We would like to convert our current BB for melanoma patients to MLF but need to save the posts. We would like to write a program that would extract records from the old database and enter them into the MLF database but I see no documentation on the MLF database schema. Can anyone point me in the write direction?

Thanks,
JP

I found the sql script that creates the database. Here are my specific questions

In table 'mlf2_entries' I assume:

pid = parent id, the id of the parent post with 0 indicating this post is the top of the thread. Correct?

tid = thread id? How is this generated since it doesn't auto increment?

uniqid = ?? This is a varchar string. What does it mean? How is it generated?

hp =?? What is this entry for?

Also, can someone point me to the php file that actually processes a post and enters it into the the db?

Thanks!

JP

Hi JP,

pid = parent id, the id of the parent post with 0 indicating this post is the top of the thread. Correct?

Yes.

tid = thread id? How is this generated since it doesn't auto increment?

This is the id of the first posting in a thread where pid == 0

uniqid = ?? This is a varchar string. What does it mean? How is it generated?

I don't know.

hp =?? What is this entry for?

Homepage - shown, if the user is not registered.

Also, can someone point me to the php file that actually processes a post and enters it into the the db?

functions.inc.php, isn't it?

regards Micha

Hi Micha,
Thanks for your reply. One more question:

Hi JP,

tid = thread id? How is this generated since it doesn't auto increment?

This is the id of the first posting in a thread where pid == 0

So all posts in a thread share the same tid?

uniqid = ?? This is a varchar string. What does it mean? How is it generated?

I don't know.

hp =?? What is this entry for?

Homepage - shown, if the user is not registered.

Also, can someone point me to the php file that actually processes a post and enters it into the the db?

functions.inc.php, isn't it?

I could find the INSERT there. I think it's in includes/posting.inc.php but I'm not quite following the logic yet.
Regards,
JP

Hi!

uniqid = ?? This is a varchar string. What does it mean? How is it generated?

It's a unique identifier to avoid double submits generated with uniqid(). You can leave it empty for imported postings.

Also, can someone point me to the php file that actually processes a post and enters it into the the db?

includes/posting.inc.php

Alex

I want to make page which inserts a new post (in a new thread) by its parameters, such as

testinsert.php?title=XXX&body=YYY&user=123&key=ZZZ

(it's for a robot that posts breaking news)

The way to go would then be:
* find the largest ID
* insert new post with
** inserted ID = largest ID+1
** PID = 0
** TID = inserted ID
** UNIQID = either empty or some random string
** rest are self explanatory
(&key=ZZZ is just a password so no one else can abuse this. nothing to do with the DB)

Should I insert this in mlf2_entries only, or also in mlf2_entries_cache?

Are there other concerns I should take into consideration?

I guess that it's possible that during the split second between I find the largest ID and I post this as largest ID+1, another post could have been made. But that's just so darn unlikely that it's not worth worrying about ...

If anyone's interested, here's my code. I've tested it briefly and it works perfectly so far. Hope it's bug free, but would appreciate any feedback if it is not

** I made a php file. Fill in the parameters as shown
newposting.php?key=1234567890&uid=2&sub=TestXYZ&cat=3&txt=TESTxyz

** Here's the code

<?php
 
//Only allow if correct key
if ($_GET["key"] != "1234567890")
{
echo "Wrong key!";
exit;
}
 
//Parameters
$user_id = $_GET["uid"];
$subject  = $_GET["sub"];
$category = $_GET["cat"];
$text     = $_GET["txt"];
$uniqid = genRandomString(); //Is this necessary
 
 
//Insert in DB
include('config/db_settings.php');
$link = mysql_connect($db_settings['host'], $db_settings['user'], $db_settings['password']);
if (!$link) {
    die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());
}
$result = mysql_query("SELECT id FROM MyDB.mlf2_entries ORDER BY id DESC LIMIT 0,1");
$largestID = mysql_result($result, 0);
$id  = $largestID + 1;
$pid = 0;
$tid = $id;
mysql_query("INSERT INTO MyDB.mlf2_entries (id, pid, tid, uniqid, user_id, subject, category, text) VALUES ($id, '$pid', '$tid', '$uniqid', '$user_id', '$subject', '$category', '$text')");
$result = mysql_query("SELECT time FROM MyDB.mlf2_entries WHERE id = $id");
$last_reply = mysql_result($result, 0);
mysql_query("UPDATE MyDB.mlf2_entries SET last_reply ='$last_reply' WHERE id = $id");
mysql_close($link);
echo "Inserted successfully";
 
 
function genRandomString() {
    $length = 13;
    $characters = '0123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz';
    $string = '';    
 
    for ($p = 0; $p < $length; $p++) {
        $string .= $characters[mt_rand(0, strlen($characters))];
    }
 
    return $string;
}
 
?>