When I added the certificate module to mods with a capitalized folder, I suspect I made a rather big mess of things.
I tried simply to rename the folder, but as Raymond helpfully noted, there are other areas which may have been affected. Probably, by the looks of my most recent error message:
1050: Table 'mdl_certificate_issues' already exists
Save me from myself....
Here is the full script I get when I click on Notifications:
This script generated 8 warnings - Scroll to the first warning
(mysql): CREATE TABLE mdl_certificate ( id BIGINT(10) unsigned NOT NULL auto_increment, course BIGINT(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT 0, name VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL DEFAULT '', intro TEXT, emailteachers TINYINT(2) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT 0, emailothers TEXT, savecert TINYINT(2) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT 0, reportcert TINYINT(2) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT 0, delivery SMALLINT(3) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT 0, certificatetype VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL DEFAULT '', borderstyle VARCHAR(30) NOT NULL DEFAULT '0', bordercolor VARCHAR(30) NOT NULL DEFAULT '0', printwmark VARCHAR(30) NOT NULL DEFAULT '0', printdate BIGINT(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT 0, datefmt BIGINT(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT 0, printnumber BIGINT(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT 0, printgrade BIGINT(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT 0, gradefmt BIGINT(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT 0, printoutcome BIGINT(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT 0, printhours TEXT, lockgrade BIGINT(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT 0, requiredgrade SMALLINT(4) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT 0, printteacher BIGINT(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT 0, customtext TEXT, printsignature VARCHAR(30) NOT NULL DEFAULT '0', printseal VARCHAR(30) NOT NULL DEFAULT '0', timemodified BIGINT(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT 0, CONSTRAINT PRIMARY KEY (id) )
1050: Table 'mdl_certificate' already exists
ADOConnection._Execute(CREATE TABLE mdl_certificate (
id BIGINT(10) unsigned NOT NULL auto_increment,
course BIGINT(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAU..., false) % line 891, file: adodb.inc.php
ADOConnection.Execute(CREATE TABLE mdl_certificate (
id BIGINT(10) unsigned NOT NULL auto_increment,
course BIGINT(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAU...) % line 89, file: dmllib.php
execute_sql(CREATE TABLE mdl_certificate (
id BIGINT(10) unsigned NOT NULL auto_increment,
course BIGINT(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAU..., true) % line 2302, file: dmllib.php
execute_sql_arr(Array[11]) % line 635, file: ddllib.php
install_from_xmldb_file(/home/content/j/b/r/jbrondos2/html/illa.us/moodle/mod/certificate/db/install.xml) % line 390, file: adminlib.php
(mysql): ALTER TABLE mdl_certificate COMMENT='Defines certificates'
(mysql): CREATE TABLE mdl_certificate_issues ( id BIGINT(10) unsigned NOT NULL auto_increment, certificateid BIGINT(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT 0, userid BIGINT(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT 0, timecreated BIGINT(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT 0, studentname VARCHAR(40) NOT NULL DEFAULT '', code VARCHAR(40) DEFAULT NULL, classname VARCHAR(254) NOT NULL DEFAULT '', certdate BIGINT(10) unsigned DEFAULT 0, reportgrade VARCHAR(10) DEFAULT NULL, mailed TINYINT(1) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT 0, CONSTRAINT PRIMARY KEY (id) )
1050: Table 'mdl_certificate_issues' already exists
ADOConnection._Execute(CREATE TABLE mdl_certificate_issues (
id BIGINT(10) unsigned NOT NULL auto_increment,
certificateid BIGINT(10) unsigned ..., false) % line 891, file: adodb.inc.php
ADOConnection.Execute(CREATE TABLE mdl_certificate_issues (
id BIGINT(10) unsigned NOT NULL auto_increment,
certificateid BIGINT(10) unsigned ...) % line 89, file: dmllib.php
execute_sql(CREATE TABLE mdl_certificate_issues (
id BIGINT(10) unsigned NOT NULL auto_increment,
certificateid BIGINT(10) unsigned ..., true) % line 2302, file: dmllib.php
execute_sql_arr(Array[11]) % line 635, file: ddllib.php
install_from_xmldb_file(/home/content/j/b/r/jbrondos2/html/illa.us/moodle/mod/certificate/db/install.xml) % line 390, file: adminlib.php
(mysql): ALTER TABLE mdl_certificate_issues COMMENT='Info about issued certificates'
(mysql): CREATE TABLE mdl_certificate_linked_modules ( id BIGINT(10) unsigned NOT NULL auto_increment, certificate_id BIGINT(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT 0, linkid BIGINT(10) NOT NULL DEFAULT 0, linkgrade BIGINT(10) NOT NULL DEFAULT 0, timemodified BIGINT(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT 0, CONSTRAINT PRIMARY KEY (id) )
1050: Table 'mdl_certificate_linked_modules' already exists
ADOConnection._Execute(CREATE TABLE mdl_certificate_linked_modules (
id BIGINT(10) unsigned NOT NULL auto_increment,
certificate_id BIGINT(10) ..., false) % line 891, file: adodb.inc.php
ADOConnection.Execute(CREATE TABLE mdl_certificate_linked_modules (
id BIGINT(10) unsigned NOT NULL auto_increment,
certificate_id BIGINT(10) ...) % line 89, file: dmllib.php
execute_sql(CREATE TABLE mdl_certificate_linked_modules (
id BIGINT(10) unsigned NOT NULL auto_increment,
certificate_id BIGINT(10) ..., true) % line 2302, file: dmllib.php
execute_sql_arr(Array[11]) % line 635, file: ddllib.php
install_from_xmldb_file(/home/content/j/b/r/jbrondos2/html/illa.us/moodle/mod/certificate/db/install.xml) % line 390, file: adminlib.php
(mysql): ALTER TABLE mdl_certificate_linked_modules COMMENT='Defines certificate dependencies'
(mysql): INSERT INTO mdl_log_display(module, action, mtable, field) VALUES ('certificate', 'view', 'certificate', 'name')
1062: Duplicate entry 'certificate-view' for key 2
ADOConnection._Execute(INSERT INTO mdl_log_display(module, action, mtable, field) VALUES ('certificate', 'view', 'certificate', 'name'), false) % line 891, file: adodb.inc.php
ADOConnection.Execute(INSERT INTO mdl_log_display(module, action, mtable, field) VALUES ('certificate', 'view', 'certificate', 'name')) % line 89, file: dmllib.php
execute_sql(INSERT INTO mdl_log_display(module, action, mtable, field) VALUES ('certificate', 'view', 'certificate', 'name'), true) % line 2302, file: dmllib.php
execute_sql_arr(Array[11]) % line 635, file: ddllib.php
install_from_xmldb_file(/home/content/j/b/r/jbrondos2/html/illa.us/moodle/mod/certificate/db/install.xml) % line 390, file: adminlib.php
(mysql): INSERT INTO mdl_log_display(module, action, mtable, field) VALUES ('certificate', 'add', 'certificate', 'name')
1062: Duplicate entry 'certificate-add' for key 2
ADOConnection._Execute(INSERT INTO mdl_log_display(module, action, mtable, field) VALUES ('certificate', 'add', 'certificate', 'name'), false) % line 891, file: adodb.inc.php
ADOConnection.Execute(INSERT INTO mdl_log_display(module, action, mtable, field) VALUES ('certificate', 'add', 'certificate', 'name')) % line 89, file: dmllib.php
execute_sql(INSERT INTO mdl_log_display(module, action, mtable, field) VALUES ('certificate', 'add', 'certificate', 'name'), true) % line 2302, file: dmllib.php
execute_sql_arr(Array[11]) % line 635, file: ddllib.php
install_from_xmldb_file(/home/content/j/b/r/jbrondos2/html/illa.us/moodle/mod/certificate/db/install.xml) % line 390, file: adminlib.php
(mysql): INSERT INTO mdl_log_display(module, action, mtable, field) VALUES ('certificate', 'update', 'certificate', 'name')
1062: Duplicate entry 'certificate-update' for key 2
ADOConnection._Execute(INSERT INTO mdl_log_display(module, action, mtable, field) VALUES ('certificate', 'update', 'certificate', 'name'), false) % line 891, file: adodb.inc.php
ADOConnection.Execute(INSERT INTO mdl_log_display(module, action, mtable, field) VALUES ('certificate', 'update', 'certificate', 'name')) % line 89, file: dmllib.php
execute_sql(INSERT INTO mdl_log_display(module, action, mtable, field) VALUES ('certificate', 'update', 'certificate', 'name'), true) % line 2302, file: dmllib.php
execute_sql_arr(Array[11]) % line 635, file: ddllib.php
install_from_xmldb_file(/home/content/j/b/r/jbrondos2/html/illa.us/moodle/mod/certificate/db/install.xml) % line 390, file: adminlib.php
(mysql): INSERT INTO mdl_log_display(module, action, mtable, field) VALUES ('certificate', 'report', 'certificate', 'name')
1062: Duplicate entry 'certificate-report' for key 2
ADOConnection._Execute(INSERT INTO mdl_log_display(module, action, mtable, field) VALUES ('certificate', 'report', 'certificate', 'name'), false) % line 891, file: adodb.inc.php
ADOConnection.Execute(INSERT INTO mdl_log_display(module, action, mtable, field) VALUES ('certificate', 'report', 'certificate', 'name')) % line 89, file: dmllib.php
execute_sql(INSERT INTO mdl_log_display(module, action, mtable, field) VALUES ('certificate', 'report', 'certificate', 'name'), true) % line 2302, file: dmllib.php
execute_sql_arr(Array[11]) % line 635, file: ddllib.php
install_from_xmldb_file(/home/content/j/b/r/jbrondos2/html/illa.us/moodle/mod/certificate/db/install.xml) % line 390, file: adminlib.php
(mysql): INSERT INTO mdl_log_display(module, action, mtable, field) VALUES ('certificate', 'received', 'certificate', 'name')
1062: Duplicate entry 'certificate-received' for key 2
ADOConnection._Execute(INSERT INTO mdl_log_display(module, action, mtable, field) VALUES ('certificate', 'received', 'certificate', 'name'), false) % line 891, file: adodb.inc.php
ADOConnection.Execute(INSERT INTO mdl_log_display(module, action, mtable, field) VALUES ('certificate', 'received', 'certificate', 'name')) % line 89, file: dmllib.php
execute_sql(INSERT INTO mdl_log_display(module, action, mtable, field) VALUES ('certificate', 'received', 'certificate', 'name'), true) % line 2302, file: dmllib.php
execute_sql_arr(Array[11]) % line 635, file: ddllib.php
install_from_xmldb_file(/home/content/j/b/r/jbrondos2/html/illa.us/moodle/mod/certificate/db/install.xml) % line 390, file: adminlib.php
I think you need to clean up this mess before you can go any further (I hope it is not a productive site you are working on).
If the hint from Chris Collman in the other forum thread does not work, you should restore your moodle system to a state before you started installing the certificate module. If you are unable to do this (or doing so would cause too much data to be lost) you should do the following:
@ Raymond
If the following php files are listed in the error messages, are these the ones I would (1) backup, (2) access via phpmyadmin to delete any mdl_certificate* tables? Or is there some other Moodle database file in particular where I will find the mdl_certificate* tables? (I'm still learning about how Moodle saves its tables/questions/etc.)
Do I locate these files in my Moodle installation, download them, edit them, and then re-upload them?
Does it make any difference if the site is running mysql or postgres?
Thanks,
Joel
In a productive environment you should perform a backup of your entire moodle site on a regular basis. Usually the administrator configures some automatic tasks (called cron-jobs in the unix world) so that the system shuts down the web server, freezes the database, copies all files (including the ones that form the database) into a backup folder and finally restarts all services back online. On my site this is done once every night. Should some terrible things happen to the system during the day, restoring the backup puts the system in the state of the previous morning.
Moodle is a complex system. Some parts come from a database, some from the various folders and files throughout you moodle-dir. Usually, modifications to the system (such as including a new module) work pretty seamlessly. Some files in the folder of a new module tell moodle how to make the appropriate changes to the database. Those steps are automatically undone if the module is deleted from the modules page in the administrators block, just as Chris pointed out in the other forum post.
In your case, the module files were in a folder carrying a different name than that is used in the module code inside these files. Obviously the database-part of the installation worked, but other parts not. You need to undo this installation properly.
Go to Admin-block -> Plugins -> Activities -> Overview. Is there still a certificate entry in this table? Then you should be able to uninstall it by clicking on "Delete" in the corresponding row. After that, remove the misspelled certificate-folder from your moodle/mod/-folder or rename it to "certificate" as it should be. If you have installed the optional certificate blocks (report_my_certificates and verify_certificates), you should delete them as well. You will find those in Admin->Plugins->Blocks->Overview
You need a database tool like phpmyadmin to examine the database structure of your moodle. The database consists of many tables that administer your moodle data, and many modules add their own tables to the database. All Moodle tables have a name that usually begins with "mdl_". This might be different on your system. The database might be used for other applications other than moodle, and it is possible to run two moodles using one database. In that case one of the moodles will be configured to have table names with a different prefix.
The certificate module uses tables that begin with "mdl_certificate_". Check if tables beginning with that name still exist after deleting the module from the admin block. If they exist, you can drop the tables using phpmyadmin. Ask your server administrator for help, he might have to add phpmyadmin to your system, or he knows how to clean up the tables.
If no traces of certificate can be found in the database, then you can attempt to reinstall the module. Doublecheck the /mod/certificate-folder name first. Install only the certificate-module, the additional blocks should be added later if the installation of certificate was successful.
@ Raymond,
You are especially gracious to take so much time to help me learn Moodle and deal with my problem. Thank you.
Two quick isses which I hope (for your time) have easy/brief answers :
1) What do you mean by "the database" when you write "If no traces of certificate can be found in the database" ? Is that a particular php file found under /moodle? Or is it better to ask, "Where do I find the Moodle tables"?
2) Does it matter for installation of modules like "certificate" if my Moodle installation is running mysql or postgres? Which of those two is "better"?
Joel
Well, I'll try to be concise:
One final note about databases:
A database is more a service/daemon, less a program or application that is visible to the user. This turns databases into magical components that are difficult to grasp.
Usually moodle handles all database access automatically, and you do not need to poke around in the database itself. All the things you need to see from the database is visible through normal moodle pages (such as the profile page that displays all data that moodle stores about your profile in the database).
If you need database administrator's access to the database, you might need special tools to do that. For php, phpmyadmin is such a tool. This gives you access to the guts of the database (at a very technical level). As you can do some very nasty things to the database, you should ask a database guru who is familiar with your system for assistance.
The final option (in case everything is totally messed up beyond repair) is blowing up your entire system and reinstall everything from scratch to have a clean system.
Raymond, this post is VERY helpful in providing the BIG picture.
The LITTLE question I have is this: In what file/database/table will I find "mdl_certificate" so that I can delete it?
I have a php editor, but I don't know which file to open in order to deal with "mdl_certificate" and similar tables.
In other words, in what files are the tables stored for the Certificate module? (Is it foolish to attempt to edit "tables"?)
I suppose as a last resort I could back up my courses, blow up Moodle, and start over -- perhaps with version 2.0.
You cannot use a text editor to make changes to the database.
You need to install a database administration tool like phpmyadmin. It will show you what databases are installed in your system, gives you a list of tables and lets you make changes to the tables or the entries within.
Okay. I understand now (and apologize) that I was asking the wrong kind of question.
Perhaps others can learn from my mistake!
I was thinking that Moodle data and tables were installed in FILES and that I would download and edit the files before uploading them again.
But phpmyadmin doesn't work that way . . . and the information isn't in "files" the way I've been thinking.
It's more like being logged on to the website itself and editing through a resource like phpmyadmin, perhaps comparable to being logged in with an FTP "program" (though that might not be an adequate comparison).
I hope it wasn't too painful to put up with my ignorance! Thanks, Raymond, for your patience and sharing your insights.
Right, now you got it.
The database is the only part of moodle that you cannot change by manipulating files inside the moodle folder.
The FTP-program is not a good example, because it's purpose is to shove files around. A better anology might be the regedit-program in Windows. Installing and using programs modifies the windows registry. You cannot poke around in the underlying files (user.dat etc.), you need regedit to make the registry data visible and accessible.
