MoinMoin needs Python to run, so the first step is to check if an usable version of Python is installed and correctly set-up. If this is not the case, you will have to fix that before you can proceed.
The CHANGES file in the MoinMoin archive mentions what versions are supported. Python 2.3 is the minimum requirement for MoinMoin 1.7, but we suggest you use the latest Python release version.
You can download Python at http://www.python.org/download/.
If you are pretty sure an acceptable version of Python is installed but the commands below do not work, this may be because your Python files are not in the search path. Correctly setting the search path is outside the scope of this document; please ask for help on your favorite Python, Linux, or Windows discussion board.
If you have shell access, checking if Python is working is very simple. Just type the following command, and look at the result:
> python -V Python 2.4.4
If you don't have shell access, you can try using this pythontest.cgi script (it assumes that you are using a Linux kind of webserver). Upload the script to your cgi-bin directory, use chmod a+rx pythontest.cgi (or a similar command in your FTP program) to make it executable, and invoke it using your web browser.
If it doesn't display "CGI scripts work", well, then CGI scripts don't work. If it doesn't show one or more Python version numbers, then Python is not correctly installed. In both cases, before you can proceed, you will have to get in touch with the administrator of the server so that the problems get corrected.
Also be sure to read ../ApacheOnLinuxFtp after you've completed the ../BasicInstallation illustrated here.