Installing Quasar from a .tgz

Asked by Aanhouwen Inv [Pty] Ltd

I am what in your neck of the woods would be regarded as a CPA and thus fairly computer and Accounting literate.
Have been advised to install Quasar on my Ubuntu 8.04 as the most suitable accounting software available.
Downloaded Quasar 1.4.7_GPL.tgz which appears to include the Firebird RDBMS database.

Yet am stuck as to how to proceed from here - presumably from the command line since the installer has not found the downloaded software.

Can anyone out there who has done the installation help or is there a deb I can perhaps use?

Thanks in advance.

Justin Buirski

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Brad Pepers
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Martin Kaufmann (martin.kaufmann) said :
#1

Here is an HowTo for older Ubuntu-Versions, may you can try this first:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/QuasarAccountingInstallation

Revision history for this message
TuniX12 (tunix12-deactivatedaccount) said :
#2
Revision history for this message
Martin Kaufmann (martin.kaufmann) said :
#3
Revision history for this message
Aanhouwen Inv [Pty] Ltd (jaykes) said :
#4

Good morning to you sir and thanks for your two very prompt assistance
replies.

Your first instructions relating to the 1.4.7 package I initially
downloaded are beyond my capabilities, bearing in mind that I need to
adjust to Ubuntu 8.04 and not yet being familiar with the command
terminal.

Your second suggestion pointing me to install debs for version 2.0.6 of
Quasar was more to my liking. Unfortunately these debs are for Kubuntu
and not Ubuntu but I tried nevertheless.

Here is how I have progressed thus far:

 Downloaded Quasar-single-2.0.6-1-386.deb.
 Downloaded the Help and Sample debs as well.

The Quasar Single deb appears to have installed correctly and I now have
Quasar Admin and Quasar Accounting as menu options within Apps Office.

Not so lucky with the Help and Sample Files though. Both of these
report a conflict with the Single User application installed as above.

Problems:

If I run Quasar Admin I am immediately asked to specify a server.
This is a standalone notebook so I leave the field blank.
After a while the system reports a failure to connect to server.

If I run Quasar Accounting the first three options also immediately
request the server location.

I focused on trying the final option - Server Setup Option - yet that
too requires a server location.

As I understand from the Quasar literature a RDBMS such as Firebird
needs to have been installed and running.
My perusal of the downloaded archive seems to indicate that 2 RDBMS
systems are packaged with the Quasar software.

I have no clue how to activate either of these in order to progress?

Previous commercial exposure to Sybase on Windows NT seems to suggest
that a script of sorts will need to activate the data base manager.

Thus further help will be needed and appreciated - I really thank you
for your effort thus far and look forward to hearing from you shortly.

Justin Buirski

Revision history for this message
Martin Kaufmann (martin.kaufmann) said :
#5

My Problem is that I dont use Quasar, i just want to give you a short hint where to find some Informations about it.

It seems that Quasar is a Server/Client-Application. You need one Server in Network or on your Localhost and the Client. When you want to use it on your Workstation you have to run the Server on your Workstation too.

When Quasar ask you for the Servername: your hostname or simply localhost or 127.0.0.1

Revision history for this message
Aanhouwen Inv [Pty] Ltd (jaykes) said :
#6

Thanks again Martin. I gathered as much.

My problem is that Quasar loaded its own version of Firebird and then
could either not run or initialise it.

Not having successfully installed the Quasar Help - Conflicts with
Single Quasar was the error message - I resorted to downloading Firebird
Classic directly.

I now have 2 Firebird versions supposedly installed and can see both
sets of software. The 'Quasar Version' is 'locked' and investigating it
am told 'You are not the Owner and cannot change or alter permissions'.

Neither btw could I find how to run Firebird Classic - the unlocked
version?

I even went to the trouble of downloading a Windows version of Firebird
on my XP OS'ed desktop. Here I can start it and browse the sample
database files.

For others out there reading these question this might help:

The Quasar install deb reports the following in the terminal window:

        chown: cannot access 'var/log/quasar': No such file or directory
        stopping internet superserver xinetd

Does that perhaps help and could it mean that Quasar did not complete
the installation?

One final thing - again. The deb I was pointed to is for Kubuntu and I
am running Ubuntu.

Further comments eagerly awaited.

Thanks

On Sat, 2008-11-29 at 02:01 +0000, Martin Kaufmann wrote:
> Your question #52760 on Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.edge.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/52760
>
> Status: Open => Answered
>
> Martin Kaufmann proposed the following answer:
> My Problem is that I dont use Quasar, i just want to give you a short
> hint where to find some Informations about it.
>
> It seems that Quasar is a Server/Client-Application. You need one Server
> in Network or on your Localhost and the Client. When you want to use it
> on your Workstation you have to run the Server on your Workstation too.
>
> When Quasar ask you for the Servername: your hostname or simply
> localhost or 127.0.0.1
>

Revision history for this message
Aanhouwen Inv [Pty] Ltd (jaykes) said :
#7

Just checked and the directory 'var/log/quasar' does indeed not exist
and therefore presume the Quasar Single deb did not "finish
installation" as reported.

Quo Vadis?

Justin

On Sat, 2008-11-29 at 06:33 +0000, Aanhouwen Inv [Pty] Ltd wrote:
> Your question #52760 on Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/52760
>
> Status: Answered => Open
>
> You are still having a problem:
> Thanks again Martin. I gathered as much.
>
> My problem is that Quasar loaded its own version of Firebird and then
> could either not run or initialise it.
>
> Not having successfully installed the Quasar Help - Conflicts with
> Single Quasar was the error message - I resorted to downloading Firebird
> Classic directly.
>
> I now have 2 Firebird versions supposedly installed and can see both
> sets of software. The 'Quasar Version' is 'locked' and investigating it
> am told 'You are not the Owner and cannot change or alter permissions'.
>
> Neither btw could I find how to run Firebird Classic - the unlocked
> version?
>
> I even went to the trouble of downloading a Windows version of Firebird
> on my XP OS'ed desktop. Here I can start it and browse the sample
> database files.
>
> For others out there reading these question this might help:
>
> The Quasar install deb reports the following in the terminal window:
>
> chown: cannot access 'var/log/quasar': No such file or directory
> stopping internet superserver xinetd
>
> Does that perhaps help and could it mean that Quasar did not complete
> the installation?
>
> One final thing - again. The deb I was pointed to is for Kubuntu and I
> am running Ubuntu.
>
> Further comments eagerly awaited.
>
> Thanks
>
>
>
> On Sat, 2008-11-29 at 02:01 +0000, Martin Kaufmann wrote:
> > Your question #52760 on Ubuntu changed:
> > https://answers.edge.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/52760
> >
> > Status: Open => Answered
> >
> > Martin Kaufmann proposed the following answer:
> > My Problem is that I dont use Quasar, i just want to give you a short
> > hint where to find some Informations about it.
> >
> > It seems that Quasar is a Server/Client-Application. You need one Server
> > in Network or on your Localhost and the Client. When you want to use it
> > on your Workstation you have to run the Server on your Workstation too.
> >
> > When Quasar ask you for the Servername: your hostname or simply
> > localhost or 127.0.0.1
> >
>

Revision history for this message
Martin Kaufmann (martin.kaufmann) said :
#8

Did you found an answer now? I see that you contacted an other User in another Question about Quasar. Does he can solve your Problem?

Revision history for this message
Aanhouwen Inv [Pty] Ltd (jaykes) said :
#9

Morning Martin.

Sorry, but I should perhaps have kept the Launchpad up to date.
Was rather planning to do so once my problem had been resolved.

Yes indeed, I took the chance of sending an email to Brad Pepers
[Quasar] directly and he has proved supremely obliging and enlightened.

Nevertheless, while I have learned a great deal and we have moved
forward, my original problem has still not been resolved.

Brad suggested I purge Firebird and install postgreSQL which was
apparently easier to set up and with which he was more familiar. This
was done and while all software has apparently been installed starting
the postgreSQL database server fails due to something having previously
grabbed port 5432. Brad has not experienced this problem with
postgreSQL before and currently has no idea what might be originating
the problem.

I suggested to him that my son, the electrical engineer that put me into
Ubuntu, would be spending the weekend here and that we should perhaps
wait and see if he could be the first line of assistance - using the
hindsight knowledge I have due to the emails from launchpad and Quasar.

On the other hand, if the error on the database start rings a bell with
Launchpad I would like you to get back to me soonest.

Perhaps you could even discuss the matter with Brad? I have no idea
where the two of you are in fact located yet you seem to be aware that I
contacted someone - or was this Tania who via Launchpad pointed me at an
older Single User version of Quasar that I also tried and failed to get
running.

Regards

 Justin Buirski

On Wed, 2008-12-03 at 23:02 +0000, Martin Kaufmann wrote:
> Your question #52760 on Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.edge.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/52760
>
> Status: Open => Answered
>
> Martin Kaufmann proposed the following answer:
> Did you found an answer now? I see that you contacted an other User in
> another Question about Quasar. Does he can solve your Problem?
>

Revision history for this message
Aanhouwen Inv [Pty] Ltd (jaykes) said :
#10

Hi Martin.

My son turned up here earlier today as promised and had a look at my
problem.

He was able to ascertain quite quickly that it was PostgreSql that had
'reserved' Port 5432, but he was not sure how to change the selected
port or get rid of the installation problem - that despite the fact that
I had already purged PostgreSQL.

Additionally he found my processor to be abnormally slow on booting up
and found problems with superuser permissions as well as some programs.

Much to my dismay he consequently advocated I back up anything I might
be alarmed about losing - about 1000 previously transferred historical
files and all the evolution data since mid October, and then try a
complete system reformat and re-installation.

This we did and believe it or not PostgreSQL installed at the first
attempt thereafter!

I thus have no solution to put forward for my problem that has
disappeared and frankly I have hitherto believed that reinstalling
should not be an option.

But from the point of view of Quasar and the Launchpad query I am a
happy chappie.

I have since reinstalled the five Quasar debs and everything appears to
work. My son does not work from the Package Manager but from the
Terminal, and thus postgreSQL and Quasar were installed by that means.

I will be taking an in depth 'professional' look at Quasar next week for
the purpose of determining whether we could use it locally for some
clients. For that however I will be on my own turf and unlikely to need
Linux/Ubuntu support.

My son seems to think that having previously updated Ubuntu with the 250
programs suggested to bring 8.04 right up to date, I then went and
'fetched' an older, now incompatible utility that freaked the system.

You can have a relaxing weekend!

Can I ask you for one favor please? This email has become rather
verbose and semi personal. Can you edit before advising Launchpad that
my problem has been sorted out.

PS: I am hoping to get my son to marry my Nokia G3 cellphone to Ubuntu
on this Dell610 in order to use the internet when not at home where I
have an ADSL Telkom modem.

If he, rather than we, do not succeed I might have to be knocking at
Launchpad's door again sometime.

Thanks for all your trouble!

Justin Buirski

On Wed, 2008-12-03 at 23:02 +0000, Martin Kaufmann wrote:
> Your question #52760 on Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.edge.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/52760
>
> Status: Open => Answered
>
> Martin Kaufmann proposed the following answer:
> Did you found an answer now? I see that you contacted an other User in
> another Question about Quasar. Does he can solve your Problem?
>

Revision history for this message
Best Brad Pepers (bpepers) said :
#11

Just a note on a few things brought up:

1. The single package includes the help and sample company as well as the server and client. This is why trying to install the help and sample company package separately failed. The single package is meant to give you everything you need to use Quasar immediately.

2. Quasar will run on Ubuntu as well as Kubuntu. I build using Kubuntu and install it myself since I do Qt programming and get all the tools and libraries easily but if you install the packages under Ubuntu it will install any Qt libraries needed and you should end up with a working package. Not 100% sure about Gnome menu entries though.

3. When installing the single package, it supposed to enforce that you already have PostgreSQL installed since its the easiest database to get setup and running with Quasar. If PostgreSQL is installed before Quasar is installed, Quasar will automatically be setup to use it which takes away a lot of manual setup and understanding of database servers. But our Ubuntu/Kubuntu packages were only recommending PostgreSQL so this wasn't being enforced. This is fixed with the latest packages I'm building now which is out 2.1.2 release.

If any other Quasar questions come up, I will try to monitor this site but you can also just email me directly as well or post to our mailing list.

Revision history for this message
Aanhouwen Inv [Pty] Ltd (jaykes) said :
#12

Thanks awfully Brad.

At this stage of my review of Quasar all that I seem to be missing is Budgets and simultaneous prior year comparitives?

Be well

Justin