Developing myRobogals on Windows

Here's how to install a local development copy of myRobogals on Windows.

Install Python and Django

We currently use Django 1.3 with Python 2.6. For maximum compatibility with the server, it's recommended that you use these versions too. You also need the "pytz" package.

1. Install Python for Windows
2. Download Django 1.3 (get the .tar.gz file) from http://www.djangoproject.com/download/
3. Unzip it using 7-Zip
4. Open a command shell with administrator privileges and run this command in the Django directory: python setup.py install
5. Django is now installed.
6. Repeat the steps 3 & 4 for pytz, which can be downloaded from http://pypi.python.org/pypi/pytz/#downloads (again get the .tar.gz file)
7. Also repeat steps 3 & 4 for django_extensions, which can be downloaded from http://pypi.python.org/pypi/django-extensions/#downloads

Check out the myRobogals repository

Fork the myRobogals repository from Github to create your own copy of it, then check out that copy. The following pages may be helpful:

Github: Set up git

Github: Fork a repo

myRobogals repo

Create the settings file

In the "myrobogals" directory inside the "myrobogals" directory (yes you read that correctly), copy the file "settings.py.sample" to "settings.py"

Edit the file and fill in the path to your myRobogals directory at the top of the file.

Create the database and import sample data

If you leave the myRobogals sample settings as-is, Django will simply create an SQLite database for you when you execute the following command in the "myrobogals" directory (the same one that has settings.py in it). It will also import the sample data, which includes a few chapters and members.

python manage.py syncdb

Start the development server

python manage.py runserver

The development server will now be running on http://127.0.0.1:8000/ - click there and you'll see your very own local copy of myRobogals.

All the sample accounts have the password "test", so you can log in with the username "marita" and password "test" to get started.

Now get coding, and contribute your changes back to us as a "Pull Request" on Github!