MySQL and PhpBB

[Xepher]

MySQL service on xepher.net is offically "deprecated" as of this post. I will continue to run the service for a while yet, but will not be upgrading to the newer releases of the MySQL package. There are several reasons for this. First, it's a royal pain to manage and maintain. Secondly, there's now a very viable (and much more portable) option in the form of SQLite. Third, the overhead and resources for the mysql server could be better spent elsewhere. There's a reason most serious MySQL installations are on dedicated machines, seperate from the webserver.

What this means though, is that web applications that rely on MySQL (such as phpBB) will need to be either replaced or upgraded to something that supports another method of storage. I personally have to rewrite a lot of the backend software for xepher.net itself to move away from MySQL, so this a headache for me as well.

I think this is a good time to mention that phpBB is also going to be "deprecated." Basically, there have been so many problems (many of them security related) with phpBB that I want everyone to stop using it. I'm not going to out-and-out ban it like many hosting providers are doing, but I will ask that no NEW installs of phpBB be made, and that users do their best to phase out existing installations as soon as possible. I'm not saying you have to have it figured out by next week or anything, but now is the time to start looking for alternatives. I'd personally suggest www.punbb.org which is what runs these forums, and so far, hasn't had any gaping security holes. Also, it supports SQLite and is a double-bonus in that respect. The easiest way to do this is to do what I did here. Make a punBB (or other forum package) install using SQLite, and let it coexist with your old forum for a while as users move over.

Any questions and comments on this policy should be posted here. Requests for technical help with installing/upgrading software should be placed under the technical support forum.

[Databits]

I suppose I need to get SQLite installed to my little server here now so I can start rewriting the rewritten database code for my site before updating. :/

No problem... MySQL is pretty big and bulky isn't it. I thought about using SQLite for the storage method for the game server I want to write too.

Man so many things to do and no time to do em!

[Xepher]

There's the great bit, you don't have to "install" SQLite. It's not a seperate server, but a code library that gets built into (or at least used by) other programs. PHP5 uses it directly (when compiled properly) so when using the SQLite functions, the php executable is directly accessing the data file(s) and running the queries itself. It's only a single file per database as well, meaning it's easy to backup or move. Also, it's much faster for almost all web-based applications. Just look at the "generated in..." times at the bottom of any of these forum pages. This one currently reads 0.038 seconds, executing 9 queries. That's less time than you could even ping the server in. I know the old forum (phpBB on MySQL) was taking close to a full second to generate most pages, and sometimes several seconds for complex pages. Not a big deal from the point of view of a single user, but when you figure the webserver alone here handles more than a dozen requests every second... and that's an average over a month. 5pm on a saturday is many times busier than 3am on a tuesday. Anyway, yeah, SQLite much better! :-)

[entivore]

I'm trying punbb out now.  My first impression. . . It seems very minimalistic and doesn't even have private messages (It has "mods" but they are hard to install, and no luck so far)

[Xepher]

Minimalistic is good! Less to break, works faster, etc. Private messages... that's what the "email user" function is for. I don't really see the point of posting a "private message" via a forum, only to have a notice then emailed to the recipient, who then has to turn around and log into the forum to check it or reply to it. Email was designed for person-to-person messages, and it works great for it. What is it you find preferable in private forum messages?

[entivore]

The avoidance of email altogether, and a popup window while a person is browsing the forum so you can chat in a more realtime way if you happen to catch them online.

It's not like I really need that stuff for MY forum, barren wasteland that it is.  However, it's certainly not a redundant feature.

[Xepher]

Well, if you truely prefer phpBB, I belive the next version (might be in beta already) will support SQLite anyway. I still think phpBB is a security risk though, as it's the main target for hackers, being so popular.