{"id":289,"date":"2009-09-24T15:34:31","date_gmt":"2009-09-24T15:34:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arg.tech\/?page_id=289"},"modified":"2009-09-24T15:34:31","modified_gmt":"2009-09-24T15:34:31","slug":"argdb-user-guide","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.arg.tech\/index.php\/research\/argdb\/argdb-user-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"ArgDB User Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

ArgDB can be used in one of two ways: you can either communicate with a public-facing database created on the server hosted here at the university, or you can deploy ArgDB installation on a server of your own. This guide will take you through both processes.<\/p>\n

Communicating with the UoD server<\/h2>\n

We host a public-facing database here at the university, which allows you to store AIF for use in your own applications, or just to contribute to a collaborative database of argumentation.<\/p>\n

Communication is via a RESTful API, using the following base URL:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/argdb.computing.dundee.ac.uk<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The following commands can then be appended to this URL (e.g. http:\/\/argdb.computing.dundee.ac.uk\/public_db<\/strong>). The return format is stated next to the description of the command<\/p>\n

Database Information (JSON<\/a>)<\/h3>\n

GET \/public_db<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Insert Argument (Plain-text ID number)<\/h3>\n

POST \/public_db<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Retrieve Argument (Argument Interchange Format)<\/h3>\n

GET \/public_db\/{argument_id}<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

(where {argument_id} is the ID of an argument stored in the database)<\/p>\n

Deploying your own instance<\/h2>\n

ArgDB is available for download (coming soon!), meaning you can deploy your own instance.<\/p>\n

At present, the software requires both MySQL and Apache CouchDB regardless of your intended deployment size. However, work is underway on a version that provide the option of an internal storage solution, allowing small-scale deployments to take place without requiring external software.<\/p>\n

The following guide assumes that you have set up both MySQL<\/a> and CouchDB<\/a> as per the instructions on the relative websites. It also assumes you have set up a MySQL user with SPECIAL permissions (i.e. permission to CREATE and DROP database schemas).<\/p>\n

Installation<\/h3>\n

(Note: at present, we only provide an installation script for Debian-based Linux systems. However, being Java-based, ArgDB can run on most popular operating systems, including Microsoft Windows)<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Upload the ‘argdb’ folder to a folder on your server<\/li>\n
  2. In a terminal window, navigate into this folder<\/li>\n
  3. Run the following command:
    \n

    sudo chmod 777 install.sh<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

  4. Run:
    \n

    sudo .\/install.sh<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    ArgDB should now be installed. To test, open up a web browser and visit:<\/p>\n

    http:\/\/<your-server-IP>:8182\/<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    If the installation has been successful, you will see a page with a link leading to a configuration screen. Click this link.<\/p>\n

    Configuration<\/h2>\n

    On the configuration screen, enter your database connection parameters and ArgDB is ready to use.<\/p>\n

    The following sections of this guide all require you to be on the page:<\/p>\n

    http:\/\/<your-server-IP>:8182\/_utils<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    Creating a Database<\/h2>\n

    Databases are created from the main page of ArgDB. You have two parameters: a name and a password.<\/p>\n

    Name<\/strong> – this is required, and will be used to identify the database. It cannot contain spaces<\/p>\n

    Password<\/strong> – this is optional and used to provide a basic level of authentication for applications that POST to the database<\/p>\n

    Deleting a Database<\/h2>\n

    To delete a database, click “[Delete]” next to its name in the database listing.<\/p>\n

    Viewing Database Information<\/h2>\n

    To view information about a database (in JSON format), click its name in the database listing. This includes information about:<\/p>\n