Joomla! 1.5 plugin for Phorum integration

Re: Joomla! 1.5 plugin for Phorum integration

myperrycounty — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 21:17:41 -0600

None of this works anymore. I get that message about there being no settings. I can't input the actual path, it always says there are no settings. I was really looking forward to integrating the 2.

Re: Joomla! 1.5 plugin for Phorum integration

didi2 — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 02:27:40 -0500

Sometimes, maybe one in 20, a new user registered in joomla simply takes over all posts of an already existing username.

Bothstill have a different user_id.

But all posts a already existing user made, are suddenly written by the new registered user. Which means, the user_id and user_name of these posts change to the newly registered user. Strange.

Re: Joomla! 1.5 plugin for Phorum integration

Sean Phelan — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 22:26:35 -0500

Wilco,

I'm thinking that the Joomla auto-discovery enhancement might be more trouble than it's worth, for a few reasons:

1) Runaway recursion with symlinks - That "rglob" function in settings.php is easily sucked into an endless loop if a circular symlink directory is encountered. I've rewritten the function to catch those ... I'll publish to jfoobar shortly.

2) You can't manually enter the Joomla install dir until the auto-discovery has completed. If the auto-discovery times out, you can never enter the Joomla install dir. Even after fixing the symlink recursion, my install was still too much for rglob to handle w/out hitting the script timeout limit.

My script timeout is only 30 seconds ... sure, I could bump it up, but I'm convinced we could solve this challenge a bit more efficiently. Too bad "find" is off the table :)

Sp

Re: Joomla! 1.5 plugin for Phorum integration

didi2 — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 07:50:52 -0600

Hi

I get the following error

"Auto discover of Joomla path not possible. Please make sure you enter the proper absolute path to the Joomla installation."

Entering the absolute path, I get the same error as I told at the beginning of this thread.

If you are interested, PM me and I give you admin rights to have a short look at it yourself.

regards.

Re: Joomla! 1.5 plugin for Phorum integration

Wilco Jansen — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 07:34:44 -0600

I have implemented some improvements, like Joomla directory validation, but also auto discovery of the Joomla installation.

All details of the latest Phorum module can be found on [jfoobar.org] or just download it at [joomlacode.org]

Again, any feedback is welcome.

Regards, Wilco

Re: Joomla! 1.5 plugin for Phorum integration

Joe Curia — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:31:05 -0600

I am currently working on expanding my External Authentication module for Drupal and I am also doing some other touch ups. One thing I have added (which will appear in the next version) is an attempt to autodetect the external application's server path. Here is the code, it may be helpful for autodetecting the Joomla! path (or at least help you down that road).

From the new developers guide:

If you would like to allow the settings page to search for the external 
application's server path, you can set the $external_application_path_ids array
in the settings_post.php file for your plugin.
This array consists of two values:
    unique_file_name is a file which should be unique to your external
        application.  Please note that if the file is in a sub-directory of the
        external application, you should include that sub-directory in this
        field (eg. "includes/misc/myfile.php").
    unique_string is an optional string to search for in your unique file.
        If you are sure that your file is unique, you can simply leave this
        string empty.

And the code, which searches for the unique file, starting in the directory below the Phorum installation and searches recursively through all directories until it finds the file (and search that file for a particular string if provided):
[code="php"]
// search for the external application's path if not provided by the
// user or if the external application has changed and if it is
// enabled by the plugin
if ((empty($PHORUM["phorum_mod_external_authentication"]["app_path"]) || $PHORUM["phorum_mod_external_authentication"]["mod_app_folder"] != $cur_plugin)
&& !empty($external_application_path_ids)) {

$phorum_path = getcwd();

chdir("..");

// search recursively for the unique files
$unique_files = rglob($external_application_path_ids["unique_file_name"]);

if (count($unique_files) > 0) {

// check for the unique string if necessary
if (!empty($external_application_path_ids["unique_string"])) {
foreach ($unique_files as $possible_file) {
if (strpos(file_get_contents("./".$possible_file), $external_application_path_ids["unique_string"]) !== FALSE) {
$app_path = getcwd()."/".str_replace("/".$external_application_path_ids["unique_file_name"], "", $possible_file);
break;
}
}
} else if (count($unique_files) == 1) {
$app_path = getcwd()."/".str_replace("/".$external_application_path_ids["unique_file_name"], "", $unique_files[0]);
}
}

if (!empty($app_path))
$PHORUM["phorum_mod_external_authentication"]["app_path"] = $app_path;

chdir($phorum_path);
}

function rglob($pattern='*', $flags = 0, $path='')
{
$paths=glob($path.'*', GLOB_MARK|GLOB_ONLYDIR|GLOB_NOSORT);
$files=glob($path.$pattern, $flags);
foreach ($paths as $path) { $files=array_merge($files,rglob($pattern, $flags, $path)); }
return $files;
}
[/code]

Please note, this is code specifically designed for my module's plugin system so your implementation would probably differ quite a bit. I've got to run now so I can't break it down any further, but if you do want to use it and have any questions (or can offer optimizations for my own module :-) ) please let me know.

Re: Joomla! 1.5 plugin for Phorum integration

Wilco Jansen — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:09:07 -0600

Hi,

As I implemented it on a site, I also ran into this issue. A new version is being build, and will be released this week. Should fix the problem, and as mentioned earlier on I will also implement an additional check if people enter the proper URL in the module properties.

Regards, Wilco

Re: Joomla! 1.5 plugin for Phorum integration

tphart — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:33:56 -0600

Hi Wilco,

I spoke to fast. I have run into one problem while testing, see earlier post.

There appears to be a problem with deleting users from joomla admin. It does not impact my site as we never delete users, just change their status. I found this when I was testing and wanted to pass it on to you.

Everything seems to work fine, creating a new user and changing user status, changing name, and changing password. These done on joomla carry to phorum and vice versa with no problems. However when I try and delete a user from joomla admin user manager, the delete is successful, but I get the following error message:

JUser::load: User does not exist

When I delete a user from Phorum admin the delete is also successful and there are no errors reported.

I am not sure where to look, I cannot find JUser in either the plugin or the module. The only place I can find JUser is in the User-Joomla! plugin, but I do not have the experience to tell if that is related to the error message when deleting a user from Joomla admin user manager.

I am using Joomla! 1.5.9 and Phorum 5.2.10.

Re: Joomla! 1.5 plugin for Phorum integration

didi2 — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 15:48:42 -0600

Really many thanks for your replies!

I use phorum 5.2.7 and joomla 1.59 as I wrote in my first post.

The module is named "Joomla (version 1.0)" in the modules list in phorum.

My first problem was that I entered the URL instead the absolute path. This is solved. The joomla plugin to phorum works.

But when I enter the absolute path to joomla 1.59 into the module in phorum, it doesnt work.
Then I get the message: no settings for this module.

regards Dietmar

Re: Joomla! 1.5 plugin for Phorum integration

Wilco Jansen — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 14:15:27 -0600

The software is written for Joomla! 1.5 and php 5.2+. If you try installing it on Joomla 1.0 it won't work, and as Joomla 1.0 is end of life this year I won't even bother writing anything for it (which is also pretty hard given the outdated codebase).

And yes, you need to enter the file patch where your Joomla installation can be found.

Regards, Wilco

Re: Joomla! 1.5 plugin for Phorum integration

didi2 — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 12:46:51 -0600

They told me the name is /home/username/public_html

But /home/username/public_html doesnt work.

Its really a pity.

I checked the absolute path with following php script

$DR=$_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'];
print $DR;
?>

I entered the absolute path /home/username/public_html/phorum into the joomla plugin. There it works like a charm :-) But thats not really what I need.

Re: Joomla! 1.5 plugin for Phorum integration

Sean Phelan — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 17:00:28 -0600

Physical Location is what we need. You need to find out the name of the directory on the web server.

Re: Joomla! 1.5 plugin for Phorum integration

didi2 — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 15:36:14 -0600

www.still-dancing.com

phorum is installed in the folder still-dancing.com/phorum

regards

Re: Joomla! 1.5 plugin for Phorum integration

Sean Phelan — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 15:24:47 -0600

So now back to the older question ... where is your joomla installation located?

Let's make sure we have the right answer for that.

Re: Joomla! 1.5 plugin for Phorum integration

didi2 — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 15:20:36 -0600

Sure.

I click on "Modules", then come to this page after clicking on "settings" at the module "joomla(version 1.0)"

The module is ON.

regards.

Re: Joomla! 1.5 plugin for Phorum integration

Sean Phelan — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 15:06:15 -0600

Can you post a screenshot of the page where you try to change the /var/www ?

Re: Joomla! 1.5 plugin for Phorum integration

didi2 — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 14:10:26 -0600

I tried all versions but still get the error. See picture.

I get the message everytime I press&want to SAVE.

The adress /var/www also does not get changed after pressing SAVE.

So saving a new adress does not work.

regards.

Re: Joomla! 1.5 plugin for Phorum integration

Sean Phelan — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:44:46 -0600

Are you putting in the URL? I'm guessing you needed to put in the actual file path on the machine, not the URL.

EX:
- /var/www
- /var/www/mydomain.com
- /usr/www/account/mydomain.com

Something like that.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, try editing your Joomla PHP configuration file and temporarily add the following line of code:

die(getcwd());

That's probably the path you want.

Brutal, but effective.

Re: Joomla! 1.5 plugin for Phorum integration

didi2 — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:28:16 -0600

Hello.

First, thank you very much for your work !

I have one problem, though.

First the phorum module. I turn it on and then want to change the settings.

In the box stands /var/www . Do I have to delete that and enter [www.myjoomlainstall.com]

If I want to do that I get following error: "There are no settings for this module."

Any suggestions? Thank you very much.

---
I use phorum 5.2.7 and joomla 1.59
joomla is on www.home.com
phorum is in www.home.com/phorum

Re: Joomla! 1.5 plugin for Phorum integration

tphart — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 13:50:55 -0600

Yes, we now have our users in sync across both Joomla and Phorum, have been adding, deleting, and setting active status with no problems. We work mainly with the Joomla user manager, but have tried it both ways and it works fine.

Re: Joomla! 1.5 plugin for Phorum integration

Wilco Jansen — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 14:45:25 -0600

Quote
tphart
Wilco,
I did have one problem with the installing the module that has to do with setting the path to Joomla. I had a typo in the path and when I turned the module on it locked my out of the admin page with a path error. It was simple to remedy by reinstalling a copy of the backup Phorum database and reinstalling the module, getting the path right that time. I was trying to figure out where the path name could be checked and a message sent back to note that the path name was wrong. It is beyond my programming skills.
Tom

Re-installing was not required, you could have tweaked the config manually...anyway, think it is good to add a basic check in the main config before we can proceed, should not be that hard. Will add this in the next beta.

Did you get it to run?

Re: Joomla! 1.5 plugin for Phorum integration

tphart — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 07:52:01 -0600

Wilco,

I wanted to take a moment to thank you for your Joomla plugin and Phorum module. Like you, I think that Phorum is a great alternative to the other forums available to the Joomla community. They work great, we just went live this weekend at www.t34classic.org using both. So far no issues from the users side (we are a small site with fewer than 200 users).

I did have one problem with the installing the module that has to do with setting the path to Joomla. I had a typo in the path and when I turned the module on it locked my out of the admin page with a path error. It was simple to remedy by reinstalling a copy of the backup Phorum database and reinstalling the module, getting the path right that time. I was trying to figure out where the path name could be checked and a message sent back to note that the path name was wrong. It is beyond my programming skills.

Thanks again for the great work....
Tom

Re: Joomla! 1.5 plugin for Phorum integration

Sean Phelan — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 21:13:33 -0600

Quote
Wilco
Wat could be implemented is a user synchronisation option. Within Joomla! this would mean that an component needs to be created (the plugin alone would not be sufficient). I could also create such an option from within the Phorum module. The problem that cannot be solved here is the password issue since the password is encrypted in Joomla using salt and in Phorum using md5, so there is no way we could synchronize the user passwords.

Right... I had the same problem synching the phorum user base with the Zen Cart user base for our site store - different encryption methods. In that case, I got around it by rewriting Zen's authentication logic - effective, but not upgrade-friendly.

My first thought, from a practical standpoint, is that a site probably should not support logins to BOTH systems, but rather just to the one - either phorum or joomla. Since the other system supports single sign-on, this should eliminate the need to have true password synchronization up-front.

My second thought would be that it would not be hard to "expire" a user's password, ie make them change at the next login - then issue bulk expirations for every user, which would then force the synchronizations in an orderly fashion.

If changing a password would instigate a user sync for a user that does not exist in the other system, then that should be good enough - no real need for a full-on component to run that synch from a web-based button.

Re: Joomla! 1.5 plugin for Phorum integration

Wilco Jansen — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 15:32:26 -0600

Quote
Joe Curia

Quote
Marian

Quote
Wilco Jansen
New user registration logic of Phorum also works towards Joomla! The user account will only be accessible from within Joomla! after the user has confirmed the registration mail (if configured).

Just a quick question: to me, this doesn't sound like single sign on for new users (only old users will have single sign on). Or is this an option?
Ideally, the users shouldn't care about where they log in, right?

Cheers,
Marian

I believe he is simply saying that new users will not be able to log in to Phorum or Joomla! until after they have responded to the confirmation email (thus verifying their account).

That is indeed how it has been implemented.

Re: Joomla! 1.5 plugin for Phorum integration

Wilco Jansen — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 15:30:53 -0600

Quote
sphelan
That phorum module sounds great! I'll be sure to get it all tested on my site this weekend and give you any feedback.

That would be great, any feedback is more then welcome.

Quote
sphelan
There is one question I've been mulling over that we might need to ask next... For existing user bases that are only in one place (either phorum or joomla), what's the best way to propagate or synchronize them?

If the user account already is available in Joomla! the only thing the user needs to do is change his/her password. The Phorum API will create the user automatically if I am right. I have not implemented this the other way around, the Phorum module simply returns when there is a mismatch.

Wat could be implemented is a user synchronisation option. Within Joomla! this would mean that an component needs to be created (the plugin alone would not be sufficient). I could also create such an option from within the Phorum module. The problem that cannot be solved here is the password issue since the password is encrypted in Joomla using salt and in Phorum using md5, so there is no way we could synchronize the user passwords.

I would like to consider a method that is as easy as it comes, but is also as secure as it needs to be. Something to consider here is to create the user account in Joomla or Phorum when the user is able to login in one of the systems, and create a user record when it is not available. This way the synchronisation is almost automatically done. Not sure this is the best way, any feedback/suggestions are welcome.

If someone with more in depth knowledge also could do a code scan on the Phorum code part, especially sanitizing the features Phorum has, I would be very happy.

Re: Joomla! 1.5 plugin for Phorum integration

Sean Phelan — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 13:30:34 -0600

Wilco,

That phorum module sounds great! I'll be sure to get it all tested on my site this weekend and give you any feedback.

There is one question I've been mulling over that we might need to ask next... For existing user bases that are only in one place (either phorum or joomla), what's the best way to propagate or synchronize them?

So far, the modules (joomla and phorum) trigger off the addition of a new user - add it on one system, and it gets created in the other.

In my case, I have a large phorum user base (100+) and only 4 Joomla users (site admins/editors). Getting these 2 synchronized initially could either be some free-standing script, or integrated into one of the modules as an action the user can invoke.

Any thoughts on which system would support this more easily? I expect the code would be similar either way, but the invocation would be the question. Both systems allow modules to offer an on-demand task, it's just a matter of which is easier.

Have a great weekend!

Re: Joomla! 1.5 plugin for Phorum integration

Joe Curia — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 06:27:32 -0600

Quote
Marian

Quote
Wilco Jansen
New user registration logic of Phorum also works towards Joomla! The user account will only be accessible from within Joomla! after the user has confirmed the registration mail (if configured).

Just a quick question: to me, this doesn't sound like single sign on for new users (only old users will have single sign on). Or is this an option?
Ideally, the users shouldn't care about where they log in, right?

Cheers,
Marian

I believe he is simply saying that new users will not be able to log in to Phorum or Joomla! until after they have responded to the confirmation email (thus verifying their account).

Marian, thank you for your work on this complicated task. We have seen many requests for this type of seemless authentication integration so I know this will be well received. Now that this is a Phorum module I would suggest posting it in the modules forum so that it will be added to the downloads page and be easily found.

Thanks again for your great work.

Re: Joomla! 1.5 plugin for Phorum integration

Marian — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 03:40:19 -0600

Quote
Wilco Jansen
New user registration logic of Phorum also works towards Joomla! The user account will only be accessible from within Joomla! after the user has confirmed the registration mail (if configured).

Just a quick question: to me, this doesn't sound like single sign on for new users (only old users will have single sign on). Or is this an option?
Ideally, the users shouldn't care about where they log in, right?

Cheers,
Marian

Re: Joomla! 1.5 plugin for Phorum integration

Wilco Jansen — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 03:21:02 -0600

I noticed your two remarks, and as far as I understand it works as it should.

I have completed the phorum module. Along with the Joomla! plugin it provides the following logic now:

Bi-directional user login and logout. This means that when a user logs into Joomla, it also logs you into Phorum. This also works the other way around, logging into Phorum will log you into Joomla. Logout logic works the same.
Bi-directional user management. When you create/update/delete a user in Joomla! it will be also created in Phorum. Only those fields that are used in both systems will be used (obviously). The same logic works also from within Phorum, a password change will also be implemented in Joomla (as with change of username and mail address).
New user registration logic of Phorum also works towards Joomla! The user account will only be accessible from within Joomla! after the user has confirmed the registration mail (if configured).

To install the phorum module, just unpack the zipfile, configure and enable. The only fields you need are the absolute path to the Joomla! installation, and a default group assignment for new users within Joomla!

To have it all working, you also need to upgrade the Joomla plugin to version 1.1. If you use the 1.0 version, you will suffer a login/user update recursion problem.

As for now the code is in beta stage. Any feedback is welcome. The files can be found on the download repository [joomlacode.org]. All information on www.jfoobar.org/labs will be updated as soon as possible.

Regards, Wilco

Re: Joomla! 1.5 plugin for Phorum integration

Sean Phelan — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:05:48 -0600

I installed your phorum module to my joomla testbed last night, and got it working after a small bug-fix. I posted details on your jfoobar site.

So far, it does everything you say it does - great work so far.

As for bridging joomla and phorum for presentation - I have been running parallel installs of the 2 for about 8 months now, and the big downside is not making the templates look alike, but not being able to fully leverage the joomla components around the phorum page.

I've hacked my phorum template to rotate banner headers directly off the Joomla banner management system, but if phorum was included in Joomla, then this would not be necessary (as phorum would have no header).

In our case, we're running what could best be described as an "e-zine", so getting article teasers to the forum pages is useful, as well as product links for our online store, etc...

I'll have to learn more about the phorum embedding and "portable" capabilities - maybe I can figure it out and post it for everyone else.