-=( tinyMuw v0.0.4GV )=-
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
I. General
1. Dedication
2. Copyright
3. Requirements
4. Setup and Installation
II. Administration
1. Security Issues
2. Future Plans
III. Miscellaneous
1. Known Bugs
2. Version Tracker
3. Development Information
4. Contact Information
I. GENERAL:
1. Dedication:
This whole thing is dedicated to my wife Kirby, for her (somewhat forced) acceptance of my desire to make this happen. Without her there wouldn't be a life worth living, let alone a tinyMuw for you to use. This is also dedicated to the future of energy research, that we won't anymore rely on oil from countries I hate. I'm also putting a moment of silence here for one of our boys, SGT Jesse Davila, who was struck on 20 February 2006 by an IED.
...
Thanks.
2. Copyright:
This utility and its associated code and programming are copyright(c) Curtis Zimmerman
and L0j1k.com. It is subject to the Creative Commons Licence (CCL), all rights
reserved. The CCL can be found at the following address:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/
You may modify, cut'n'paste, implement, chop up, skewer, change, re-implement any and
all of this code for NONCOMMERCIAL purposes (meaning that you can't sell the code,
and if you were Microsoft you couldn't -- without special written permission by the
original author -- USE the utility and its associated code and programming on your
commercial site) ONLY by crediting the original author Curtis Zimmerman and L0j1k.com.
If you have questions about using commercially, selling, repackaging, licensing or
leasing this software, please contact the original author at tinymuw(at)tinymuw(dot)com. By
using this utility and its associated code and programming, you also agree that the
original author, Curtis Zimmerman and L0j1k.com, cannot be held liable for any loss of
data or service that you might experience because of this code or your use of it.
Basically, you can't come after me or my website if this stuff screws your stuff up.
3. Requirements:
This software and its associated code and programming require the following:
- Website with appropriate web server (Apache, IIS, etc.).
- PHP 5.0
- MySQL 5.0
You can probably get away with slightly older versions of the above stuff, but I highly recommend getting these.
4. Setup and Installation:
- Unzip php_tinyMuw_v0-0-x.zip to a folder named tinyMuw in your website's root documents folder.
- Create the database and tables as read in tinyMuw.sql.
- Input the CSS data from tinyStyle.css into your page CSS document.
- Cut and Paste the code from Header.inc into your index.php (or appropriate equivalent) BEFORE any of the code there. This is required for page refreshes and cookie stuff to work.
- Look around in database.php for MySQL database info. You need to change this stuff to reflect what you have set up for your site. Lines 5 and 8 are the magic ones.
- Change the information in config.php to something unique. You need to either generate an MD5 hash for your password (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) or remove the md5() function from the Header.inc code username/password comparison. A good site to generate an MD5 hash from a string is:
http://pajhome.org.uk/crypt/md5/
- Not required by HIGHLY RECOMMENDED is changing the cookie information found in
Header.inc and admin.php to something unique. This will prevent anyone from just
using the information found on the tinyMuw site to break in and change all your
awesome content. In Header.inc, lines 24, 25, 33 and 34 contain cookie names and
data. In admin.php, lines 8 and 9 contain the cookie data. In tinyMuw.php, lines
15 and 81 contain the data.
- To actually implement the utility, insert the following code into index.php where you want to see the login/entry system (admin.php), and the actual display of your entries (tinyMuw.php):
<?php include 'tinyMuw/admin.php';?>
<?php include 'tinyMuw/tinyMuw.php';?>
- To implement the Google Video utility of the script, insert the following code into a file called videoPage.php where you want the video player box to appear:
<?php include 'tinyMuw/video.php';?>
NOTE: I know this sounds like a lot of work, and it is. But what else do you expect from such a low-numbered release, especially one written in a combat theater? ;)
II. ADMINISTRATION:
1. Security Issues:
In these releases, there are a few things included in the code to prevent such easy break-in techniques as basic SQL injection and hypertext format traversal (I don't know if that's the formal term for it but the term works for me). There is the minor problem of using cookies to maintain session information, as well as the problem of forms submission injection in the PHP url itself. These problems aren't easily circumvented, and the latter of which can be reduced significantly by renaming a few of the variables within the code itself. This creates Security Through Obscurity, but in my experience, 95% of websites using PHP/MySQL solutions use this technique when the same types of functions/operations are performed. Until I research or a random developer drops me a line with a better idea, this will have to work. I do this for free anyways.
2. Future Plans:
None. What I mean is that I'll get to the future when I get to the future. Although I would REALLY like to see myself (et al) develop this into a full-blown Content Management System (CMS) like RedCMS and others. I would also like to see people learning from this as much (or more!) about PHP and MySQL as I did. However, I would like to start inventing code to do some of the following:
- Add a user database into the total MySQL creature, which is called on by a session-
handling file and is referred to constantly by a session-handling file.
- I would like to keep security at the forefront of this CMS.
III. MISCELLANEOUS:
1. Known Bugs:
- Currently, there doesn't exist a way (in the code as it is) to refresh the page after inputting a new entry, or deleting an old one. Those points in the code are marked by comments in database.php.
- The Archive function in tinyMuw.php only supports 50 old entries.
- As of v0.0.4GV, there is no functionality to remove Google embed code. There is fair warning on the page in question, so just be careful. It won't kill you or anything, you'll just have to go back and start all over with a new entry if you screw up.
2. Version Tracker:
- v0.0.4GV (CURRENT STABLE RELEASE):
- Added video.php and the videoPage.php functions, which allow Google Video to easily be implanted into the news. The purpose of having videos launch in a separate page is multifaceted. It gives your page more surface area (read: more adspace if you so desire) as well as keeping your mainpage streamlined and free of annoying images and other unattractive objects.
- Tightened database function calls a little more, referring to database.php in places where it wasn't before. This increases security and efficiency.
- v0.0.3:
- Added database.php, a central file from which all database calls are made, to which function calls from all database-connection-requesting files are made.
- v0.0.2 (first public release):
- Added Archive function, which allows the display of the last 50 entries.
- Added the ability to delete entries.
- Made possible the insertion of basic html formatting tags into entries.
- v0.0.1:
- Added Edit feature.
- Added security to script with string handlers.
3. Development Information:
The forums at http://forums.L0j1k.com have a helpful forum dedicated just for tinyMuw and the development train and community. If you'd like to join the group (as formal as this sounds) just register at the forums and start posting. All comments and questions and criticisms are welcome. There are many ways to get involved in the development. Just grab a copy and start running it, chopping it up, serving it, modifying it and throwing comments and suggestions and code snippets or chunks back onto the forums. The important thing is to LEARN from it and have fun making it work for your site.
Yes, this script was completely developed in a combat theater. Specifically in the city of Baghdad, Iraq, near BIAP.
4. Contact Information:
You can contact the original author of this software at tinymuw(at)tinymuw(dot)com. My name is Curtis Zimmerman and I like hearing about how people use the software, any comments or suggestions you have concerning the software, or what kind of fish is your favorite to fish for. I will also answer limited questions concerning installation and setup but please no questions like "taht not wrokig, plz hlep me". I speak only English and limited amounts of German, so please don't ask me things in Russian or Vietnamese.
