[Zope] Installing Zope as nonroot user (was: Zope-dev ZFormulator review...)

[Chris McDonough]

Oh wow.  Shows you how much I install from the binary release!

To my great shame, I'm not really all that sure why the binary release
install doc says (and emphasizes) that.  Installing the Zope binary
release as a nonroot user and using PCGI with Apache is very doable (I
just did it to make sure).  There's probably Something I Don't Know
related to FastCGI or maybe even another webserver (too many
variables!!).  Amos?

Personally, installing Zope as root kinda gives me the creeps.  I don't
like having to go reset the var directory and file permissions.  We seem
to get a lot of questions about this on the mailing list that get
glossed over by telling people to go reset the permissions on var and
the files contained within, but to me, it's simpler and more graceful
just to install Zope as the user under which you intend to run it
(usually "nobody") when intended inherited install directory permissions
permit.  One potential problem with installing Zope as a nonroot user
(I've run into it) is that when you set up an rc script to start Zope on
boot, because the rc script gets run as root, Zope goes pretty much
haywire for reasons which are nonobvious and that I didn't spend the
time to fully go figure out.  Suffice to say that (on Linux at least) it
doesn't work.

And while it might be inadvisable to disagree with, for example, Jim
Fulton (as he will *always* instantly reduce people of average
intelligence to a quivering mass of gel in a battle of programming
know-how or logic) or Amos Latteier (as he consistently demonstrates an
uncanny ability to be right about 100% of the time) or Martijn Pieters
(I think I've seen him be wrong *once* in a list message), I am just
another schlub.  Disagreeing with me is almost *always* a wise move.  :)
 
Patrick Phalen wrote:
> 
> [Chris McDonough, on Sat, 08 Jan 2000]
> :: So, while it seems advisable to untar Zope as a nonroot user (so your
> :: files don't end up getting owned by one of the Pelletier clan -- pretty
> :: funny!), I don't think it's a requirement to install Zope (via "python
> :: w_pcgi.py") as root if you want to serve Zope content from Apache using
> :: PCGI.  I've done the equivalent under Netscape Enterprise Server, too,
> :: and it works.  I haven't set up Zope using FastCGI, so I have to claim
> :: utter ignorance there.
> 
> Heh. OK, I think we're talking about two different uses of the word
> "install" (and far be it from me, btw, to disagree about Zope
> installation with someone who has "digicool.com" in their email
> address). ;>)  ... but ...
> 
> ... in my comment, I was simply reacting to the following
> excerpt from Zope/doc/INSTALL.txt:
> 
> """
> 4. In the Zope directory is a shell script named 'install'.
>    This script will configure your Zope installation.
> 
>    If you plan to use Zope with your existing web server
>    environment, the install script *should be run as root*!
> """
> 
> You had said, "This is a pretty good argument against installing Zope
> itself as the root user." and I was thinking that might mislead people.
> 


-- 
Chris McDonough
Digital Creations, Inc.
Zope - http://www.zope.org