334 CHAPTER 11 (Web hosting top) MODIFYING PHPBB PREHACKED BOARDS
334 CHAPTER 11 MODIFYING PHPBB PREHACKED BOARDS AND WHY YOU SHOULD AVOID THEM Some groups independent of phpBB take the phpBB codebase, add a lot of modifications to it, and re-release it in a package commonly known as a prehacked board. These can be the pinnacle of convenience, adding in just about any feature you could ever want bolted onto your phpBB software in one easy-to-install package, with no code to sweat over. However, these prehacked boards have some serious disadvantages that outweigh their advantages. For starters, prehacked boards typically come with a plethora of additional features that you may never need. With additional features comes additional bloat. Considering that the modifications applied probably have not had much mainstream performance testing, loading the package on your server when traffic is high could be quite a challenge. (Of course, this varies depending on who packaged the distribution.) Another problem is that prehacked boards may or may not be totally secure. Some boards may use older phpBB codebases, which may be vulnerable to attack. If a critical update is made available by the phpBB team, there s no telling when that same update will be available for your prehacked package, as applying the official phpBB update may break your board. Finally, distributions can come and go. If your prehacked phpBB maintainers decide to abandon their project, you could be stuck out in the cold with limited support and no updates, which is not safe when vulnerabilities strike. You are better off sticking with an official phpBB release that will be updated and supported. With an official release, you have total control over the modifications the freedom to add and remove features at will. With the prehacked packages, you are not necessarily afforded such flexibility. Creating Modifications Sometimes, the hacks out there just don t cut it you can t find one that does exactly what you want. Some people (like myself) are incessant tweakers, who feel the need to change more of the board than typically is modified. In these cases, the alternative is to create your own modifications. This is a task for the self-motivated with enough time to thoroughly test the effects of the modification. This section covers the basics of working with phpBB s various subsystems the guts of phpBB, if you will programmatically to create your own modifications, as well as how to package and submit them to the community. This section requires a fair amount of competency with PHP, object-oriented programming, and MySQL syntax. If you have any qualms about these topics, you should review a tutorial or consider purchasing a book such as Beginning PHP and MySQL by W. Jason Gilmore (Apress, 2004) before you start coding a hack. Note Before you start coding your hack, do a thorough search of the hacks sites listed in Table 11-1, and make sure that your desired hack doesn t already exist. If it does, it may be better for you to install that existing hack, rather than trying to reinvent the wheel. Additionally, if you will be submitting your work to the community, this cuts down on the number of duplicate hacks and other potential issues that may arise between the original author of the hack and yourself. You can save yourself a lot of work and trouble by making sure you aren t duplicating someone else s work.
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