Custom 0.7.1 ------

custom is an e-commerce solution for small to medium-sized businesses that provides: - a customisable web front-end for customers and Point-of-Sale staff to place orders - for warehouse staff to manage stock - for accountants and sales staff to manage and generate invoices - for purchasing managers to keep track of suppliers and competitive pricing.

Download --------

http://sf.net/projects/custom

OS Requirements ---------------

Custom is a pure Python application. Therefore it is entirely your choice as to what OS you use, but it must obviously run python (see http://python.org). Python is known to run on Linux, all version of Unix, all the BSDs, BEOS, MAC/OS 10, and many others.

Additional Features -------------------

The major changes since 0.6 are the inclusion of product reconciliation scripts. Stock from multiple suppliers results in products with the same name: the database becomes quickly unmanageable...

The major changes since 0.5 are the use of HTML templates which may be modified at the webmaster's discretion, independent of the source code.

Security Considerations (Internet use only) -----------------------

Please note that if you intend to put Custom on an Internet Server that you should consult with a security expert regarding your implementation, paying particular attention if you are in the UK to the Data Protection Act.

Your choice of OS and your implementation of Custom should reflect your willingness to ensure that your customers' confidentiality (and credit card details) is protected from hackers.

In other words, being blunt and spelling it out: please don't install Custom on a default installation of Windows with no security patches, no firewall, and then expect it to stay up on the Internet without getting hacked.

Your data is ENTIRELY your responsibility. By Law.

Software Requirements ---------------------

This package requires or uses some additional software packages, which can all be obtained as RPMs, Debian Packages or compiled from Source if you feel the need. At each site, RPMs, DEBs and source are all typically available for download.

RPMs can be found using rpmfind.net; Debian packages can be found using apt-cache search <packagename>, using dselect or going to debian.org; and the Source packages are available individually at the URLs shown below.

You should always ensure that, if you are putting Custom on an Internet Server, that the latest security fixes have been applied (on an on-going basis), and that you keep up-to-date with security alerts, e.g. from bugtraq and NTbugtraq.

Of particular note is that if you wish to use a separate SQL database server, then obviously you need to install the client-side SQL access software on the Custom server, but you will clearly not need to install the SQL server software on the same machine.

You will need:

- An up-to-date web server capable of SSL (if you need it) and also capable of running CGI-bin scripts. e.g. Apache2 (http://apache.org)

- Python 2.1 or greater (http://python.org)

- the pysqldb package version 0.5 or greater (http://sf.net/projects/pysqldb)

- EITHER:

- MySQL client libraries (http://mysql.org)

- Andy Dustman's MySQLdb package (requires MySQL client) (http://sf.net/projects/mysqldb)

OR:

- Pysxqmll (a Python / MS-SQL / XML client for MS-SQL 2000) (http://sf.net/projects/pysxqmll) [what a stupid name.]

- The mxDateTime and DateTime packages (http://starship.skyport.net/~lemburg/mxDateTime.html)

- PyCrypto version 1.9a1 or greater (http://sf.net/pycrypto)

- Python HTML-TMPL (generates HTML from templates)

In case you were wondering, PostgreSQL and SAPdb are under investigation to be added into the database abstraction system that custom uses.

custom uses some features in the SocketServer class that were introduced in Python 2.1.

If you wish to stick with Python 2.0, you may wish to copy over the SocketServer.py file from the distribution of Python 2.1 or greater, and use that (making sure that you back up your original SocketServer.py file!)

Debian install ------

It's a lot easier if you are using Debian: here is a list of the package names. It'll be even easier once the Debian packaging is released.

- python-crypto - python-egenix-mxdatetime - python-mysqldb - python-htmltmpl - apache or apache2

If you install the three python packages using apt-get or dselect, that should be enough to pull in all the dependencies (including Python 2.2 and MySQL)

The development of the debian "custom" package is presently underway.

SQL ---

You must also install MySQL or MS-SQL 2000 on a server, where you may wish to install the SQL server on a separate system.

If you do so, as noted above you will need to put the MySQL or MS-SQL client libraries onto the Custom Server and

For various reasons, a high-availability cluster pair is recommended for your SQL system, under which circumstances, if you are considering HA, you CAN install the custom package on the same box as the SQL database - if you know what you are doing (otherwise, run only one Custom server and use a separate SQL cluster).

You WILL be able to run the Back Office program monitord.py, on a HA cluster, because it is designed to cope with several concurrent copies of monitord.py running off the same SQL server.

Optional requirements ---------------------

A barcode scanning device, such as those available from Worth Data (www.pcbarcode.com) that reads EAN and other barcodes and pretends to be a USB keyboard, proves to be very useful.

If you are running Linux, install the full HID USB device module and the Input Device and Keyboard support modules:

CONFIG_INPUT=m CONFIG_INPUT_KEYBDEV=m CONFIG_USB_HID=m

Do not be fooled into installing the partial HID USB keyboard device (CONFIG_USB_KBD) on its own, because it won't work, you MUST install the full HID support.