[SOLVED] making a forums by hand...and i need help

[L]

Hey,

I decided to make a forums from scratch...it's been going well so far...but now i am stuck on the whole new/hot/old threads idea...

For example: I'm trying to make what these forums have at the bottom of the page...then news posts icon, u posted here icon, and the other icons that show under specific conditions...

I'm dumbfounded with this concept as I have no idea what to do concerning this...would i have another column in `threads` named `level`?

then in an include on every page put update rank to x is conditions for x is true? but then have that  for z, y, w, v, u as well as the conditions make it that specific variable?

i'm sorry if this is confusing, but I'm stumped and I need help...

 

Basically I'm trying to make the whole (show new post icon if new post) and (show no new posts icon if no new posts) thing. What defines a new and an old post..and how could i possibly define those? That was another problem i was encountering...so if anyone can help me, please do.

 

Thank you for your time

~L

[teng84]

add another field in your db for the date posted and put a contion like if the date posted is equal to now new

does that make sense??????

[L]

yah, that makes sense...but how do i make it new to the user though....what if there are posts being made while the user is not online....using that method wouldn't it make almost all posts old then?

[teng84]

it doesnt matter if they are online or not because you will refer on the db record

[L]

ok...maybe i dont get this because I'm getting confused...if I store the date of a post in my db i will have x. But then when I check x with time()(using this to insert into database) for only that minute will the message be new....after that minute it'll be considered old....how do i make it so each user has their own perspective of new and old....

or am I getting all of this wrong and do forums just do it the way you specified... ??? ???

[teng84]

ok i guess the problem your in is that the normalization thing

you have to have diff table for member and the posted data of those member

now it will be the join clause that will sort this out

[L]

um...can u be more specific....if ur sayin' i need a users table and membership that's all already been set up....i just want to know how to place a new posts icon near a thread with a new post....the trouble is i don't know how i can define what's new or not....ur method suggests,in my opinion, that a thread will have new posts if the time of the latest post is equal to the current time now....but how can i make it so if the latest post if more than 1 day old it is considered old?

 

I think that's the answer!...but would i compare the post time to

time()-x = $nw

what should x be

 

Thank you for all your help....I think I got it!

~L

[dbillings]

You'll need a table that has a many-to-many relationship that shows if the user has viewed the post or not.

 

Post_table User_table

| |

| |

  Post_user_map_table

 

  Fields

 

  Post-id User-id

 

Run the SELECT query (discussed later) to see whats new and whats not. If a user clicks a thread that is new run an INSERT query with their user_id and the post_id and insert a record to the post_user_map_table.

 

To set viewed posts run a SELECT query and if a user_id and post_id match are retrieved then the user already viewed the post and adjust the threads look to illustrate that. Follow?

[L]

interesting...when a user clicks the thread 'Hello' their time, session['id'], and the id of the thread will be inputed into the Post_user_map_table

 

a user posts in the thread....it will now show a (newimage) image next to it, IF the time record where userid=session['id'] in the Post_user_map_table is < the time of the post ?? ???

 

If so I'll be happy  !!...if not ill be dumbfounded and back to the start

 

sorry for my inability to not easily grasp this...once a method is stuck in my head it's hard to edit it...thanx for all your help thus far

~L

[dbillings]

New to the user will need a seperate table for logged on times. That inputs the time that the user last viewed the forum. For example...

 

Last_login_table

 

fields

 

user_id

last_login_time

 

Script that executes... (place at the top of every page.)

 

<?php

// I used mysql's built in NOW() function for simplicity I prefer PHP's time().

IF (issest($_SESSION['user_id'])) {
    $query = "UPDATE last_login_table SET last_login_time= NOW()";
    $result = mysql_query($query)or die(mysql_error());

}

 

Now you will need to run a query to check when the user returns to see what threads were posted after their last login time. So you will need to adjust your login script to set a session variable to $_SESSION['last_login']. Then run a query finding thread id numbers that were posted after that time. follow?

[evillair]

I'm also working on displaying a 'new' icon on my forum project.

Please note I am new and this is probably wrong.

 

I did it a bit different though...

 

I'm working off the "last post" msg id of a topic to see if it's new or not.

 

I made a table 'sbb_log_topics'.

This table gets inserted 3 values:

- user_id (I insert the $_SESSION['user_id'] that I made at login)

- topic_id (the id of the topic)

- msg_id (the last post message id)

 

I insert those values when a user views a message.

 

Then when he views the topics page, I check to see if the values match with the "last post" msg id on that page. If they match he doesn't get a 'new' icon.

 

Here are the functions I am using:

 

			// Get the last msg id from a topic
		function get_last_post($topic_id){

				$sql="SELECT MAX(msg_id) AS lastpost FROM sbb_posts WHERE topic_id='$topic_id'";
				$sqlresult=mysql_query($sql) or die(mysql_error());
				$result=mysql_fetch_row($sqlresult);
				return($result);
		}

		// Add the msg id a seen
		function log_topic($userid, $topic_id, $last_post_id) {								

				// Check if we added it or not 
				$sql = "SELECT * FROM sbb_log_topics WHERE user_id='$userid' AND topic_id='$topic_id' AND msg_id='$last_post_id'";
				$sqlresult = mysql_query($sql) or die(mysql_error());	
				$result=mysql_num_rows($sqlresult);
					if ($result < 1){			
				// We didn't add it, then let's add it... 
				$sql1 = "INSERT INTO sbb_log_topics (user_id, topic_id, msg_id) VALUES('$userid', '$topic_id', '$last_post_id')";
				$result1 = mysql_query($sql1) or die(mysql_error());	
				}					
		}

		// Check to see if the user has seen the last posted messsage
		function check_topic($userid, $topic_id, $last_post_id) {

				$sql = "SELECT * FROM sbb_log_topics 
						WHERE 
						topic_id='$topic_id' AND
						user_id='$userid' AND
						msg_id='$last_post_id'";
				$sqlresult=mysql_query($sql) or die(mysql_error());
				$result=mysql_num_rows($sqlresult);
				return($result);
		}

 

To display the new icon I do this:

 

	
		// Get the last msg id
		$topic_id = $topic['topic_id'];
		$lastpost = get_last_post($topic_id);
		$last_post = $lastpost[0];

if ($logged_in){	
	// get the last post
	$last_post_id = $last_post;
	// log topic seen vars
	$topic_id = $topic['topic_id'];
	$userid = $_SESSION['user_id'];

$checktopic = check_topic($userid, $topic_id, $last_post_id);
if ($checktopic < 1){ echo'<span class="smalltext"><strong>new</strong></span>';

	} 
}

 

And on my messages page I use this to add the values when a user views the message:

 

		// log topic seen vars
	$topic_id = $post['topic_id'];
	$userid = $_SESSION['user_id'];
	// Get the last post
	$lastpost = get_last_post($topic_id);
	$last_post = $lastpost[0];
	// add the msg as seen
	log_topic($userid, $topic_id, $last_post); 

 

It's seems to be working for now.

Like I said I am new so this might not be the best way to do it.

The problem I can see is that the "sbb_log_topics" table will get very big.

 

[L]

hmm...yah...i think im gona skip that part then, lol...but since i don't want to spam up the forums ill place my other question here that has to do with my forums that im building

 

basically i want to display who posted the last post, at what time, and in what thread on my index for the forums...

So I have a Last Post column...what should come is this

'hello'

by 'L'

at time

so i set up two fetches

$latest = mysql_query("SELECT `threadid`,`by`,`date` FROM `posts` WHERE `topsid`='".$p['id']."' ORDER by `date` desc limit 1") or die(mysql_error());
$lastest = mysql_fetch_array($latest);
$name = mysql_fetch_array(mysql_query("SELECT `name` FROM `threads` WHERE `id`='".$lastest['threadid']."'", $conn1)) or die(mysql_error());

 

but when i upload it nothing appears...but not only that..everything on the page under those queries don't appear...i'm not sure what i'm doing wrong and help is much appreciated...the only thing i can find is that when i don't include the "WHERE `topsid`='".$p['id']."'" in the query it just shows me the details of the last post...but just the last post in general...i want the last post for each category

 

Thank you for your time

~L

 

 

EDIT: nm...it turns out that if there are no posts in the query pretty much dies..so i gotta add an invisible post

[L]

Hey,

I am back to the icon changing this...but now I got it to partially work...The icon changes if it's a sticky, if i posted in it, and if its hot....

Now the problem is with the new and the old...this is what i have

//two queries
$postimeme = mysql_fetch_array(mysql_query("SELECT `timestamp` FROM `post_user_map_table` WHERE `id`='".$_SESSION['userid']."' and `threadid`='".$threads['id']."'", $conn1));
$postime = mysql_fetch_array(mysql_query("SELECT `timestamp` FROM `posts` WHERE `threadid`='".$threads['id']."'", $conn1));

if ($numposts >= 16 && $postimeme['timestamp'] > $postime['timestamp']) {
echo "<img src=\"images/hotold.gif\" alt=\"threadpic\" />";
}
if ($numposts >= 16 && $postimeme['timestamp'] < $postime['timestamp']) {
echo "<img src=\"images/hotnew.gif\" alt=\"threadpic\" />";
}
if ($postimeme['timestamp'] < $postime['timestamp'] && $by <= 0 &&  $numposts < 16) {
echo "<img src=\"images/new.gif\" alt=\"threadpic\" />";
}
if ($postimeme['timestamp'] > $postime['timestamp']) {
echo "<img src=\"images/old.gif\" alt=\"threadpic\" />";
}

 

i want the old hot and the old gifs to show if the time the user viewed the thread($postimeme['timestamp']) is more recent than the time of the post($postime[timestamp'])

The new icons show...but the old ones don't show after I click the thread...which means that a new timestamp should be updated in the post_user_map_table so the thread can be shown as old....can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong?

 

Thank you for your time

~L

[L]

Well I noticed I didn't mark this topic solved...so why not post in this, right?

 

I want to display when the most amount of people were once online, and then display who is online

I checked out my tables and it all checks out..the only thing left is the code...is my code wrong in any way?

 

$ghj = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM `most_users`", $conn) or die(mysql_error());
$most = mysql_fetch_array($ghj);

echo "Most users ever online was ".$most['number'].", ".$most['date'].".<br />";
$qa = mysql_query("SELECT `username` FROM `users` WHERE `online`='1'", $conn);
while ($online = @mysql_fetch_array($qa)) {
echo "<a href=\"/memberscript/account.php?user=".$online['username']."\">".$online['username'].", </a>";
}

 

Thank you

[trq]

is my code wrong in any way?

 

Is it working?

[L]

haha...i guess i really didn't state that did I?...no it's not working...and I'm getting this warning

 

faultCode0faultStringWarning:mysql_fetch_array(): supplied argument is not a valid MySQL result resource in /home/vol2/prohosts.org/ph_1001118/taizku.prohosts.org/htdocs/forums/index.php on line 74

 

on line 74 is

while ($online = mysql_fetch_array($qa)) {

I read up on it and I placed a @ in front of the "mysql_fetch_array", but when I did that no warning, nor anything showed....

 

EDIT: Sorry wrong stuff...now it's good,