About

• This program is a framework, similar in functionality with phpBB, which uses ajax technology (tables from phpBB can be exported)
• The forum has another functionality, same as "private messages" from phpBB called Notebook
• CSS compatibility with phpBB.

1. Forum Installation

Installation steps:

1. In MUMSAI, add web address forum (using "New url" option)
2. Edit file framework/includes/custom_configs.php. Here, configure the database parameters, and very important set TCS (TCS was send by email at the first step);
   
   * Mandatory options are database parameters,web page address, MUMSAI and BASE_SERVER web address.
3. Run forum_logic/install.php
Note: It’s recommended after this step, to delete or to move the file in another directory (not accessible from browser).
4. Grant write access to apache user for framework/Session and framework/static directories (here is generated the lo-fi forum version).
5. Move forum_logic/crontab_sessions.php script in crontab, 1 day setting is recommended. This script delete all session expire files.
6. Move forum_logic/crontab_generate_static.php script in crontab, 1 day setting is recommended. This script generates files for lo-fi forum version.

phpBB database export

If you have phpBB installed and you do not want to loose the data from database, use export_phpBB.php script to export these data. First, databases parameters for these two forums must be set (these parameters are at the beginning of the file).

Notebook

Notebook is a facility as "private messages" from phpBB. It has labels.

• Has the same look as main forum, replay to an item from INBOX, is the same.
• You can send messages to other users.
• You can send messages to forum.
• New messages are put in INBOX label; all sending, received messages will be in ALL ITEMS label. INBOX massages can be archived (will be sent to ALL ITEMS).
• New labels can be created and item can be group by labels.

Css

CSS style and images are from phpBB. Directory structure is the same. A template sample is in templates directory. To change template, copy directory in templates, css.css file in root and change constant TEMPLATE value from custom_configs.php file.

2. Directory Structure

• -App --> applications (php servers), use ajax .
• -blocks --> interface config files. Here can change static left menu, links from footer, and messages from header (top_ files).
• -history --> history browser framework
• -includes -> config files
• -js --> javascript files.
• -language -> files with messages translated in different languages. To add a new language, add a new file in this director, add in custom_configs.php file a new values pair to $languages array.
• -modules --> scripts used in forum, notebook, to change zone and language.
• -pages --> forum main pages
• -pages_iframe -> iframe pages
• -SERVER --> logout server.
• -Session --> session files
• static --> static forum version

3. Adding new modules, interaction between PHP and AJAX

In App directory, there is Test directory which explain how new ajax application can be added. Writing is done normally; there is an exception for forms and links:

3.1 Forms

Change <form action="" method="">, with BuildSubmit("id_form", array("page"=>"form_page")) function
This function will generate the necessary html code.

For "Submit" buttons use:
BuildSubmit("id_form","value",array("fieldname"=>"validation_type","..")) function.
Array contains html fields list needed for validations. Validations types there are in js/validate_functions.js file.

Example: array("field"=>"isMoney") - field must be float.

If you do not want these validations, you can use your validation:
BuildSubmit("id_form","value",array(),"","","validate()") - where validate() is an ordinary js function.
Inside forum, there is html code.

3.2 Links

Links must have:
<a href="" onClick="doAction("modul_name","page=included_page");return false;">..</a>
or you can use BuildLink("name","link","style") function, where link has the form "page=hello".

4. Sessions

This forum has its own sessions. Sessions are created in Session directory and have two files:

• a file with unique name (generated random), contains session data
• a file (has the same name as the username), created in subdirectory Session/Link, which contains the random file name.
  This is used in logout action, when the files must be deleted.

4.1. Use

Pages from pages directory from each module are included in server.php file
Sessions are read in $session variable (a Sessions instance).
For easy manipulation, there is the function getArray()
$SESSION=$session->getArray().

Each page from pages directory, must declare globally this variable.
From now on, $SESSION variable can be used as $_SESSION php array too;
To insert a value to session, use $session->setSession("key","value"); function.
When in session are inserted more values, for optimization, first insert values to session and then call setSession() function (with no parameters).
Example:
$session->info->data["key1"]="value1";
$session->info->data["key2"]="value2";

...
$session->setSession();

4.2. Sessions expiration

Default, a session expires after a week. After that time, browser will delete from cookie the filename automatically, but on the server side these files are deleted by a script added in crontab (see I.5 section) Each session file, has a header, which contains the username and the time when expires.
Script reads this section and decides if the file must be deleted or not.