Hi, I am new to XOOPS and I want to learn everything I need to know about it. I am trying to learn how to make a XOOPS database driven CMS site for my church. Just tell me everything I need to do to get started. Thanks!

xoops documentation will be a good start for you.

Xoops Documentation should cover everything you need to know, and if not, post here, and you are bound to get good answers and suggestions!

mhpalm,

You'll find a link top of XOOPS home page to download the latest version of Xoops. In the docs you'll find the min requirements that XOOPS needs to work. Check these againts your host to be sure XOOPS will run on that host server.

Once you get XOOPS up and running you'll need to pick modules. XOOPS has plenty of these. You'll likely need a news module of sorts. The latest news mod by hervert or smartfactory.ca will be what you're looking for. Other mods needed will depend on what you want to do.

Ask if your not sure.

don (el paso)

The other most important place for learning is the FAQ section - check 'beginners first steps' faq's!

But I don't understand still, do I need to have XOOPS on the main server for my site? if so how do I do that? or will it work on my regular computer?

Quote:

Do you want a website on the web? If so them you need to install XOOPS at your host server for your site provided by your webhost. You will need this webhost to offer you the minimum requirements for running XOOPS and you will need a username, database name, password and you will need to know your URL information as described in the installation document. This is the way you build a site to get poeple using it. You can keep the site 'closed' while you build it.
If you haven't already chosen a host then please take the time to look at the webhosting thread in the forum. You can't have a site ready for visitors without this.

You need to shop around and ask questions. Some host supply a 'cpanel' managament interface and an 'installer' called 'fantastico'...which may or may not offer the best version of XOOPS so be careful when you reach the point of installing XOOPS if you have these options that you only go for the recomended latest version of XOOPS - 2.0.14

If on the other hand you want to play with XOOPS on your local computer as you learn before going live to the web you can...use a 'local install' on your PC. This will give you the opportunity to learn about how it all works. Once you have it setup how you like it you can then go to the next step of installing XOOPS on your host server and uploading your files to it.

The best way to do this is to install a program on your PC that will give you the required programs for XOOPS - php, MySQL and a server (apache recomended)...There is an FAQ in beginners fist steps about local installs. I have tried WAMP5 and found it lacked how to install ready for XOOPS so I have drafted a tutorial for getting it installed on a local computer ready to install xoops. This document is not yet official and is in draft form - and can be found on the documentation website in documentation in progress. It is 'finished' to the point where you will have a server on your computer ready to go through the XOOPS installation steps. You can find it here

Now remember - doing a local install of xooops is buiding a website that only you will see - and perhaps members of your family. It is a place to learn and to play. If you muck it up it won;t matter - you can start over. For a world wide web site you will need a host.
HTH