Posting to VBulletin and phpBB

[edgeprod]

I'm looking for an API that will support posting to VBulletin and phpBB. Extra points if it can also READ posts from those board systems.

I'm creating a program that will find posts on my personal forums and, based on keywords, add some further information from either a knowledge base, or as the result of an intelligent Google search.

Almost like a concierge, that replies to problems people post (support requests).

I've google'd quite a bit on this topic, but haven't really found much. If anyone knows of something that will facilitate this, I'm all ears!

 

[mgz]

Is this on a site that you are going to build the database for or someone elses site? Also do you have access to the databases or are you going for a client side API?

 

[edgeprod]

Is this on a site that you are going to build the database for or someone elses site? Also do you have access to the databases or are you going for a client side API?

Good question, I'm glad you asked it. It will be hosted on a remote server, so it will need to use the existing "post-in" functionality that I *know* phpBB supports (I've built a proof-of-concept that is working), and *suspect* vBulletin supports. I'd like something a little "slicker" -- something like an existing include.

Figured someone might have heard of such a thing, as Google is giving me the finger.

 

[edgeprod]

Anyone else have some ideas? I've got working code to post to phpBB from a PHP script, so far.

 

[thread_PHP]

Hi edgeprod
working with php and phpBB forums are very much simple and easy

 

[edgeprod]

Hi edgeprod
working with php and phpBB forums are very much simple and easy

Agreed, which is why it was SO easy to prototype.

I'm looking for something that includes vBulletin as well, and allows me the flexibility to post out to the forum, as well as "read" other posts to detect keywords that need a reply from the knowledgebase. It should work for both phpBB and vBulletin. My prototype only works for phpBB at the present time.

Any suggestions as to an API or library I've overlooked will win you praise for your brilliance!

 

[edgeprod]

I'm still very interested in this, especially with the releases of new versions of both forum softwares.

 

[Icheb]

If you have a valid license ask on vbulletin.org. I would help but I don't really get what you're trying to do.

 

[edgeprod]

If you have a valid license ask on vbulletin.org. I would help but I don't really get what you're trying to do.

Sorry for the late reply.

Let's say, for example, someone posts about a video card error with game XYZ. I want the system to be able to query the database and post a response as a "helper bot" automagically. If the post doesn't help the user, then they'll have the option to reply and ask for more info, at which point people can come in and help.

I want the "helper bot" to be able to post to VBulletin or phpBB using an API, though, versus direct database injections.

Does that make more sense?

 

[wildfire99]

Are the scripts hosted on the same box as the vb database? You could create your own "API" via a php script that reads/writes directly to the vB database. You can run the thing via a cron job every few minutes. Alternatively, you could submit HTTP POST requests that fake user message submission, but you'll have to also set yourself up a proper login/authentication cookie.

As previously noted, the vb forums themselves are very very helpful. Unless you need a pre-packaged solution it should be fairly straightforward to emulate whatever you need with vb.

The confusing part is that you want it to be automatic (a script/robot), however at the same time you want an "API", which would require manual intervention/use by a third party.

If you don't have database access, then you still can do the same thing, but now you just created 10x the workload for yourself because you have to parse HTML. Unless you have an auto-email hitting you when a user posts, but you have to still parse to find out if it's a new thread or a reply to an existing thread. I think the direct-DB-access route is easier.

 

[edgeprod]

Are the scripts hosted on the same box as the vb database? You could create your own "API" via a php script that reads/writes directly to the vB database. You can run the thing via a cron job every few minutes. Alternatively, you could submit HTTP POST requests that fake user message submission, but you'll have to also set yourself up a proper login/authentication cookie.

As previously noted, the vb forums themselves are very very helpful. Unless you need a pre-packaged solution it should be fairly straightforward to emulate whatever you need with vb.

The confusing part is that you want it to be automatic (a script/robot), however at the same time you want an "API", which would require manual intervention/use by a third party.

If you don't have database access, then you still can do the same thing, but now you just created 10x the workload for yourself because you have to parse HTML. Unless you have an auto-email hitting you when a user posts, but you have to still parse to find out if it's a new thread or a reply to an existing thread. I think the direct-DB-access route is easier.

I don't want to use direct database injections, in case I want to manage multiple forums from a central box, for example.

If "API" is the wrong term, I apologize, but I'm using it as the thing that exposes the appropriate "hooks" in VBull to access its functions, i.e., posting.

 

[wildfire99]

I don't want to use direct database injections, in case I want to manage multiple forums from a central box, for example.

If "API" is the wrong term, I apologize, but I'm using it as the thing that exposes the appropriate "hooks" in VBull to access its functions, i.e., posting.

I don't know of any hooks in vB. It's a series of webpages so it's stateless. You can post using prefab requests to the various vB components, such as formatting something and sending it as a post or get request to say, newreply.php. You'll have to fake authentication somehow (cookies or basic). It ought to be all spelled out in the vB docs and/or source code.

The challenge you have is going to be how you know when someone has posted. Either you need to do it via triggers (email notice on new posting), or monitoring the DB, or repeatedly checking the forum with a bot and parsing the HTML.

Either way, doing both sides via direct DB access is going to be an order of magnitude simpler, even if you're just creating a script that you can plug into any forum box you're managing. If you don't have access to the DB (e.g. only a moderator account on the forum in question) then you get to do it the hard way. Of course, you can always just sit there and do it manually too.

That's all I know, I'm not much of a vB hacker. All those cool kids hang out at: http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/portal.php

I'm surprised also nobody has something like this set up simply, because I sure am making it very difficult.

 

[edgeprod]

Either way, doing both sides via direct DB access is going to be an order of magnitude simpler, even if you're just creating a script that you can plug into any forum box you're managing. If you don't have access to the DB (e.g. only a moderator account on the forum in question) then you get to do it the hard way. Of course, you can always just sit there and do it manually too.

As crazy as it is, I actually didn't think of just installing the script on multiple boxes. All of the software I've written and released publicly has been of the "central console" format, and I guess I got sucked into using ONLY that.

WordPress has a good implementation of this type of API. They allow you to, using XML-RPC, post "to" the blog through automated means. I use this to maintain a series of syndicated blogs that are "roll ups" of my other blogs.