(r27) TWikiSystemRequirements - TWiki

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---# TWiki System Requirements

_Server and client requirements for TWiki 01-Feb-2003 (pending release)_

Low client and server requirements are core features that keep TWiki widely deployable, particularly across a range of browser platforms and versions.

---++ Server Requirements

TWiki is written in Perl 5, uses a number of shell commands, and requires [[http://www.gnu.org/software/rcs/rcs.html][RCS (Revision Control System)]], a GNU Free Software package. TWiki is developed in a basic Linux/Apache environment. It also works with Microsoft Windows, and should have no problem on any other platform that meets the requirements.

| *Required Server Environment* |||
| *Resource* | *Unix* | *Windows** |
| Perl |  5.005_03 or higher (5.6.1 recommended, <br /> 5.8.0 *not* recommended yet, see TWiki:Codev.UsingPerl58OnRedHat8)  ||
| Non-standard Perl modules |  =Net::SMTP= (or =sendmail=)  |  =Net::SMTP=, =MIME::Base64=, =Digest::SHA1=  |
| RCS |  5.7 or higher (including GNU =diff=) %BR% Optional, but the all-Perl RCS replacement is not currently recommended for live sites - see TWiki:Codev.RcsLite.  ||
| GNU =diff= |  GNU =diff= 2.7 or higher is required when not using the all-Perl <nop>RcsLite.  %BR% Install on PATH if not included with RCS (check version with =diff -v=)  ||
| Other external programs |  =ls, fgrep, egrep=  ||
| Cron/scheduler |  =cron=  | =cron= equivalents |
| Web server |  Apache 1.3 is well supported; Apache 2.0 is *not* recommended yet (see TWiki:Support.FailedAuthenticationWithApache2OnWinNT). %BR% For other servers, CGI support, authentication, extended path required  ||

%X% *** _Current documentation mainly covers Linux and Apache installations. See WindowsInstallCookbook for a Windows installation guide.  See TWiki:Codev.TWikiOn for help with installation on various platforms including Unix, <nop>MacOS X, Apache =mod_perl=, web hosts, etc._

#ClientRequirements
---++ Client Requirements

The TWiki [[TWikiInstallationGuide][standard installation]] has extremely low browser requirements:

   * HTML 3.2 compliant
   * generates XHTML 1.0 pages that are compatible with HTML 3.2
   * minimal use of <nop>JavaScript in the user interface (degrades gracefully)
   * no cookies
   * no CSS

You can easily add functionality, by customizing TWikiTemplates, for one, while tailoring the browser requirements to your situation. 

---++ Known Issues

   * The TWikiPlugins feature currently does not have compatibility guidelines for developers. Plugins can require just about anything -  browser-specific functions, stylesheets (CSS), Java applets, cookies, specific Perl modules,... - check the individual Plugin specs.
      * %H% Plugins included in the TWiki distribution do not add requirements.
 
-- MikeMannix - 12 Jan 2002