Fix links to my homepage.

[worg.git] / blorgit.org

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#+TITLE:      Blorgit: Org-Mode based, git amenable, blogging engine
#+AUTHOR:     Eric Schulte
#+EMAIL:      schulte.eric at gmail dot com
#+LANGUAGE:   en
#+PRIORITIES: A C B
#+CATEGORY:   worg

# This file is the default header for new Org files in Worg.  Feel free
# to tailor it to your needs.

[[file:index.org][{Back to Worg's index}]]

* Introduction

Blorgit is a blogging engine which uses [[http://orgmode.org][Org-Mode]] for markup, runs on
the [[http://www.sinatrarb.com/][Sinatra]] mini web framework, and is amenable to posting and
maintenance through [[http://git-scm.com/][git]].  With the addition of a little [[http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/][Ruby]] blorgit
creates interactive web pages with [[http://orgmode.org][Org-Mode]].

** Features

[[file:images/blorgit/blorgit_features.png]]

1) *In Browser Editing* Org-mode files can be edited through the
     browser.  Upon submitting an edit the original org-mode file is
     overwritten and the web-page is re-exported.  Edits can be turned
     on off or with the =editable= [[* Changing Configuration Options][configuration option]] and can be
     password protected by setting the =auth= [[* Changing Configuration Options][configuration option]]
2) *Export to org-mode and LaTeX formats*  The raw *Org-mode* source,
     and *LaTeX* exports of all pages can be downloaded.
3) *Search* The search bar compares your search terms as a
   /perl-style/ regular expression (in most cases working just like a
   simple term search) against the org-mode source of each page
   returning a ranked list.  [[file:images/blorgit/blorgit_search.png]]
4) *Sidebar with Recent changes and Directory Listing* The top =N=
     recently edited pages, and/or directory listings can optionally
     be presented in a sidebar.  These are controlled through the
     =recent= and =dir_list= configuration options.
5) *Themes* The [[http://github.com/eschulte/blorgit_themes/tree/master][blorgit_themes]] git repository holds prepackaged
   themes for blorgit.  These can be applied to your installation
   using the supplied rake commands.  For a list of available themes
   run =rake themes= from the root of your blorgit installation.
   Please share any new themes you might
   create. [[file:images/blorgit/themes.png]]
6) *Comments in org-mode files* Pages can optionally be opened for
   comments, all comments will be stored in a special =* COMMENT
   Comments= outline header appended to the end of the org file.
7) *Git Synchronization* By setting the =git_commit= [[* Changing Configuration Options][configuration
   option]] to =true= blorgit can be made to automatically commit and
   push to a git repository after every comment or edit of an org-mode
   file.


* Getting Started (installation and use)

0) *Install Ruby*

   If you don't already have ruby installed on your system then you
   will need to install [[http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/][Ruby]] and [[http://rubygems.org/][Ruby Gems]] (Ruby's package managment
   system).*  Be sure to install Ruby 1.8 (should be default option)
   *not* Ruby 1.9.

1) *Install the Required Gems*

   #+begin_src sh
   sudo gem install rake sinatra haml sass activesupport
   #+end_src

2) *Install blorgit*

   #+begin_src sh 
   git clone git://github.com/eschulte/blorgit.git
   #+end_src

   Update the submodules of blorgit to provide file based persistence
   ([[http://github.com/eschulte/active_file/tree/master][active_file]]), org-mode interaction ([[http://github.com/eschulte/acts_as_org/tree/master][acts_as_org]]), and themes
   ([[http://github.com/eschulte/blorgit_themes/tree/master][blorgit_themes]]).

   #+begin_src sh 
   cd blorgit
   git submodule init
   git submodule update
   #+end_src

3) *Create Blogs Directory*

   Create a blogs directory (in =~/blogs/=) with the default
   configuration (To change the location of the blogs directory edit
   =blorgit.yml= in this directory).  Apply the default minimal theme
   (for a list of available themes run =rake themes=). The Emacs Server
   must have been started at least once as described under point 5.

   #+begin_src sh 
   rake new
   rake themes:default
   #+end_src

4) *Start Servers*
  - *Emacs Server*

    Starting your emacs server allows Emacs to act as a server which
    can then export org-mode file to html.  To do this we simply need
    to load the =org-interaction.el= file in =acts_as_org=.  You can
    do this by executing the following in emacs

   #+begin_src sh 
   M-x load-file /path/to/blorgit/backend/acts_as_org/elisp/org-interaction.el
   #+end_src

    or with the following shell command

   #+begin_src sh 
   emacs -l backend/acts_as_org/elisp/org-interaction.el
   #+end_src

  - *Web Server*

    Start your sinatra web server with the following command

   #+begin_src sh 
   ruby blorgit.rb
   #+end_src

5) *View in Browser*

   [[http://localhost:4567]]


* Additional Information
** Common Tasks
Ruby has its own make tool called [[http://rake.rubyforge.org/][Rake]].  For a list of the blorgit
rake commands run =rake -T= from the root of your blorgit
installation.  At the time of writing the available rake tasks are...

#+begin_src sh
$ rake -T
(in /Users/eschulte/src/blorgit)
rake exported:delete  # delete all temporary exported files
rake exported:list    # list all temporary exported files
rake index            # drop a minimal index page into /Users/eschulte/Site...
rake info             # return configuration information about the current ...
rake new              # create a new blorgit instance
rake themes           # list the available themes
rake themes:default   # a default theme, should serve as a good starting point
rake themes:food      # a food theme for my recipes
rake themes:org       # an org-mode theme featuring the folding unicorn
#+end_src

** Changing Configuration Options

The configuration is controlled through a [[http://www.yaml.org][YAML]] file located at
=blorgit.yml= in the base of your blorgit installation.  Configuration
variables can be used to control the *title*, *index page*,
*stylesheet*, the number of *recent entries* and *directory_listings*
shown in the sidebar, automatic synchronization with a *git*
repository, *commentability*, *editability* and optional *password
protection* for posting edits, .  The default configuration is...

#+name: configuration_options
#+begin_src sh 
--- 
title: Blorgit
index: index
style: stylesheet.css
recent: 5
dir_list: false
git_commit: false
commentable: true
editable: false
auth: 
- admin
- password
#+end_src

*** Directory Local Configuration
It is possible to specify configuration options for each individual
directories of your blorgit site.  To do so write the configuration
options you wish to specify to a file named =.blorgit.yml=.  These
options will be used when displaying files in the same directory as
the =.blorgit.yml= file.  This file follows the same format shown [[* Changing Configuration
 Options][above]].

** Git

If you're wondering where git comes in, initialize your new blogs
directory as a git repo, and post all future blogs, moderate comments
and commentability of blogs, and manage configuration through git.

#+begin_src sh 
cd ./blogs
git init
echo ".exported_*" > .gitignore # ignore export files created automatically by blorgit
git add .
git commit -a -m "initial commit"
#+end_src

** Change blogs directory

To change the location of the blogs directory see the =blorgit.yml=
global configuration file in the base of your blorgit directory.

** Deploying to a Remote Server

**** Thin web server
To run using the =run.ru= rackup file use a command like the following
(requires the =thin= gem =sudo gem install -v=1.0.0 thin=)

#+begin_src sh 
./run.ru -sthin -p4567
#+end_src

**** Deploying behind a url prefix
If you don't want blorgit to sit at the top level of your webserver,
but would rather is exist behind a url prefix set the =url_prefix=
variable in the run.ru file.

**** Remote Emacs Server
Blorgit requires a running Emacs to handle the actual export of
org-mode pages to html (through the =emacsclient= command).  This
requires that an instance of Emacs be left running on the remote
server, which I be problematic.  I use [[http://www.gnu.org/software/screen/][gnu-screen]] to start and detach
from this Emacs instance as follows...

1) ssh into your remote server
2) start your screen session with the =screen= command
   #+begin_src sh 
   screen
   #+end_src
3) cd to your blorgit directory
   #+begin_src sh 
   cd ~/src/blorgit
   #+end_src
4) start emacs loading the =org-interaction.el= file
   #+begin_src sh 
   emacs -l backend/acts_as_org/elisp/org-interaction.el
   #+end_src
5) optionally run your webserver through screen as well by 
   1) switching to a new screen window with =\C-a c=
   2) start your webserver
      #+begin_src sh 
      ./run.ru -sthin
      #+end_src
6) disconnect form screen leaving emacs and the webserver running with
   =\C-a d=
7) logoff from the server
8) at any later date you can log back into the server and reattach to
   the original screen session with
   #+begin_src sh 
   screen -r
   #+end_src

** Extending Blorgit
Simplicity and a small hackable code base were key goals in the
construction of blorgit.  The =blorgit.rb= file in the base of the
application contains all of the logic and html.  Any extensions should
be possible through modification of this single file.  For information
on the structure of this file, or on the framework on which it is run
see [[http://www.sinatrarb.com/][Sinatra]].
** Deploying on a Mac with Apache/Passenger Pane
A handy tool for hosting local sites on Mac OSX is the
[[http://www.fngtps.com/2008/06/putting-the-pane-back-into-deployment][Apache/Passenger Pane]].  This allows the setup and running of local
ruby web applications through a System Preferences Pane, and can be
used with blorgit.

1) First follow the installation instructions from [[http://www.fngtps.com/2008/06/putting-the-pane-back-into-deployment][putting-the-pane-back-into-deployment]].
2) clone blorgit to your =~/Sites= directory
   #+begin_src sh
   cd ~/Sites
   git clone git://github.com/eschulte/blorgit.git
   cd blorgit
   git submodule init
   git submodule update
   #+end_src
3) Create a public and tmp directory, and copy =run.ru= to =config.ru=
   to trick [[http://www.modrails.com/][Passenger]] into thinking blorgit is a [[http://rubyonrails.org/][rails]] application.
   #+begin_src sh
   mkdir public
   mkdir tmp
   cp run.ru config.ru
   #+end_src
4) rename the blorgit directory to the name of your local site (in my
   case "foods")
   #+begin_src sh
   cd ~/Sites
   mv blorgit foods
   #+end_src
5) Configure blorgit as you would normally  (see [[* Getting Started (installation and use)][Getting Started (installation and use)]])
6) Add your new blorgit site to Passenger Pane.

   [[file:images/blorgit/Passenger.png]]
7) Restart Apache
   #+begin_src sh
   sudo apachectl restart
   #+end_src
8) Point your browser at the url displayed in the Passenger Pane.
   
   [[file:images/blorgit/foods.png]]