Forums » Alpha Release Candidate

1. MarjorieMcLellan | Member

   9 months ago # | |

   Hi,

   We've just installed omeka on our server, but we're getting a parse error that says:

   "Parse error: syntax error, unexpected '{' in /home/daytonst/public_html/omeka/core.php on line 21"

   So far we've installed the omeka folder on our bluehost webserver and setup an empty database with a username and password and entered that information into the db.ini file. I checked to make sure mod_rewrite was enabled and it is. Also, all of the Omeka files have permissions set to either 0755 or 0644.

   Thank you for assistance with this.

   Marjorie McLellan

2. DaveLester | Omeka Developer

   9 months ago # | |

   Hi Marjorie,

   Thanks for posting this question on the forums. I’ve had my personal website hosted by Bluehost for several years, so I can hopefully point you in the right direction.

   Omeka uses PDO, which provides a data-access abstraction layer packaged with PHP and enabled by default. We need this to make the necessary database connections, edits, and additions. For some reason, Bluehost has a policy of disabling PDO on all their servers by default, but is willing to change the setting for users who need this functionality. At this time, Omeka requires PDO to run smoothly.

   It’s likely that you don’t PDO enabled already for your Bluehost account. To double check or make such a request, visit the Bluehost Helpdesk (http://helpdesk.bluehost.com/help) and open a ticket. Based upon my research, most if not all other shared hosts including Dreamhost keep PDO enabled; Bluehost remains an odd exception.

   The parse error you’re experiencing in the core file is related to the PDO connection, so I’d start troubleshooting there. However, without PDO a message should appear that says "could not find driver," rather than giving a fatal error. Is it possible you also edited the core file by accident, or removed one of the necessary quotes from the db.ini file? There shouldn’t be a parsing error, and I can’t replicate it. If it persists, we’ll have to dig a little deeper.

3. MarjorieMcLellan | Member

   9 months ago # | |

   Dave,

   Thanks for the quick reply. I got an interesting response to my help ticket inquiry. As you read this, keep in mind that my bluehost account was set up only 2 weeks ago and that the omeka application was the first thing that I tried to set up on it. I've backed it all up and ok'd migrating my account as proposed below. I thought you would like to have this information; I'll let you know how it goes.

   Margie
   ___________

   Marjorie,

   I have a different take on this issue. The reason you don't have PDO is because you've been with us so long that you still have a PHP4 server. All newer PHP5 servers come with PDO built-in. To confirm this, I just had an administrator try installing PDO, and he got this error:

   pecl/PDO requires PHP (version >= 5.0.3), installed version is 4.4.7

   We don't arbitrarily upgrade PHP4 servers to PHP5 because some older scripts are not compatible with PHP5. If you would like to try PHP5, we will move your account to a server with PHP 5 installed. Your site will be down up to 24 hours for DNS propagation. Also before we proceed with the move we want to make sure you have a backup of all your files because there is a small chance of data corruption with a server move. To proceed, please respond with the time to initiate the migration, as well as the password for your account OR the last 4 digits of your credit card, for verification purposes.

   Thank you,

   Roger Brown

4. MarjorieMcLellan | Member

   9 months ago # | |

   OK. I received this message from bluehost:
   Your account has been migrated to a server running PHP 5/ MySQL 5.

   Now, when I go to the page, http://www.daytonstories.org/omeka,
   It invites me to proceed with installing Omeka. However, the next screen says:

   "could not find driver"

   Margie

5. MarjorieMcLellan | Member

   9 months ago # | |

   I checked with our web designer. I've pasted his feedback below. I did read the omeka server requirements to a bluehost tech before setting up the account and he said that they were ok.

   Margie

   I put a file in your site that gives a list
   of everything you'd want to know about the version and configuration of php
   and related apps. Go here:

   http://daytonstories.org/phpinfo.php

   You'll see at the top that you now have php version 5.1.6. That may be the
   problem right there since the system requirements for Omeka call for version
   5.2.x or greater. The good news is that if you scroll down the page a bit,
   you will see that PDO is enabled. Also, the version of MySQL is up to snuff.

   So, my question for Omeka would be whether php version 5.1.6 could be the
   culprit. My question for Bluehost is whether they can host your site with
   php 5.2.x.

   By the way, php version 5.2.1 was released in February and the latest
   version is 5.2.5. The Bluehost guy said that upgrading the php version
   sometimes causes old scripts to break. So I wouldn't be surprised if they
   balk. But I sure hope they can accommodate you.

6. DaveLester | Omeka Developer

   9 months ago # | |

   Thanks for directly pasting your exchanges with Bluehost into the forum, I hope it will clarify this for others in the future.

   We currently list PHP 5.2.x as a system requirement, however we’re working on an overhaul of our database connections in the core code which will lower that requirement to 5.1.4 once completed – possibly by next month. Omeka should work on earlier versions, but there may be some bugs that may otherwise pop up. Our test environments have primarily been on 5.2.x, so it’d be helpful to hear from a variety of users who use PHP 5 but 5.1.x.

   The PHPinfo file is perfect – the first place I should have directed you. Other users who want to see a similar page should create a new php text file, with the following code:

   <?php phpinfo(); ?>

   You have PHP version 5 installed, however only the sqlite2 driver is listed as enabled. Omeka requires that the mysql driver be enabled. When contacting support, you can ask them to install the PDO_MySQL module. http://pecl.php.net/package/PDO_MYSQL

   Good luck!

7. MarjorieMcLellan | Member

   9 months ago # | |

   From Bluehost:
   This is now working. The extensions are not installed by default and they were not installed on the server so I installed them and edited your php.ini file accordingly.

   Brett
   Technical Support Specialist Level 3
   BlueHost.com
   888.401.4678

   Most questions can be answered by articles in our forum, knowledgebase, and video tutorials:
   Forum: http://www.bluehostforum.com
   Knowledgebase: http://helpdesk.bluehost.com/kb/
   Tutorials: http://www.bluehost.com/tutorials/
   Server Status: http://serverstatus.bluehost.com/
   When you have a new questions or issue, please open a new support ticket.

8. DaveLester | Omeka Developer

   9 months ago # | |

   Great to see this has been resolved. When I had a similar upgrade, Bluehost didn’t edit my php.ini file for me, so I had to manually make the following revisions:

   Replace: extension_dir = "./" with extension_dir = "/usr/lib/php/extensions/no-debug-non-zts-20050922/"
   Add: extension=pdo.so
   Add: extension=pdo_mysql.so

   Users who still see the parse error should double check they're using PHP5 -- earlier versions will spit out that error in RC3; we'll be adding in a check for this in future releases.

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