hey all,

im looking for help/info on the steps to take to gradually create my own multi-user blogging system using php and mySQL

all I have done so far is the User Authentication where you can login or register to gain access to a 'members' page.

the info i have in a database table called members is username, password and email address, username being the key.

whenever I start thinking of the next thing to get started on, it ends up becoming something that seems impossible for someone like me with a limited knowledge of php and mySQL, so what im really looking for is someone to give me a push in the right direction.

what im thinking of trying to produce next is:

i simple blog submition form just submitting username, title, content and date
then on the members page a simple list, listing the users blogs and options to edit or delete them.

this seems a good starting point to me, saying that, i am unsure how to make the list display by date.

does this seem like a good starting point to anyone?

thanks.

Also (forgot to say):
When users register what files should i be creating for them to use as there own blog page? should i create a directory called there username to hold their files? or... to display a users blog, should i just have a viewblog.php page which has code to display one users settings?

    why not download and take apart some of the blogs that are out there...

    As for what to use, do you want to use a db or a flat file system? once you decide that, it forms the basis for the system. Generally though you should have a viewblog.php page that allows users to read the data (from db or flatfile) and displays it to the user...

      im using a mySQL database to hold all the information. (sorry, did state above but must have not been clear)

      I did try downloading a few, but many seem to over complicate things and I because I didn't put it together its hard to see where one part starts and another part ends if you see what i mean.

      In a PHP book I read it did say to 'not re-invent the wheel' but it would feel more like my work if I figured it out myself rather than roughly figuring out someone elses code. I just need to know that where I want to start is the right place to start and not the completely wrong way of going about this project.

      If you have any sort of link to a tutorial that would be perfect?

      Thanks for your reply.

        making a blogger is possibly the easiset thing one could do with php and mysql.

        simply make a form that stores the information you want for the blog in a database. then retrieve this information from the database to be displayed / edited etc.

        i imagine you are new so i would suggest looking up tutorials for beginners on using PHP / MySQL. (www.php.net) ( this site - phpbuilder.com) and (google.com)

        if you are wanting to deploy a multi-user blogging system, then no - you wouldn't copy files for each user, they would all use the same forms via server side sessions. if you are new to PHP this is probably out of your scope.

        as far as reinventing the wheel - think of it more like customizing the car that rides on the wheels. creating applications that are already out there makes a lot of sense when they are built for a specific need.

          ok, sounds easyenough when put like that.

          few questions... you know on most blog sites you get a sub URL for users to use like user.bloggingsite.com - once people register, would it be a good idea to, create a folder called the username of the user i.e user01 and then for anyone to view that users blog all they have to do is type in user01.bloggingsite.com which loads the index.php page from that directory, but the index page just forwards to a viewblog.php page on the main site which displays user01's blogs as a session has been created in user01's index.php.

          lol, if you understand that? the folder can then be used for any photos, videos etc. that the user may upload and use.

            The sub url is [usually] a trick. Using apache's mod_rewrite systemt to rewrite the url to make it look like the user is getting a subdomain, it really would look like blogginsite.com?id=user01

            As for typing in a url, many users will simply make mistakes, i know i do. Better to have a main homepage that allows things like showing the most recent blog entries, blogs by category, user name etc...then its an easy system to set links (and cookies if the user wants to 'remember' a specific blogger)

              hey, thanks for your reply.
              i think i will create a folder for the users files, still a tad unsure about weather to create the index.php i was talking about. i will definatly have some search on the start page for finding blogs though.

              think i should stop thinking and start doing 🙂 , im sure ill hit a few walls on the way to completion, but ill be sure to post them here 😉

                i think i will create a folder for the users files

                your kinda missing the whole point of a dynamic website. this could easily be handled by a few files (one really) and a database.

                what files are you talking about? what will these files do?

                  I think he is talking about images and stuff the user would want to include in their blogs.... I am assuming.

                    yea, im talking about images, sounds, videos etc. this is only because ive heard its best to have a link to the file in the database rather than the actual file and by having them in a folder called the users name it will be easier to manage say if i had to delete oe of there files, but if theres a better way then im open for different ideas...

                      I am working on a project similar to this, but not for blogging. I agree with you that making it yourself is SO much more rewarding. I do not believe in grabbing someone elses code and then spending hours and hours on end looking at their code trying to figure out what they are doing. The hardest thing to me is the whole upload script - it needs to be super secure, but easy for the user to use. Good Luck man!

                        cheers man, ill be sure to keep people posted with my progress / problems 🙂

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