Technical requirements
Environment requirements for installing and running MARTA.
MARTA runs as a Joomla extension. Most of its technical requirements therefore follow from the requirements of Joomla itself and the Joomla version in use.
Core requirements
Joomla
MARTA requires a working Joomla website with access to the administrator area and extension installer.
Use a current, supported Joomla release. Before deployment, the administrator should confirm that the supplied MARTA package supports the major Joomla version used by the website.
PHP
The PHP version and required PHP extensions must meet the requirements of the installed Joomla version.
Use a current, supported PHP release. Error logging should be enabled in a test environment, but detailed errors should not be displayed to visitors on a production website.
Database
MARTA uses the database connection configured in Joomla. The package provides installation scripts for:
- MySQL;
- MySQL-compatible MariaDB.
The component tables use the InnoDB storage engine and utf8mb4 character encoding. The database account used by Joomla must be allowed to create and modify tables. It must also be allowed to drop tables when MARTA is uninstalled.
Web server and file system
The web server must meet the Joomla requirements. The installer must be able to write to the Joomla extension, language and media directories.
MARTA does not require a separate application server or database connection.
Browser
Use a current browser with JavaScript and CSS enabled to manage the administrator area and view the timetable.
User permissions
The person installing MARTA must have permission to install and configure Joomla extensions.
After installation, operator access can be restricted using standard Joomla permissions. The component distinguishes between permissions to:
- access the component;
- configure it;
- create data;
- edit data;
- change publication status;
- delete data.
A normal MARTA operator does not need access to the server, files or database.
Component and module
The com_marta component is the core of the system. It provides the data model, administrator area and timetable views on the website.
The mod_marta_schedule_days module is optional. It can display the timetable for one, two or three selected days in a Joomla template module position. The MARTA component must be installed before the module.
Additional services
The core MARTA functionality does not require:
- an external API;
- cron jobs;
- Joomla Scheduled Tasks;
- a separate queue or cache service.
Before installation
The administrator should:
- Confirm that the MARTA package supports the Joomla version in use.
- Update Joomla and PHP to supported releases.
- Back up the website files and database.
- Confirm that ZIP extension packages can be installed.
- Perform the installation or update in a test environment first.