README - Slash Readme

- NAME
- DESCRIPTION
- DOCUMENTATION
- LINKS
- COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
- VERSION

# NAME

README - Slash Readme

# DESCRIPTION

Slash -- Slashdot Like Automated Storytelling Homepage -- is the code that runs Slashdot. More than that, however, Slash is an architecture for putting together web sites. It comes with functionality for posting articles, conducting polls, having discussions, and more; but it can be extended in innumerable ways.

Slash is written in Perl, and is built on top of Apache and mod_perl. It requires a database backend, though the only well-supported database used with it is MySQL (more databases will become well-supported as time goes on; PostgreSQL support is already well on its way). Slash is fast, scalable, and secure (as evidenced by one of the best test cases you could have, running Slashdot itself).

Through a plugin system, developers can add functionality to Slash. Through themes and templates (which are written using Template Toolkit), the look and feel of a Slash site can be customized.

See INSTALL for information about installing Slash, including hardware and software requirements. Read that document carefully, and follow the instructions as precisely as possible.

Also see INSTALL for information on upgrading from previous versions of Slash.

As noted in the FAQ, please send any bug reports, and subscribe to mailing lists, at Slash's SourceForge.net site.

            http://sf.net/projects/slashcode/

# DOCUMENTATION

The .pod documentation included with Slash can be read with the `perldoc` program, included with perl, or translated using one of the many `pod2*` translators.

The documentation is also available online on the Slash FAQ.

Slash FAQ
  Basic information about Slash, how to contact the developers, and a lot more.

  http://slashcode.com/faq.shtml

Template Toolkit (version 2)
  For more information on how to write templates, see the Template Toolkit site.

  http://www.template-toolkit.org/

RSS
  For more information on RSS 1.0, and the RSS Slash module.

  http://purl.org/rss/1.0/
  http://slashcode.com/rss/1.0/modules/Slash/

Installation
  The details on how to install, and upgrade, Slash.

  INSTALL

API
  The details of the API available in Slash.

              perldoc Slash
              perldoc Slash::Utility
              perldoc Slash::Display
              perldoc Slash::DB

  The modules represent the bulk of the public API of Slash. The other Slash modules have embedded POD to be read with perldoc, too. Some of the documentation here is woefully incomplete.

              use Source 'Luke';

HOWTOs
  There are currently the beginnings of HOWTO documents for templates, plugins, and themes.

  docs/HOWTO-Plugins.pod

  docs/HOWTO-Templates.pod

  docs/HOWTO-Themes.pod

Schema
  The layout and description of the database. [These are out of date.]

  docs/slasherd.fig

  docs/slasherd.ps

  docs/slashtables.pod

Other
  The slashguide document (previously called getting_started) helps you get your feet wet and gives vital information for how to run a Slash site.

  docs/slashguide.pod

  themes/slashcode/htdocs/slashguide.shtml

Authors
  The authors and contributors of Slash.

  AUTHORS

# LINKS

Slashdot
  The site that started it all.

  http://slashdot.org/

Slash
  The main site for Slash.

  http://slashcode.com/

CVS
  The main CVS repository.

  http://cvs.slashcode.com/

SourceForge.net Site
  Access to the code, bug reports, patches, mailing lists, and more.

  http://sf.net/projects/slashcode/

# COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

The information below applies to everything in this distribution, except where noted.

Copyright 1997-2001 by Open Source Development Network.

            http://www.osdn.com/

Slash is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

Slash is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with Slash (COPYING); if not, go to http://www.fsf.org/ or write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.

# VERSION

$Id: README.html,v 1.16.2.5 2001/11/07 16:17:16 pudge Exp $