# Developer Information

Information for developers to enhance your existing PunBB installation.

## Table of Contents

- Syndication
- Website Integration
- Plugins
- Database Tables Reference

## Syndication

This script extern.php is used to include information about your board from pages outside the forums and to syndicate news about recent discussions via RSS. The script can display a list of recent discussions (sorted by post time or last post time), a list of active users or a collection of general board statistics. The script can be called directly via an URL (for RSS), from a PHP include command or through the use of Server Side Includes (SSI).

The scripts behaviour is controlled via variables supplied in the URL to the script. The different variables are: action (what to output), show (how many topics to display), forum (the ID of the forum to poll for topics) and type (output as HTML or RSS). The only mandatory variable is action.

Possible/default values are:

- action: active (show most recently active topics) (HTML or RSS)
  new (show newest topics) (HTML or RSS)
  online (show users online) (HTML)
  online_full (as above, but includes a full list) (HTML)
  stats (show board statistics) (HTML)
- show: Any integer value between 1 and 50. This variables is ignored for RSS output. The default is 15.
- fid: One or more forum IDs (comma-separated). If ignored, topics from all guest-readable forums will be polled.
- type: RSS. Anything else means HTML output.

Here are some examples using PHP include().

- Show the 15 most recently active topics from all forums:
  include('http://host.com/forums/extern.php?action=active');
- Show the 10 newest topics from forums with ID 5, 6 and 7:
  include('http://host.com/forums/extern.php?action=new&show=10&fid=5,6,7');
- Show users online:
  include('http://host.com/forums/extern.php?action=online');
- Show users online with full listing of users:
  include('http://host.com/forums/extern.php?action=online_full');
- Show board statistics:
  include('http://host.com/forums/extern.php?action=stats');

Here are some examples using SSI.

- Show the 5 newest topics from forums with ID 11 and 22:
  <!--#include virtual="forums/extern.php?action=new&show=5&fid=11,22" -->
- Show board statistics:
  <!--#include virtual="forums/extern.php?action=stats" -->

And finally some examples using extern.php to output an RSS 0.91 feed.

- Output the 15 most recently active topics:
  http://host.com/extern.php?action=active&type=RSS
- Output the 15 newest topics from forum with ID=2:
  http://host.com/extern.php?action=active&type=RSS&fid=2

## Website Integration

Integrating PunBB into your website code is easy if you know a little PHP. By including PunBB's script common.php, you gain access to all PunBB global variables such as $db and $pun_user. However, in order to include this file, you need to define a constant called PUN_ROOT. This constant should be set to the relative path to your PunBB forum directory. For example, if your website front page is located in /home/user/public_html/ and your forums are located in /home/user/public_html/forums/, your PUN_ROOT should be './forums/'. The PHP code to accomplish this could look something like this:

    define('PUN_ROOT', './forums/');
    require PUN_ROOT.'include/common.php';

Once you've included common.php, you can access and utilize all of PunBB's global variables and functions. Typically, you will be most interested in the $pun_user array. This array holds information about the current user. Another interesting variable is the database object $db. How to use these variables in your own script is out of the scope of this document, but here's a small example showing you how to print a simple message greeting the current user on your website front page:

    Hello <?php echo pun_htmlspecialchars($pun_user['username']); ?>!

In addition to defining PUN_ROOT, you can define a number of other constants to alter the behaviour of PunBB when including common.php. The two most interesting of these constants are PUN_TURN_OFF_MAINT and PUN_QUIET_VISIT. If PUN_TURN_OFF_MAINT is defined when including common.php, PunBB will not exit and display the maintenance message if the forums are placed into maintenance mode. You generally don't want this message to appear on your website front page, so defining that constant is a good idea. The other constant, PUN_QUIET_VISIT, prevents PunBB from updating the current user's last visit data in the database so that a visit to the front page doesn't count as a visit in the forums. This is also desirable behaviour in most cases. It doesn't matter what value you set these constants to, but setting them to a value of 1 is probably a good idea. Example:

    define('PUN_TURN_OFF_MAINT', 1);
    define('PUN_QUIET_VISIT', 1);

Please note that these constants must be defined before common.php is included.

## Admin Plugins

Admin plugins are modules for the PunBB admin interface that can be installed by simply dropping the plugin script in the plugins/ directory. See the example plugin for information on how to write your own plugin. Here are a few notes of interest for aspiring plugin authors:

- If you want to display a message via the message() function, you must do so before calling generate_admin_menu($plugin).
- Plugins are loaded by admin_loader.php and must not be terminated (e.g. by calling exit()). After the plugin script has finished, the loader script displays the footer, so don't worry about that. Please note that terminating a plugin by calling message() or redirect() is fine though.
- The action attribute of any and all <form> tags and the target URL for the redirect() function must be set to the value of $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI']. This URL can however be extended to include extra variables (like the addition of &foo=bar in the example plugin).
- If your plugin is for administrators only, the filename must have the prefix "AP_". If it is for both administrators and moderators, use the prefix "AMP_". The example plugin has the prefix "AMP_" and is therefore available for both admins and moderators in the navigation menu.
- Use _ instead of spaces in the file name.
- Since plugin scripts are included from the PunBB script admin_loader.php, you have access to all PunBB functions and global variables (e.g. $db, $pun_config, $pun_user etc).
- Do your best to keep the look and feel of your plugins' user interface similar to the rest of the admin scripts. Feel free to borrow markup and code from the admin scripts to use in your plugins.
- Plugins must be released under the GNU General Public License or a GPL compatible license. Copy the GPL preamble at the top of this file into your plugin script and alter the copyright notice to refrect the author of the plugin (i.e. you).

## Database Tables Reference

The following is a complete list of all PunBB database tables and their respective fields. Primary key fields are underlined.

### bans

Field | Type | Default | Description
--- | --- | --- | ---
id | int |  | The auto-incrementing (identity) primary key identifier for this table.
username | varchar(200) | NULL | The username this ban applies to.
ip | varchar(255) | NULL | The IP address(es) or partial IP address(es) this ban applies to.
email | varchar(50) | NULL | The e-mail address or e-mail address domain name this ban applies to.
message | varchar(255) | NULL | A message that is displayed for the banned user.
expire | int | NULL | A UNIX timestamp representing the day when the ban expires.

### categories

Field | Type | Default | Description
--- | --- | --- | ---
id | int |  | The auto-incrementing (identity) primary key identifier for this table.
cat_name | varchar(80) | 'New Category' | The name of the category.
disp_position | int | 0 | The vertical display position of the category (relative to other categories).

### censoring

Field | Type | Default | Description
--- | --- | --- | ---
id | int |  | The auto-incrementing (identity) primary key identifier for this table.
search_for | varchar(60) |  | The term to search for.
replace_with | varchar(60) |  | The term to replace search_for with.

### config

Field | Type | Default | Description
--- | --- | --- | ---
conf_name | varchar(255) |  | The name of a configuration variable. General configuration options start with the prefix o_ and general permission options start with p_.
conf_value | text | NULL | The value of the configuration variable conf_name.

### forum_perms

Field | Type | Default | Description
--- | --- | --- | ---
group_id | int |  | The user group for which these permissions apply. Primary key identifier together with forum_id for this table.
forum_id | int |  | The forum in which these permissions apply. Primary key identifier together with group_id for this table.
read_forum | tinyint/smallint | 1 | 0 = Deny. 1 = Allow.
post_replies | tinyint/smallint | 1 | 0 = Deny. 1 = Allow.
post_topics | tinyint/smallint | 1 | 0 = Deny. 1 = Allow.

### forums

Field | Type | Default | Description
--- | --- | --- | ---
id | int |  | The auto-incrementing (identity) primary key identifier for this table.
forum_name | varchar(80) | 'New forum' | The name of the forum.
forum_desc | text | NULL | A description of the forum.
redirect_url | varchar(100) | NULL | The URL to redirect users to upon clicking the forum link on the index page.
moderators | text | NULL | A serialized PHP array of moderators.
num_topics | mediumint/int | 0 | The number of topics the forum contains.
num_posts | mediumint/int | 0 | The number of posts the forum contains.
last_post | int | NULL | A UNIX timestamp representing the date/time the last post was made in the forum.
last_post_id | int | NULL | The ID of the last post that was made in the forum.
last_poster | varchar(200) | NULL | The username (or guest name) of the user that made the last post in the forum.
sort_by | tinyint/smallint | 0 | 0 = Display topics sorted by last post. 1 = Display topics sorted by topic start.
disp_position | int | 0 | The vertical display position of the forum (relative to other forums in the same category).
cat_id | int | 0 | The category in which the forum resides.

### groups

Field | Type | Default | Description
--- | --- | --- | ---
g_id | int |  | The auto-incrementing (identity) primary key identifier for this table.
g_title | varchar(50) |  | The name of the group.
g_user_title | varchar(50) | NULL | The title of users in this group.
g_read_board | tinyint/smallint | 1 | 0 = Deny. 1 = Allow.
g_post_replies | tinyint/smallint | 1 | 0 = Deny. 1 = Allow.
g_post_topics | tinyint/smallint | 1 | 0 = Deny. 1 = Allow.
g_post_polls | tinyint/smallint | 1 | 0 = Deny. 1 = Allow.
g_edit_posts | tinyint/smallint | 1 | 0 = Deny. 1 = Allow.
g_delete_posts | tinyint/smallint | 1 | 0 = Deny. 1 = Allow.
g_delete_topics | tinyint/smallint | 1 | 0 = Deny. 1 = Allow.
g_set_title | tinyint/smallint | 1 | 0 = Deny. 1 = Allow.
g_search | tinyint/smallint | 1 | 0 = Deny. 1 = Allow.
g_search_users | tinyint/smallint | 1 | 0 = Deny. 1 = Allow.
g_edit_subjects_ interval | smallint | 300 | Number of seconds after post time that users in this group may edit the subject of topics they've posted.
g_post_flood | smallint | 30 | Number of seconds that users in this group have to wait between posts.
g_search_flood | smallint | 30 | Number of seconds that users in this group have to wait between searches.

### online

Field | Type | Default | Description
--- | --- | --- | ---
user_id | int | 1 | ID of the user (always 1 for guests).
ident | varchar(200) |  | Identification string for the user. Username for logged in users and IP address for guests.
logged | int | 0 | A UNIX timestamp representing the date/time for the user's last activity.
idle | tinyint/smallint | 0 | 0 = User has been active within the last "Online timeout" seconds. 1 = User has timed out.

### posts

Field | Type | Default | Description
--- | --- | --- | ---
id | int |  | The auto-incrementing (identity) primary key identifier for this table.
poster | varchar(200) |  | The username (or guest name) of the user that made the post.
poster_id | int | 1 | The user ID of the user that made the post (always 1 for guests).
poster_ip | varchar(15) | NULL | The IP address the post was made from.
poster_email | varchar(50) | NULL | The guest e-mail address (if supplied).
message | text |  | The actual message contents.
hide_smilies | tinyint/smallint | 0 | 0 = Let users decide whether to show smilies as images or not in this post. 1 = Never show smilies as images in this post.
posted | int | 0 | A UNIX timestamp representing the date/time the post was made.
edited | int | NULL | A UNIX timestamp representing the date/time the post was last edited.
edited_by | varchar(200) | NULL | The username of the user that last edited the post.
topic_id | int | 0 | The topic ID in which the post resides.

### ranks

Field | Type | Default | Description
--- | --- | --- | ---
id | int |  | The auto-incrementing (identity) primary key identifier for this table.
rank | varchar(50) |  | The rank title.
min_posts | mediumint/int | 0 | The number of posts a user must attain in order to reach the rank.

### reports

Field | Type | Default | Description
--- | --- | --- | ---
id | int |  | The auto-incrementing (identity) primary key identifier for this table.
post_id | int | 0 | The post the report relates to.
topic_id | int | 0 | The topic in which the reported post resides in.
forum_id | int | 0 | The forum in which the reported post resides in.
reported_by | int | 0 | The user ID of the user that reported the post.
created | int | 0 | A UNIX timestamp representing the date/time the post was last edited.
message | text |  | The report message.
zapped | int | NULL | A UNIX timestamp representing the date/time the report was zapped (marked as read).
zapped_by | int | NULL | The username of the administrator or moderator that zapped the report.

### search_cache

Field | Type | Default | Description
--- | --- | --- | ---
id | int | 0 | The primary key identifier for this table.
ident | varchar(200) |  | Identification string for the searcher. Username for logged in users and IP address for guests.
search_data | text |  | A serialized PHP array of search data (e.g. post ID's, sort direction etc.).

### search_matches

Field | Type | Default | Description
--- | --- | --- | ---
post_id | int | 0 | The post this match relates to.
word_id | mediumint/int | 0 | The word this match relates to.
subject_match | tinyint/smallint | 0 | 0 = Match is in the post message. 1 = Match is in the topic subject.

### search_words

Field | Type | Default | Description
--- | --- | --- | ---
id | mediumint/int |  | An integer identifier for this table.
word | varchar(20) |  | The indexed word (primary key).

### subscriptions

Field | Type | Default | Description
--- | --- | --- | ---
user_id | int | 0 | The user that subscribes to topic_id. Primary key identifier together with topic_id for this table.
topic_id | int | 0 | The topic user_id subscribes to. Primary key identifier together with user_id for this table.

### topics

Field | Type | Default | Description
--- | --- | --- | ---
id | int |  | The auto-incrementing (identity) primary key identifier for this table.
poster | varchar(200) |  | The username (or guest name) of the user that posted the topic.
subject | varchar(255) |  | The topic subject.
posted | int | 0 | A UNIX timestamp representing the date/time the topic was posted.
last_post | int | NULL | A UNIX timestamp representing the date/time the last post was made in the topic.
last_post_id | int | NULL | The ID of the last post that was made in the topic.
last_poster | varchar(200) | NULL | The username (or guest name) of the user that made the last post in the topic.
num_views | mediumint/int | 0 | The number of times the topic has been viewed.
num_replies | mediumint/int | 0 | The number of replies that have been posted in the topic.
closed | tinyint/smallint | 0 | 0 = Topic is open. 1 = Topic is closed.
sticky | tinyint/smallint | 0 | 0 = Topic is a regular topic. 1 = Topic is a sticky topic.
moved_to | int | NULL | The forum to which the topic has been moved.
forum_id | int | 0 | The forum in which the topic resides.

### users

Field | Type | Default | Description
--- | --- | --- | ---
id | int |  | The auto-incrementing (identity) primary key identifier for this table.
group_id | int | 4 | The user group to which this user belongs.
username | varchar(200) |  | The user's username.
password | varchar(40) |  | The user password as an 40 byte SHA1 hash or an 32 byte MD5 hash.
email | varchar(50) |  | The user e-mail address.
title | varchar(50) | NULL | The user custom title.
realname | varchar(40) | NULL | The user's name.
url | varchar(100) | NULL | A link to the user's website.
jabber | varchar(75) | NULL | The user's Jabber address.
icq | varchar(12) | NULL | The user's ICQ UIN.
msn | varchar(50) | NULL | The user's MSN Messenger e-mail address.
aim | varchar(30) | NULL | The user's AOL Instant Messenger username.
yahoo | varchar(30) | NULL | The user's Yahoo Messenger username.
location | varchar(30) | NULL | The user's geographical location.
use_avatar | tinyint/smallint | 0 | 0 = Don't show avatar to other users. 1 = Show avatar to other users.
signature | text | NULL | The user's signature.
disp_topics | tinyint/smallint | NULL | The number of topics to display on forum page (uses forum default if left blank).
disp_posts | tinyint/smallint | NULL | The number of posts to display on topic page (uses forum default if left blank).
email_setting | tinyint/smallint | 1 | 0 = Show e-mail address to other users. 1 = Hide e-mail address, but allow form e-mail. 2 = Hide e-mail address and disallow form e-mail.
save_pass | tinyint/smallint | 1 | 0 = Don't remember user between visits. 1 = Remember user between visits.
notify_with_post | tinyint/smallint | 0 | 0 = Include only topic subject in subscription notification e-mails. 1 = Include both topic subject and post content in subscription notification e-mails.
show_smilies | tinyint/smallint | 1 | Show smilies as images.
show_img | tinyint/smallint | 1 | Show images in posts.
show_img_sig | tinyint/smallint | 1 | Show images in signatures.
show_avatars | tinyint/smallint | 1 | Show avatars.
show_sig | tinyint/smallint | 1 | Show signatures.
timezone | float | 0 | The user's timezone.
language | varchar(25) | 'English' | The user's preferred language for the forum UI.
style | varchar(25) | 'Oxygen' | The user's preferred style.
num_posts | int | 0 | The number of posts the user has made.
last_post | int | NULL | A UNIX timestamp representing the date/time the last post by the user was made.
registered | int | 0 | A UNIX timestamp representing the date the user registered.
registration_ip | varchar(15) | 0.0.0.0 | The IP address used when registering.
last_visit | int | 0 | A UNIX timestamp representing the date/time the last visit by the user commenced.
admin_note | varchar(30) | NULL | A user note only viewable and editable by administrators and moderators.
activate_string | varchar(50) | NULL | A temporary storage string for new passwords and new e-mail addresses.
activate_key | varchar(8) | NULL | A temporary storage string for new password and new e-mail address activation keys.