Welcome to the UseBB 1 introduction document. This file gives some general information regarding UseBB, how to install/upgrade, etc.
What's UseBB?
UseBB 1 is an Open Source forum package developed in PHP 4 and using the popular MySQL database back-end to store data. Unlike other popular forum systems, UseBB does not strive to have as many features as possible, but to be one of the easiest and most usable forum packages, limiting the basic feature set to only the essential. UseBB is pure forum software.
UseBB is an ideal solution for small to medium-sized websites which require an easy to use forum package without the bloat, that produces standards compliant output, is secure and easily configurable.
For a list of features, see the feature list at UseBB.net.
Install UseBB 1
Before you install UseBB 1, you have to make sure your host accords to the following system requirements.
Minimum requirements
- HTTP server supporting PHP (or CGI)
- PHP version 4.3.0, including
session
,PCRE
andmysql
extensions - MySQL version 3.23
Recommended set-up
- GNU/Linux operating system
- Recent Apache HTTPD version, including
mod_rewrite
- Recent PHP 4 or 5 version, including
session
,PCRE
,mysql(i)
,zlib
andcurl
extensions - Recent MySQL version
UseBB 1 supports PHP 5 upto the recent versions of 5.3, and was tested with MySQL versions up to MySQL 5.5.
UseBB was also confirmed to work with some other HTTP servers, such as Microsoft IIS, lighttpd and ABYSS. However, there is no guarantee the latest version still does.
Important: If you use MySQL 4.1 or higher, it is highly recommended to use a latin1
collation instead of a Unicode one. Should your host use Unicode as default database collation, please change this for your database using phpMyAdmin or a similar administration tool or contact your host before installing UseBB 1. In most cases though, no action will be necessary.
To install UseBB 1, you have two options.
Note: You must choose only one of the following installation methods. You don't have to follow both lists of steps. If you don't know what to choose, perform the automatic installation.
Automatic installation
The automatic installer is mostly the best and easiest method to install UseBB 1.
- Rename
config.php-dist
toconfig.php
; - Upload/move all the files to their final destination online;
- Optional: chmod
config.php
so that it is writable by the webserver, this will able both the installer and UseBB's ACP to change settings; - Open the installation wizard in your web browser (located at
install/
– the previous link only works when reading this file after uploading). - Follow the instructions in the wizard.
Manual installation
Alternatively, you can install UseBB 1 manually.
- Execute
install/schemas/mysql.sql
followed byinstall/usebb.sql
on your database (using a database management tool such as phpMyAdmin); - Rename
config.php-dist
toconfig.php
; - Edit
config.php
and adjust the database settings1; - Upload/move all the files except for the
install
directory to their final destination online; - Optional: chmod
config.php
so that it is writable by the webserver, this will able UseBB's ACP to change settings; - Register a first user, it will automatically be an administrator.
1Use type 'mysqli
' if you use PHP 5 and have the mysqli
extension available.
After installation
When installation is done, you can log in and start configuring your forum. The link to the ACP (Admin Control Panel) is at the bottom of the page.
If this is a public forum, it is advised to read the anti-spam instructions and take appropriate measures. By default no anti-spam features are enabled.
Upgrade an existing UseBB
If you run a forum powered by a previous UseBB 1.0 version, you can upgrade as following:
- Recommended: make a backup of the database before continuing.
-
Perform changes (note this only works for updating the previous release):
- Reupload all changed files. There is a separate package only containing new and changed files.
- Or apply the patch found in the separate download file
usebb-<version>.diff
. The patch can be applied using GNU patch or a compatible tool.
- Alternatively, you can also reupload all files (except
config.php
).
Separate download files can be found at www.usebb.net/downloads.
Upgrading from several (now really old) 0.x versions is not possible without making database changes. Ask for help at the forums.
More information
Important notes
- While there are Unicode patches applied to the source, Unicode remains officially unsupported in UseBB 1. Please use Unicode (UTF-8) based translations at your own risk.
- At this time, the next version of the UseBB forum software is under development. UseBB 2 is written in PHP 5 and thus will not be usable on PHP 4. Our limited userbase has permitted us of making this migration towards PHP 5. However, bug fix releases for UseBB 1 will still be made for an unspecified amount of time (a number of months after the release of UseBB 2.0.0). If you wish to be able to upgrade to UseBB 2 in the future (which is highly recommended), please make sure your host is able to run PHP 5.3 or newer. Many web hosts already do or might do by the time 2.0.0 is released.
Developer's remark
UseBB 1 and its beta versions 0.x were developed as a hobby project, partially to gain experience with PHP and web development. The first code was written in 2004.
Even though UseBB 1 has proven to be very suitable for small communities and is still maintained, its implementation should not be seen as a good example of the usage of modern (web) development techniques. For example, UseBB 1 lacks good use of object oriented programming and contains a number of design flaws that should be avoided in other (web) applications.
Future major UseBB versions will completely abandon the current v1 architecture. Consider UseBB 1 for what it is: a light and – most important – classic bulletin board system.
External links
If you would like more information about UseBB, check out the following locations.
- UseBB.net for general information, news, downloads, etc.
- The community forums for help, (development) discussion, etc.
- Recent development information, feature requests, etc can be found at our GitHub account.