and modules (some of this exists in POD form on Frontier site)
  • extending pg
• how to get support
• contributing to the webwork project (patches, donations, etc)

(this list originally from Message-ID: <20031001034004.A92569@gate.math.rochester.edu>)

-- Main.SamHathaway - 10 Nov 2003

Docs on webhost that are still valuable

Found on the TWiki:

There is quite a bit of documentation written for WebWorK 1.x. Some of it is still applicable to WeBWorK 2, including:

• The educational goals of WeBWorK
• Comparing WeBWorK to CAPA
• How students use WeBWorK
• How instructors use WeBWorK
• Managing a WeBWorK course
• PG language reference

-- Main.SamHathaway - 24 Aug 2004

Community links

link to old google map Google map of WeBWorK server sites

old table of server sites WeBWorK server sites

form for adding a site:

http://wwrk.maa.org/wiki/WeBWorK_Sites_Form

Fixing authentication

Right now

• Moodle database is used, a bunch of boondoggle to connect it to MediaWiki (sso in Moodle and AuthMoodle.php (which sucks) in MW.
• MediaWiki fails! when trying to create MW user record on first login.

I want

• Primary user database is on MediaWiki (with passwords in MW usesalt format)
• Moodle creates user record from MW data
  • Can I get Moodle to require the additional required fields that it doesn't get from MW?
• Moodle authenticates against MW password
  • any issue with usesalt?
• Do this with Moodle's built-in "external database authentication"

— Sam 15:08, 6 March 2008 (EST)

Notes

• External database authentication ALMOST supports this
• passtype is used to transform the password string before checking it against the DB.
• Could add a type for usesalt MD5, but it would have to be a change to the EXECUTE line, since it needs to grab the MW user_id field to use in the hashing.
• Moodle internal password checking accepts:
  • md5($password.$CFG->passwordsaltmain) (passwordsaltmain is empty by default)
  • md5($password)
• Also looks at 20 "alternative salts" (whatever they are) but then updates the hashed password to use the current main salt. i assume the alternate salts are previous values for the main salt.
• See moodle/auth/db/.
• Bigger problem: transitioning passwords from Moodle to MediaWiki. I think we're OK as long as Moodle's "main salt" is empty and we turn off $wgPasswordSalt in MW.

Testing

• Wrote script to import password data to mediawiki (and update realname/email).
• Imported password data for accounts 'sam' (wiki user name 'Sam') and 'samtest0' (wiki user name 'Samtest0').
• Enabled "External database" auth. in Moodle and disabled "Email-based self-registration".
• Set "Username field" to "LOWER(user_name)"
• Need to switch each Moodle user from auth='email' to auth='db' (leave 'admin', 'guest', ... as 'manual')

Transition

1. MOODLE: disable "email-based self reg"
2. MOODLE: set password for "admin" account to known value
3. MOODLE: set auth type for all accounts except "admin" and "guest" to "db"
4. MW: Disable AuthenMoodle and friends
5. MW: Turn off $wgPasswordSalt
6. MW: Add/modify accounts from Moodle
7. MW: test local login using added and modified accounts
8. MOODLE: enable "external database" authentication
9. MOODLE: configure it -- remember LOWER(user_name) for username field
10. MOODLE: test login
11. MW: create a new account
12. MOODLE: test login of that new account