Page 1 of 1
phpBB API
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2008 5:42 am
by anjanesh
Hi
I have a custom website written in Java that needs to integrate with an existing phpBB system on the same server.
Is there any phpBB API for a 3rd party website to integrate with ?
Thanks
Re: phpBB API
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2008 8:22 am
by Chris Corbyn
Sure, there's a great API for developers to use. Oh, we're talking about phpBB right? Out of luck I'm afraid, it's a nightmare to modify for new themes, let alone interact with externally.
Maybe try
http://getvanilla.com/
Pretty much the reason we keep our phpBB install as vanilla as we can... it's a PITA to upgrade.
Damn, I wish

Re: phpBB API
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2008 11:40 am
by anjanesh
Oh...I dont want to customize the themes.
I need to pull and push back info like user data, posts etc.
I was hoping there would be an API from the phpBB side instead of directly manipulating the database.
I would need to write the API as a SOAP/REST webservice for the Java developers to fetch/insert info from/into the phpBB based form.
Re: phpBB API
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2008 8:49 pm
by Chris Corbyn
Nothing like that. Not even a plugin system. Imagine the suckiest code base you can... phpBB is something along the lines of that
You're down to working directly with the database I'm afraid.
Re: phpBB API
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2008 9:27 pm
by volomike
I have to concur here with what is said about phpBB. It's a royal pain to work with. That's why I prefer PunBB, FluxBB, and others like SMF (Simple Machines Forum). Vanilla is interesting, but it's a little strange to me -- a message may appear in multiple categories, and there are no designated folders per se. And Vanilla has this concept called whispers instead of private messages. For me, I liked PunBB because I could get the private message system working, it was easy to customize because it has very few files, looked extremely elegant, and seemed to be well-designed except for the fact that it mixes XHTML and PHP together a little. FluxBB is a fork of PunBB, but not forked enough yet, and I could never get private messaging working in Flux yet. And, just when Flux forked off of Pun, the Pun devs forked those changes back into Pun. Go figure. SMF has been bragged about here, as well.
Part of phpBB's problem is that they have the template files mixed in the database, a cache, and in the file system, and you edit the templates the way you like, and then export to another server, and find your changes don't carry over! What a pain.