Questions & Answers

• Does POD support Unix flavor other than Linux?
  For now, only FreeBSD is supported other than Linux. POD is currently compiled on Redhat Linux 7.2, kernel 2.4.7, using gcc 3.0.1.  Then again, FreeBSD and Linux are the two major Unix flavors used in commercial servers of those web hosting companies due to stability and cost concerns.
• How was POD for FreeBSD/Linux compiled?
  Current Linux package was compiled for i386 on Redhat 7.2, kernel 2.4.7 with gcc 3.0.1.  Current FreeBSD package was compiled for i386 on FreeBSD 4.5 with gcc 3.0.4.  Both run well on Apache 1.13.24.
• Can I embed HTML in Database fields?
  Yes, you can.  POD is html-safe, so to speak.
• Is there support for POD if I register?
  Support for POD is provided only when time permits.  It does not matter if you are registered or not.  I am proud to say that for nearly all the emails regarding POD that I received, I found time to reply to them, and most in a timely fashion.  Then again, a reply is not guaranteed!  So if you have a question, please try to read the documentation thoroughly (and check out Problems & Solutions section.  Don't forget you can also search POD documentation). If you still cannot understand some specific details of the documentation, you may send email to mingyiliu@yahoo.com (please write as precisely as you can as to what is the part that you did not understand and what you are trying to do.  There are simply too many mails with very little info about the problem, which makes it very hard to figure out what went wrong.  And most of the time it's not POD's problem).
• How do I register?
  Please read the License & Registration section.
• Do you accept credit card payments?
  Yes. But you must pay through paypal.  There is a link in License & Registration section.
• Where can I download the newest version of POD?
  Read Download section.
• I think I found a bug, how do I report?
  Please report any bug to mingyiliu@yahoo.com .
• I have a wish list about POD or this documentation, how do I contact?
  Again, please write to mingyiliu@yahoo.com (I am especially interested in knowing if there is anything that I can add to improve on this new documentation).
• Do you write custom-made cgi scripts?
  Currently, no.
• If I want more features for POD, can I send my request to you and will it be answered?
  Yes, you can always send a request to me at mingyiliu@yahoo.com .
• How often do you put out one upgrade version?
  That really depends. If I or any user found a serious bug, I would try patch it ASAP and put the new version up for download. For other situations, it really depends on my schedule and request frequency.
• 11 html files seems too many for me. Is there any way to reduce my writing effort?
  Yes. Starting with V5.04, two new link types are introduced --- "admin-index" and "user-index". The former one is especially useful. You can make an fldb-entry.html file that is a combination of fldb-add.html and fldb-search-user.html. Then you put a link like "Please click <a href="admin-index">here</a> to modify your entry" in sing-user.html (this link, when replaced by POD dynamically, will lead to sing-admin.html, which was previous only led to through multi-admin.html by fldb-search-user.html). This way you do not have to write fldb-search-admin.html, and you can get rid of multi-admin.html too. A total reduction of 3 files from the original 11 files. It may not sound much because you still have to write 8 files, but the aesthetic improvement could be siginificant. You can go to http://www.ming-yi.org/info.html for an example of this "admin-index" and "user-index" usage. The tags are found when you press "display all ads" link, then click on any individual ads, you'll see a display of an individual advertisement where there is a link on the bottom of the page that says "click here to ...". That link on "here" is an "admin-index" link.
• Can I rename the html files in fldb.zip, pod.zip, prod.zip etc.?
  The ones that are named xxx-add.html, xxx-search-user.html and xxx-search-admin.html can be renamed and placed anywhere on your web server.  The other html files cannot be renamed, and they can only be placed in a subdirectory of cgi-bin directory.
• Can you recommend some free web servers that I can use to run POD on?
  With the availability of POD for Unix, you should always think of Apache first when you try to find a free web server software to run on your own computer.  Apache is by far the mostly widely used web server (free or commercial) and is excellent.  It also has a windows version too.  Xitami is another cross-platform server that POD runs well on.  It is free and powerful.  For other Windows servers, you may refer to winfiles.com for NT servers and Win9x servers.  There are also a lot of web servers (some free) on download.com.  Sambar web server is a nice one.  Some user reported occasional problem of POD working on Sambar, yet I did not find any problem of POD 5.20 on Sambar 5.0.  Microsoft's Personal Web Server (PWS) is a bit too big and offers less feature, yet it runs OK and very easy to use. You can download PWS from Microsoft's web site (now MS might have taken its free download of PWS off, at least I can't find it any more).
• Can I run POD on a local computer without using the internet?
  Yes.  All you need to do is to install a web server on your machine (and learn to use it of course!), and then do everything exactly the same as you would do for using POD on the internet, with one exception: For web server's address in the .ini file and the .html files, you should use 127.0.0.1 as your web server address.  This is a special loopback address which will direct request to the server goes the local route without using the internet.
• What web servers or OS did you test for POD on?
  Any web server that supports binary (compiled) cgi scripts should be able to let POD run, if you configured the server and POD correctly.  If POD fails to run, check out Problems & Solutions section.  Chances are, you'll find your answer there.  In I have tested POD on Win98, NT4.0 and 2000, as well as Unix and Linux. The program runs on Microsoft IIS, PWS, and peer web service. It also runs on Sambar Web Server (V4.3 and up), Apache (V.1.3.12 and up), Xitami (V2.4 and up) and O'Reilly's WebSite Pro Server (V1.0 and up).
• Will I have access to source code if I register?
  No, sorry.
• Can POD run on Win3.11?
  If the web server is running on Win3.11, no.  If you are using a browser on Win3.11 to access a POD DB running on Win9x/NT/00, Unix/Linux, then it should be fine.
• Is there a way to let POD sort on a secondary sorting criteria in addition to the primary sorting item?
  No.  But this is a feature I am considering in the next major version of POD.
• Can I have more than one DB entry displayed per row?
  No.  This requirement seldom arises, but I recognize its importance.  It is a main feature to be added in the next major version of POD.