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Upgrading and flexibility

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Upgrading and flexibility
Hello all.

I'm currently using Links 2.0 as a news database. It has been fairly heavily modified and tinkered with so that it now does exactly what I need it to do, as an integrated part of a much larger web site. None of the static pages generated are accessible on their own, only through php and ssi includes.

At any rate, as the database grows, I anticipate quickly needing to upgrade from the flatfile system, as each record is pretty large (maybe 10-15K each, many with multiple pages worth of html formatted text), and I just imagine that Links 2.0 won't be able to handle too many of those before getting into trouble...

Links SQL would be the obvious choice, but I have some concerns about the ease of the upgrade process. I mean, I'm sure it's pretty easy to transfer the database itself, but I suspect the structuring and formating work I've done would have to be completely redesigned, which could be somewhere between a major and an enormous pain.

Has anyone had any experience with this kind of problem before? Since I don't really have any idea how LinksSQL works, it's hard to predict what sorts of difficulties I might have.

One potentially silly question (but it never hurts to ask, right?): would it be possible/make sense to modify Links2.0 to work with a MySQL database without making the full upgrade to LinksSQL?

Just putting this out there in case anyone has advice.

Thanks in advance.

Best regards,
adamuforestasan

Fractured Atlas :: Liberate the Artist
Services: Healthcare, Fiscal Sponsorship, Marketing, Education, The Emerging Artists Fund
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Re: [adamuforestasan] Upgrading and flexibility In reply to
Yes, transfering it will not be a problem. What kind of modifications did you make to Links 2? Links SQL makes it easy to do almost anything, via either globals, plugins or the loop tabs.

>>>One potentially silly question (but it never hurts to ask, right?): would it be possible/make sense to modify Links2.0 to work with a MySQL database without making the full upgrade to LinksSQL? <<<

Its up to you...but it would probably cost more in time/effort doing this, than buying Links SQL, and getting all the great features it offers.

Andy (mod)
andy@ultranerds.co.uk
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Re: [adamuforestasan] Upgrading and flexibility In reply to
Yes you are correct by saying the actual data move would be pretty simple....thats not a problem...the problems start with your customizations. Obviously they can't be carried over to Links SQL in their current state so they'd either need to be ported into SQL code or you may find existing plugins/globals/hacks that do the same job.

What you really need to do is write down a list of custom hacks you have made and then if you want you can post them here and then we'll be able to tell you if they currently exist or not.
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Re: [Paul] Upgrading and flexibility In reply to
Quote:
What you really need to do is write down a list of custom hacks you have made and then if you want you can post them here and then we'll be able to tell you if they currently exist or not.


Yeah - I figured as much. Wink Problem is - I'm not sure if I can even do that accurately, but I'll give it a whirl...

"Standard" Mods

1. Last Links mod with Last Links page included via ssi and php includes on various pages
2. Hopto Category mod
3. Multiple categories mod
4. Category Exclude mod


"Custom" Hacks

1. GT Advanced Editor integrated into "add" templates to facilitate html in detailed field
2. Several new fields and a few old ones eliminated
3. "Home" page included via php include on another page - never appears alone
4. add.cgi moved to behind .htaccess protected directory


Those are the main ones, but I know I'm forgetting a few. Like I said, directory structures and navigation have all been sort of "restructured" and whatnot... (I know that's terribly vague and probably totally useless, but I don't know how to be more explicit, in part because I doubt I remember everything I did and I was too lazy to make any kind of documentation... Unsure) But maybe if someone could just address the stuff above, that would be a good start.

Thanks a lot, as always.

Fractured Atlas :: Liberate the Artist
Services: Healthcare, Fiscal Sponsorship, Marketing, Education, The Emerging Artists Fund
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Re: [adamuforestasan] Upgrading and flexibility In reply to
Hi,

The import will automatically add any custom columns you had in Links 2, so moving custom information is not a problem.

Assuming you used templates in Links 2.0, most of the templates can be reused in Links SQL, or at least will be very similiar.

Most of what you list there won't be too hard to re-integrate. There are many examples of the Last Links mod, and multiple categories is already included by default.

Hope this helps,

Alex
--
Gossamer Threads Inc.
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Re: [Alex] Upgrading and flexibility In reply to
Thanks, Alex. It's just a matter of time (and money), really - I know I have to make the upgrade, and it looks like it should be doable.

Fractured Atlas :: Liberate the Artist
Services: Healthcare, Fiscal Sponsorship, Marketing, Education, The Emerging Artists Fund