Creating Forum Functionality in Java...

[kraftwerk]

Greetings, friendly people of AO...

I went through some research on how to create forum capabilities on a webpage, I debated PHP vs. Java vs. ColdFusion, etc. I think Java seems the best way to go... Sadly, whenever I do a search on how to create a forum, all that comes up are actualy forums, usually in programming, but unrelated to creating forums. So here is my question...

What do I need to do to enable support for a Java forum? Is it automatically included with most pay-servers? Or do I have to search for a server that supports it, similar to PHP? Basically I want to create forum capabilities for about 30 people. Although this isn't a terribly large amount, I'd like to support the ability to update profiles and send/receive private messages and some other cool features (All depending on what you can offer in terms of tutorial) I'll be doing this step-by-step from scratch, everything from downloading J2SE, or J2EE or any other development software.

I'd actually like to start creating my html pages in the Java development program due to the ease of editing.

Please, experienced Java web developers, (Help me out!). Perhaps you might like to start this as a new tutorial in a new thread, if so, please private message me the title of the new thread. Thanks again!

-Ryan

[Egaladeist]

I would look up a Java tutorial done by Khalid here...if I find it I'll post the link.


# Writing a Port Scanner in Java - cgkanchi (0/832) / 0
[broken link]
http://www.antionline.com/showthread...hreadid=258028

# JAVA text-editor - Hot_ice (0/453) / 0
[broken link]
http://www.antionline.com/showthread...hreadid=222530

# How to use JavaScript to change pages - Lansing_Banda (0/341) / 0
[broken link]
http://www.antionline.com/showthread...hreadid=253639

# JAVA Applet - h3r3tic (0/319) / 0
[broken link]
http://www.antionline.com/showthread...hreadid=249438

# JavaScript Objects - chsh (0/289) / 0
[broken link]
http://www.antionline.com/showthread...hreadid=230664

# JavaScript - Jethro (0/254) / 0
[broken link]
http://www.antionline.com/showthread...hreadid=230658

# JAVA-Basics - Hot_ice (0/175) / 0
[broken link]
http://www.antionline.com/showthread...hreadid=140208

# JAVA - h3r3tic (0/145) / 0
[broken link]
http://www.antionline.com/showthread...hreadid=248863

# JAVA - l3aDmOnKeY (0/132) / 0
[broken link]
http://www.antionline.com/showthread...hreadid=203632

I hope these help.

[kraftwerk]

Thank you for the links. Unfortunately the content in these posts are VERY basic Java. I own a very good textbook which covers more than the basics, however, in order to create an actual working forum where users can login and post, I will definitely need someone who has experience in doing this to take me under his/her wing and show me what I need to do. I have a full understanding of basic programming concepts, as well as a full understanding of the structure used in Java. It's really a matter of getting the information I need to start designing the actual forum. What the database related code would look like, and what security measures I would need to take to prevent malicious web users from altering or stealing any of the user's information.

The key questions I am looking for answers for still are:

What server support is required? (Does a server need to include Java support installed on their servers, etc)

What kind of database would I need to use? (Does MySQL work solidly with Java? Or are there other recommendations?)

What kind of functions would I have to create to make a forum work most effectively? (In my classes, nothing similar to creating chat rooms, forums or messaging software was covered)

Thank you for your support in the Java programming community.

As for posting messages with links, I am not a lazy person. I have done my share of searches and if I have been unable to find information relevant to what I'm looking for, I consider that research a failure. I already searched on AO for tutorials related to programming forums in Java, and the posts that are found by simply typing in "Java" have little corelation to what I'm looking for. I'm not interested in creating random shape generators for a website, etc.

Thank you again.

-Ryan

[hiddeninclouds]

Here is a link which may answer some of your questions: http://java.sun.com/products/jsp/faq.html#1

Have you worked with SQL?
http://www.w3schools.com/sql/default.asp

JOIN statements are your friend

[kraftwerk]

Thank you for the links ^_^ The actual java website I've already checked out, they have an entire section on introductions to java and some different types of tutorials. The W3C website I've been to before, but I had no idea that they supported SQL like that! I used to go to them for html and xhtml related information. That's a link I'll definitely be using throughout this entire project.

Another question that was triggered by the W3C website, is... Since Internet Explorer does not support xhtml directly, are there any problems when programming in xml? as in the xml/java related programming for SQL?

Anyone who has experience with forum development or can help me understand further what I am supposed to do, please help me out! Thanks guys!

-Ryan

[BigDick]

If you use Java, you should know that to take full advantage of it you need a container such as Tomcat, http://jakarta.apache.org/tomcat/index.html, with that having been said, you should also check the jakart project in general which has some really good packages that are very useful for Java web development. Such as Struts, if you want to go Model-View Controller, which is an application architecture in which there are three distinct parts, Model - the core business model, which is where are the logic and data are stored, some commercial applications refer to this as the DAO (Data Access Objects). Views - these are generally JSPs, but you can use servlets as well, I don't recommend this, because they are more complex than JSPs, especially with the addition of Struts to the fray. Controller - these are the filters, servlets that provide verification and other functionality such as this (redirection, filtering out traffic from an I.P. beginning in 12 or something). Your model consists of a bunch of java beans, which I'm sure was in another forum here. Views and Controllers can be done however you want. You can use the JDBC to connect to MySQL.

Some resources for you:

http://jakarta.apache.org - several java-based, or java-centric tools from the apache foundation
http://struts.apache.org - struts home page, notice also part of apache foundation.

http://resources.corejsp.com/ - jsp, java web devel resources,
http://www.freeprogrammingresources.com/jspbook.html - even more java web devel resources

Have fun, you can do a lot with Java web technologies, if you fully take advantage of them.

I think this was more of what you were looking for grom the start, so check these resources out, and let me know if you need any more.

[kraftwerk]

Thanks! This was exactly what I was looking for! I suppose I avoided looking for already programmed functions thinking in order to be professional about it, I should start from scratch. I suppose struts are considered a common tool rather than copyrighted code now. When I get home I'll make the necessary downloads.

I noticed that they specifically mention Apache... Does this mean that in order for these functions to work, I will need to use an Apache server? Currently, I pay a company to host my website, but I've been interested in building an inexpensive but efficient web server. I have viewed many tutorials on what components I should use and different server software. Is Apache, the only base software I use? Or will I end up installing additional software on top of that, such as a version of Linux? As far as the support of all the java technology is there an additional component that I have to install as well? Or does Apache automaticaly support it?

I am rather unfamiliar with Apache and running my own server. I have learned many aspects of server-side programming in school, but have never had a server to experiment on. This project is my own personal goal, perhaps considered a hobby to upkeep.

Thank you everyone for your help, and B.D. for those exceptionally helpful links!

-Ryan

[chsh]

No, you do not need an Apache server, you need a Tomcat server. Getting the two to work together was a complete pain in my ass the last time I did it, but hopefully it got much better.

Basically what you want to look into is JSP. If you feel up to it, you can also employ a simplification library for enterprise-type applications like Struts. Start with tomcat, and if you get it, the Sun or IBM JRE, and JSP working you should be on the right path. IME Tomcat is pretty awesome with respect to speed, and Java in general is fastest when it doesn't have to draw GUI components.

EDIT:
By the way, the best resource for JSP and Java Servlets is probably the Java Servlet API Documentation.