Seeking advice: Creating msg board/forum.

[MissouriTiger]

I wish to design/dev an online message board/forum, kinda like this one, but not so elaborate. I hope to use it as a communication forum for myself and other students in one of my classes. I would be grateful for any advice. At this point I'm really not sure where to start. I would like to use Java if possible, but will consider using whatever tool might be best.

Please note: I don't have a platform yet. I will choose a host later to support whatever language/tools I end up using. ALso, my exposure to Server Pages type development has been limited to just a pinch of ASP (and I really don't like ASP all that much).I have a couple of specific questions:

1. Is java even a good choice for this? Should I consider a different language/framework?

2. What functionality exists in the Java API to help me. What classes/packages should I be looking at?

3. Can anyone point me to any specific resources to get me going on this?

Trying to do a search for this subject on the Web has proven almost impossible, since keywords such as "forum" and "message board" are all too common

http://WWW topics.

It's almost as bad as using "internet" as a search word.


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Constructed from 100% recycled electrons

 

[godcomplex]

The technologies I would be looking at if I were you would be jsp/servlets, JDBC, rmi or EJB, and a backend database (I would use mySql or mSql for simplicity). Java would work very well for this solution. In fact I wrote an application just like it when I was in school with servlets, rmi, JDBC, and a mySql database and it worked quite well.

-gc "I don't look busy because I did it right the first time."

 

[sedj]

I agree with the gc.

But keep it simple, and always folow the Model View Controller (MVC) design :

The JSP page is the View - this is what the user will see.

The servlet is the Controller - this is your hub of your application.

The JavaBeans or EJB's (bit different but EJB's are just an extension of JavaBeans really) are you Model, or business logic.

So in a really quick nutshell :

The JSP does the presentation and talks to the servlet, which then invokes the JavaBeans, which then interrogate the db to add / retrieve messages. The JSP page then read the state of the Beans, reposts the data.

Bosh - no worries. It can be done easier, without the servlet actioj, but this MVC method keeps everyting nice and clean, and is scalable too ...

Check out the "JavaServer Pages" book by o'reilly (

http://www.oreilly.com)

- it holds all you desire !

Ben