The Code of SuprBay

[RobertX]

I hope this matter is not classified.

When you guys program the SuprBay's message board/forum, do you guys code from the ground up, or is the template provided and it's just a matter of adding bits and pieces to the template?

[Sid]

The forum is MyBB: a free and open source forum package. Link at the bottom of the page.

With a few mods from their mod store.

A few template modifications (e.g. the "Torrents" links).

And some bits of custom code (e.g. the TPB Status page).

[contrail]

RobertX, it is a template with bits and pieces added. Moe I think is the guy for this question to be 100% certain and correct.


Is the code linking TPB accounts and displaying the status custom?

[Moe]

It is 95% stock MyBB with some template modifications. The other 5% is 3rd party and custom written add-ons. There are a few hacks to the MyBB code itself where there aren't hooks for an add-on to grab.

[contrail]

It is 95% stock MyBB with some template modifications.  The other 5% is 3rd party and custom written add-ons.  There are a few hacks to the MyBB code itself where there aren't hooks for an add-on to grab.

So everytime you wanna upgrade the forum to the latest version of MyBB, you have to apply the hack. So do you write the custom add-ons? I obviously am missing something that is in front of me.

[Moe]

Yes, which is why if MyBB doesn't already provide the functionality, or at least the hooks to add it via an add-on, we aren't going to do it unless the functionality is worth the effort of re-applying the hack every time MyBB updates the code base.

I have written some of the add-ons myself.

[contrail]

I have written some of the add-ons myself.

How did you write these add-ons and implement them? Which ones did you do?

I can't find much in the documentation although I could have overlooked or missed it. Any help appreciated.

[Moe]

I don't know what you are fishing for. There is no documentation because we didn't document any of what we did.

How is no mystery. There was a problem that needing solving and there wasn't existing code to solve it, so we wrote our own.

If you are familiar with MyBB and see it doing something that isn't native, it is something we added. The bits that are specific to TPB obviously had to be written from scratch because no one else would have any need for it.

[RobertX]

You mean you guys never commented your code?

[SectorVector]

Read the following for information on how to write MyBB plugins. https://docs.mybb.com/1.6/Authoring-Plugins/
It is pretty simple to understand if you are familiar with function pointers or 'hook functions'.

The MyBB code itself, is easy to understand. You can download the source code or view it online

To write a plugin/mod you merely write a function that implements the desired functionality and register (hook) that function.
When the MyBB engine for that functionality runs, it invokes the registered functions.
More specific info can be found by reading the above document.

You will notice that all TPB links have an onion link alongside. This (I suspect) has been written as a plugin. It is a customization.

All 'official' mods are available here.

Plugin code resides in a separate file. The core code is not modified. The code is self-documenting. No comments required. ;-)

If you can think of a good plugin for our forum, you can write one, test it and submit it. It may perhaps be accepted by admins after evaluation. ;-)