Joomla! Discussion Forums

Joomla has a new component called JFusion that is designed to be a universal user integration tool for Joomla 1.5

Why did you decide to code this project?
Nigel Hughes and I first coded a user integration plugin for Joomla/vbulletin, but soon realized that the logic behind every integration is the same. Why should everybody start coding a bridge from scratch when all bridges try to do the same thing (more or less). JFusion now provides and extended framework that handles the "logic" behind the integration. All forum specific code is stored in a separate PHP file. Adding JFusion support for a different software would involve duplicating one of these files and changing the SQL statements to be compatible with the new software.

How does this JFusion does it magic?
JFusion uses the new plugin functions of Joomla 1.5 This allows JFusion to provide user integration without any core hacks. It forces Joomla to use the forum software usertable for authentication. Since the forum usertable is now the "master", all user registration/password changes, etc etc will be done through the forum software.

Therefore the user can login using the same username/password in both Joomla and an external bulletin board. Joomla usergroup and the Joomla permission system will remain unchanged and fully functioning with JFusion. This is achieved by creating a custom (user un-editable) custom profile field in the forum software where the Joomla usergroup is stored.

Wait a minute, isn't JFusion illegal for the same reason that the SMF-Joomla bridge was withdrawn?
We believe that JFusion is already compliant with the Joomla GPl license (even non GPL softwares such as SMF and vbulletin), because of the framework of JFusion.

Most bridges the hack the cores of both software to integrate these products into a single functioning piece of software. The the FSF said that this model is illegal for some bridges, as combining GPL and non-GPL softwares is not possible.

However JFusion uses a different model. Only the username/password are retrieved from a GPL mySQL database. No changes are made  to SMF/vbulletin. The softwares functions are not integrated and the packages remain as a stand-alone. (which is great for performing software updates)


Which softwares are supported at this moment
* Vbulletin 3.6.8
* SMF 1.1.4
* phpBB3

What advantages does JFusion have?
* Just install the plugin, configure and publish the plugin to get up and running
* No changes to the Joomla core and no manual uploading of files.
* Forum software can be installed on the same server as Joomla or on a remote server
* Setup wizard provided for easy installation/configuration
* Single sign-in and the plugin will create both the Joomla and Forum cookie (Vbulletin only at this stage).
* No nasty synchronisation issues, as a single table is used for authentication.
* Last post/thread module provided to show forum activity in Joomla.
* multi language support
* Uninstalling is as easy as unpublishing the plugin.

What dis-advantages does JFusion have?
* JFusion currently uses the forum usertable and no Joomla user synchronisation is provided. This means that no user data is stored in the Joomla user table.
* No dual-login support for SMF and phpBB3 at this stage.

What are you planning to add in the future
* User synchronization to between Joomla and forum software
* Automatic login using cookie generation for phpBB and SMF (only vbulletin has automatic cookie generation at this moment)

When will JFusion be released?
You can download the first release at: http://joomlacode.org/gf/project/jfusion/

What files are in this release
jfusion.zip -> JFusion Component (contains core code, handles setup and stores parameters)
jfusion_auth.zip -> JFusion authentication plugin (checks for correct passwords)
jfusion_user.zip -> JFusion user plugin (handles all other user functions)
jfusion_login.zip -> JFusion login module (so that users get the correct registration and forgot password links)
jfusion_activity.zip -> JFusion module that displays the latest activity in the forum

I think I found a bug. Can you help me to get JFusion up and running for me?
Please report your issue on: http://joomlacode.org/gf/project/jfusion/
We will aim to get issues sorted as soon as possible.


Why are you releasing JFusion now, when you are still adding functionability and the JFusion code is not "stable"
We are looking for people to test JFusion and provide feedback. We are also very keen for people to get involved in developing JFusion and adding functionability. The more people get involved the faster a stable release of JFusion will be available.

Give me an email on mariusvr at gmail.com or PM me if you are interested in helping to further develop this project.

Thanks, Marius

What license will JFusion be released under?

Long live open source!!!!!!!

JFusion will be released under GPL. Which means no fees and no subscriptions.

Cool with me . I will move this to the Open Source forum, it's a bit more suited for a thread like this.

    WOW WOW !    

Really nice to hear! finally they get married......Also now the Gold release of phpBB 3.0 is 13th. 

So do you know when this issueswill working for phpBB 3.0 Gold J 1.5 ?

"* Single sign-in and the plugin will create both the Joomla and Forum cookie (Vbulletin only at this stage) 
* No dual-login support for SMF and phpBB3 at this stage.
(* User synchronization to between Joomla and forum software)

Hope this will be soooooooooooooooooooonn 

-----------  good news too from phpBB side --------------------

http://startrekguide.com/community/viewtopic.php?&f=118&t=4090

Upcoming Guest: Johan Janssens of Joomla!

by webmacster87 on 05 Dec 2007, 12:00
We've alluded to this on many previous episodes of phpBB Weekly, and now its official. Johan Janssens, the project manager and lead developer of Joomla!, will be our guest on phpBB Weekly #043, which will be recorded on Saturday, December 15th, at the usual time. David has been talking about the Joomla!-phpBB meetup in London which took place a few months ago, and so on this episode, we're going to be talking a bit about why and how phpBB and Joomla! are planning to work together in the near future.

As usual, we'd like to invite you to join in live on the episode (and if you call in, you yourself can appear on the phpBB Weekly episode to ask a question of us and/or Johan), but if you are unable and still have questions that you'd like to ask us to pass along, please feel free to post it in this topic.

I'll also take the opportunity to detail our plans for the other upcoming episodes. You'll notice on our TalkShoe page that there's no episode scheduled for December 22nd. We're going to be taking that Saturday off to do miscellaneous things with our families for the holidays, however I will be releasing a "best of" episode that weekend featuring some of the best moments from the past year on phpBB Weekly. December 29th will be a live episode that only I will host (David will be in the process of moving to Spokane), and we'll be taking a relaxed look back at the phpBB news of 2007 and take a look ahead into 2008, and I'd certainly like to have you join in and we can maybe all share our New Years resolutions or something.

What's in store for this Saturday's episode (December 8th)? Well, you'll just have to wait and see...

Thanks again for being part of phpBB Weekly, and I look forward to seeing you when Johan joins us!

JFusion should already work with phpBB 3.0 Gold, unless they have changed the encryption method in the new release or drastically changed the database structure (which I don't think has happened).

That is the beauty of JFusion, you can upgrade the forum software or Joomla softwares without any reinstalling components or spending hours reapplying the patches. As JFusion pull the data straight from the mySQL database and is not dependent on the forum code.

Yeah, we would like to see all of the functions implemented asap too Work and life in general are limiting the amount of time we can spent on implementing these new features. Feel free to jump in and help 

Thanks, Marius

This is a landmark plugin that will bring further prosperity to Joomla!
Can't wait to try this.
Congrats mariusvr !

A universal bridge!  Wow!  Phenomenal. Forums are so important to so many organizations and having it integrated with Joomla! CMS is a powerful internet combo.

Dan

I have a look at the code a bit and seems to me develop support for another software (e.g. bulletin board or wiki) will not be as easy as it sounds.

I thought I can make a connector (bridge) to myBB first using JFusion infrastructure. I noticed the software specific things are spreaded into several files: admin.xxx.php, admin.xxx.xml, com_jfusion.xml, .... I admit I am rather lost now.

I hope there will be some day a cookbook for attaching general applications to Joomla using JFusion.

I do not hurry. I know there is a first alpha step now. The tiny step for a man the GREAT step for all mankind!
Thanks Guys!

P.S: I will try to test it and let you know. That's what you need right know. Feedbacks!

This progress turned me into a very happy person  ;) Finally some light in the Joomla/SMF darkness.
I've installed JFusion, it all went okay.

But I can't get it work. I've turned off the Joomla aut en userplugin. Published the JFusionplugins but I keep getting these erorrs:



SMF 1.1.4 and Joomla 1.5 RC3 are in not in the same database!

Make a new thread for your Jfusion issues. 
This thread is to discuss JFusion.  Not for JFusion tech support.
It'll make it better for everyone.
Thanks for considering this.

The com_jfusion.xml is only used for the installer. The jfusion_xxx.xml files are used once a software type is selected in the jfusion component. This allow for full customization of the component parameters and are therefore forum specific. There was one function in admin.jfusion.php that had specific code in it (function do_curl), but that function was used for testing only, is never called and has been removed for the next release (thanks for the pointer).

Here is how the framework works:

There is an abstract base class which all forums implementations can derive from, and a factory method that creates an
instance of forum from there using the forum specific php file (ie admin.smf_forum.php). This way our generic code can deal with "AbstractForum" and never needs to know which implementation is used, meaning our logic can be separated from the model. For instance to get the component parameters you would use:



and to authenticate a user you would use:



This is why JFusion can support three different forum softwares that each use different password encryptions, database structures and cookie generation.

A "cook book" would be a great idea to allow other people to more easily add new types of software. To add a new software you need to add 2 new files: jfusion_xxx.xml (containing the component parameters) and admin.xxx_forum.php (containing the forum specific php code) The cook book will go on the todo list.

Thanks, Marius

Thanks for testing JFusion. Could you please report this bug on:

http://joomlacode.org/gf/project/jfusion/

and we will look into it as soon as possible. Cheers, Marius

Now that you've got a release and everything is looking like it is running hot, straight, and normal -- THANKS! -- I'd like to return to a concern I mentioned a month ago.

Since J! login looks to PHPBB3 login database, but doesn't update J! login database, will plugins that use the J! login database like  VirtueMart, Community Builder, or jCommunity operate normally?

Dan

I'm install plugin to joomla 1.5 rc2 and rc3. It writes . Plugin has written for j1.5. What problem?
Legasy is off.

The best way to solve this is to have an option in the configuration asking you if you would like Joomla or the forum software to be the "master user table". Nigel and I both wanted the forum software to be the master and therefore that function was written first. Once we add the user sync functions, it will be easy to have Joomla as the master user table and use community builder for registrations (Joomla handles all new user registrations and JFusion will handle the creation of the user in the forum software). Nigel is writing a user-mirroring function that will allow compatibilty with vitemart and other components for the short term.

Just another thing to put on the to-do list 

Cheers, Marius

A syncing function sounds good, to me.  I don't need a short-term VirtueMart patch, I'm waiting for 1.5 stable before converting my websites, but will want to add some combination of AEC, VirtueMart, jCommunity, and PHPBB3 to create dynamic suites. Having JFusion intergrate user functions will be wonderful. I'm thinking that to make these play well together having J! as the master user table will prevent problems.

Thanks so much for tackling this. It is vital. Dan

I tried to test this new bridge component today. But I was depressed at the first step: when installing into Joomla! 1.5, it said I must enable the Legacy Mode to install it.

Why not a native Joomla! 1.5 component?

Thanks for testing the JFusion. JFusion is completely written using the Joomla 1.5 native code and will work without legacy mode enabled. However, the XML installer file did not include "version=1.5" and therefore you got this error message.

version 1.01 will have this fixed and will be released today.

Sorry for the confusion, Marius

That's right, I changed the version=1.0 to version=1.5 in the xml file, then it can be installed without Legacy mode smoothly.

I also noticed that this component looks like vbLink component very much. Maybe you are the save team.

Many strings at backend can't be found in the language file, that means I can't make a full translation for this component. Wish you will add all those interface texts into language file.

If I missed an extra language file, please tell me.

Thanks.

This plugin looks promising, but I have a few questions:

Do you still need separate user accounts in Joomla for administration and editing purposes?



Do you think it's possible to do this without breaking the GPL license?

to MarHaj:
Adding myBB should not be hard, especially since it supports custom profile fields out of the box. The trickiest bit is to add the cookie generation code (maybe because that is not my specialty). I have attached two files to this post which you could work on to add myBB support. I have edited the XML file for you already. The PHP file was originally for vbulletin and the SQL statements will need to be edited.


To baijianpeng:
Yes the developers are the same for JFusion and VBlink.

On your request we have moved all texts into the language file (this was your feature request for vblink). However some text in the XML files might not be able to be moved into the language files (these are the parameters definitions).


To Ivo
I have asked the FSF on the JFusion framework and GPL compatibility. I asked him if a GPL and non-GPL software could access/share the same mySQL table. They replied to me with:



Problems arrise when you use bridges to create a single new software (the code-glue-code model), however with JFusion the two products remain stand-alone and only the username/passwords are synchronised using standard SQL calls. The FSF can not see a problem with it, so there is no reason for concern in my opinion.


The joomla usergroup permission system remains fully functioning. The usergroup is currently set through a custom profile field in the forum software. In the future we hope to make some changes in order for JFusion to support community builder.

Cheers, Marius

JFusion Alpha 1.0.1 is released changes are:

- Added option to have unwrapped forum links
- Fixed XML version number to allow install without legacy mode
- Fixed some code that resulted in a warning being displayed.
- Added error routine to activity module, so people get a message to configure the JFusion component first.

I had a go add adding the cookie generation for SMF. Unfortunately it kicked my $ss and it did not seem to work. Anybody want to jump in and create the cookie generation for SMF and phpBB3?

Enjoy, Marius

Many THANKS Marius!

great news ! I will try my best to offer you a Chinese language translation for this bridge.

It seems that parameters labels in xml file also can be moved to language file, this is the basic feature of Joomla! 1.5 in order to support multilingual.

I also welcome the version 1.0.1 of your bridge. Thank you very much.

Support for MyBB would be very nice.
Is there something in development to this?

Hi,

I installed this bridge to my J! 1.5, but I can’t sync the users between J!1.5 and phpBB3.
How can I do that?
The next question:
How can I separate the admin from users?
Thanks, the answer!
zseni

I posted a request for help to myBB community since I know nothing about myBB API. I will wait for several days and if nobody picks the opportunity (have Joomla users) up I will do it  myself. Fortunately there is a good documentation in myBB wiki pages.

Hi mariusvr,

JFusion is such an important step forward for Joomla! .. have you any thoughts about having your own forum ?
There is likely to be losts of discussion about JFusion but it'll be a mess if it is done on the Joomla! forums.
Unless JFusion can get it's own forum here (like vBridge got when Predator tried to bridge J and vB).

Thoughts ?

Wonderful! Are you planning to integrate it with IPB too? (Invision Power Board).. Its as famous as vBulletin and one of the best forum packages that I've used...