Readme.html for webforum (now in English)

Installation

JDK1.1 or better required.

Beside the optional CSS file (for HTML client-side formatting) and the provided locale file (English.properties, Italian.properties or French.properties), the servlet requires two configuration files that you may need to edit. The first file set the global properties for the forum and the second one is a user list. The user list file is specified in the global properties file.

The servlet is called through the URL
http://mydomaine/servlet/com.ondelette.servlet.webforum.WebForumServlet?_FORUMFILE_=myconfigfile

In short... (you might want to check the sample configuration files first)

• Copy the *.class files in the "servlets" directory designated by your server, this is usually a directory called servlet.
• Copy a property file like "forumsample.properties" anywhere on your system (but make sure that the JVM can read the file). Let's assume you called this file "myconfigfile". Make sure that the "MessageArchiveDirectory" directory is both readable and writeable for the JVM.
• Copy the locale properties file (English.properties, French.properties...) in the location specified by myconfigfile.
• Copy a user list file in the location specified by myconfigfile. The file can be empty. Make sure the file is writable for the servlet.
• You might need to copy a CSS file at the URL specified by myconfigfile.
• Launch the servlet with
  http://mydomain/servlet/com.ondelette.servlet.webforum.WebForumServlet?_FORUMFILE_=myconfigfile
  where myconfigfile is the path to your configuration file (it can be a relative path with respect to your JVM user.dir or an absolute path). Please note that some web servlet might have a different alias for servlets (so it can be http://mydomain/myservlets/... for example).
.

sample configuration file ("myconfigfile") :

MessageArchiveDirectory=SampleForumDirectory
ForumLocaleFile=English.properties
UserListFile=forumSampleUserList.properties
SaveDelay=60
ForumTitle=A title (may contain HTML)
ForumSubTitle=A subtitle (may contain HTML)
ForumFooter=place some HTML here for your footer
AuthorizationLevel=0
CSSURL=http://mydomain/sample/sample.css
WelcomeURL=http://mydomain/sample/forumsample.html

Note : It isn't require to create the MessageArchiveDirectory, the servlet will do it if needed, but make sure the directory is writeable for the JVM.

The parameter "AutorizationLevel" allows you to limit access to the forum to only these users with the proper autorization level

Definition of the autorization levels

NORMAL = 0;
IDENTIFIEDGUEST = 2;
MEMBER = 32;
EXECUTIVEMEMBER = 64;   // can erase messages on the forum
VIPMEMBER = 128; // can erase messages on the forum, reset the forum, add and remove users to the user list
ADMIN = 256; // same as VIPMEMBER except that the user cannot be erased or create (must be added manually to the user list file)

We can add a line such as "PostPrivilege=x" where x is an autorization number. This makes sure that the posting form is only visible to users having at least the specified autorization level. Posting is still possible for other users if they somebody provide a proper posting form (possibly as an HTML page).

FAQ

• Isn't it dangerous to have the servlet read arbitrary files on my server (e.g. /etc/passwd)

  The servlet will read the file only (never write to it) and will check that it is a proper configuration file without ever disclosing its content if it isn't a proper configuration file.

• I want to quickly check my installation?

  Type "http://mydomain/servlet/com.ondelette.servlet.webforum.WebForumServlet" once the .class files are in place. You don't need to configure a forum to check the installation.

• I loose the messages on my forum after a few minutes.

  Check that the MessageArchiveDirectory is writeable for the servlet.

• My company wants to use this forum for a commercial web site... can I use WebForum? What will it cost us?

  Yes you can and it will be entirely free.

• I know it is free, but can I get commercial support in case something goes wrong?

  Yes you can, get in touch with Daniel Lemire or anybody else willing to offer such services.

• Does it work under Unix (including Linux), under Windows?

  Yes and yes. It should work everywhere servlet support is available.

• What is the servlet I should call and what parameter do I need?

  The main servlet is com.ondelette.servlet.webforum.WebForumServlet. There are other servlets, but this is the first one you'll want to check and use. You need at least one parameter pointing to the file path of you configuration file (a properties file, see above for documentation) and that's the _FORUMFILE_ parameter.

• Why isn't WebForum distributed with a War file for automatic installation on servlet 2.2 compliant systems?

  Currently, most systems I (Daniel Lemire) have access to only offer servlet 2.0 support (specifically JServ under Apache). Future versions of WebForum will have to support servlet 2.2 features.