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Diffstat (limited to 'content/blog/2021-04-23-php-comment-system.md')
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1 files changed, 89 insertions, 105 deletions
diff --git a/content/blog/2021-04-23-php-comment-system.md b/content/blog/2021-04-23-php-comment-system.md index f369d0c..dcc96ff 100644 --- a/content/blog/2021-04-23-php-comment-system.md +++ b/content/blog/2021-04-23-php-comment-system.md @@ -7,85 +7,78 @@ draft = false # The Terrible-ness of Commenting Systems -The current state of affairs regarding interactive comment systems is, -well, terrible. It is especially awful if you\'re a privacy conscious -person who does not generally load third-party scripts or frames on the -websites you visit. +The current state of affairs regarding interactive comment systems is, well, +terrible. It is especially awful if you're a privacy conscious person who does +not generally load third-party scripts or frames on the websites you visit. -Even further, many comment systems are charging exorbitant fees for -something that should be standard. +Even further, many comment systems are charging exorbitant fees for something +that should be standard. Of course, there are some really terrible options: -- Facebook Comments -- Discourse +- Facebook Comments +- Discourse -There are some options that are better but still use too many scripts, -frames, or social integrations on your web page that could impact some -users: +There are some options that are better but still use too many scripts, frames, +or social integrations on your web page that could impact some users: -- Disqus -- Isso -- Remark42 +- Disqus +- Isso +- Remark42 -Lastly, I looked into a few unique ways of generating blog comments, -such as using Twitter threads or GitHub issues to automatically post -issues. However, these both rely on external third-party sites that I -don\'t currently use. +Lastly, I looked into a few unique ways of generating blog comments, such as +using Twitter threads or GitHub issues to automatically post issues. However, +these both rely on external third-party sites that I don't currently use. # Stay Static with Server-Side Comments -The main issue for my personal use-case is that my blog is completely, -100% static. I use PHP on the back-end but website visitors only see -HTML and a single CSS file. No external javascript and no embedded -frames. - -So, how do we keep a site static and still allow users to interact with -blog posts? The key actually pretty simple - I\'m already using PHP, so -why not rely on the classic HTML `<form>` and a PHP script to -save the comments somewhere? As it turns out, this was a perfect -solution for me. - -The second issue for my personal use-case is that I am trying to keep -the contents of my website accessible over time, as described by -@brandur, in his post entitled [Blog with Markdown + Git, and degrade -gracefully through +The main issue for my personal use-case is that my blog is completely, 100% +static. I use PHP on the back-end but website visitors only see HTML and a +single CSS file. No external javascript and no embedded frames. + +So, how do we keep a site static and still allow users to interact with blog +posts? The key actually pretty simple - I'm already using PHP, so why not rely +on the classic HTML `<form>` and a PHP script to save the comments somewhere? As +it turns out, this was a perfect solution for me. + +The second issue for my personal use-case is that I am trying to keep the +contents of my website accessible over time, as described by @brandur, in his +post entitled [Blog with Markdown + Git, and degrade gracefully through time](https://brandur.org/fragments/graceful-degradation-time) . -This means I cannot rely on a database for comments, since I do not rely -on a database for any other part of my websites. +This means I cannot rely on a database for comments, since I do not rely on a +database for any other part of my websites. -I blog in plain Markdown files, commit all articles to Git, and ensure -that future readers will be able to see the source data long after I\'m -gone, or the website has gone offline. However, I still haven\'t -committed any images served on my blog to Git, as I\'m not entirely sold -on Git LFS yet - for now, images can be found at -[img.cleberg.net](https://img.cleberg.net). +I blog in plain Markdown files, commit all articles to Git, and ensure that +future readers will be able to see the source data long after I'm gone, or the +website has gone offline. However, I still haven't committed any images served +on my blog to Git, as I'm not entirely sold on Git LFS yet - for now, images +can be found at [img.cleberg.net](https://img.cleberg.net). -Saving my comments back to the Git repository ensures that another -aspect of my site will degrade gracefully. +Saving my comments back to the Git repository ensures that another aspect of my +site will degrade gracefully. # Create a Comment Form -Okay, let\'s get started. The first step is to create an HTML form that -users can see and utilize to submit comments. This is fairly easy and -can be changed depending on your personal preferences. +Okay, let's get started. The first step is to create an HTML form that users +can see and utilize to submit comments. This is fairly easy and can be changed +depending on your personal preferences. -Take a look at the code block below for the form I currently use. Note -that `<current-url>` is replaced automatically in PHP with -the current post\'s URL, so that my PHP script used later will know -which blog post the comment is related to. +Take a look at the code block below for the form I currently use. Note that +`<current-url>` is replaced automatically in PHP with the current post's URL, +so that my PHP script used later will know which blog post the comment is +related to. The form contains the following structure: -1. `<form>` - This is the form and will determine which PHP - script to send the comment to. -2. `<section hidden>` - This section is hidden from the user - and is used to ensure that we know which blog post sent the comment. -3. `<section>` Display Name (Optional) - Used to accept a - display name, if entered. -4. `<section>` Comment (Required) - Used to accept the - user\'s full comment. Markdown is allowed. +1. `<form>` - This is the form and will determine which PHP script to send the + comment to. +2. `<section hidden>` - This section is hidden from the user and is used to + ensure that we know which blog post sent the comment. +3. `<section>` Display Name (Optional) - Used to accept a display name, if + entered. +4. `<section>` Comment (Required) - Used to accept the user's full comment. + Markdown is allowed. 5. `<button>` - A button to submit the form. ``` html @@ -132,13 +125,12 @@ The form contains the following structure: # Handle Comments via POST -Now that we have a form and can submit comments, we need to create a PHP -script so that the server can fetch the comment data and save it. Make -sure your PHP script name matches the name you entered in the -`action` field in your form. +Now that we have a form and can submit comments, we need to create a PHP script +so that the server can fetch the comment data and save it. Make sure your PHP +script name matches the name you entered in the `action` field in your form. -See the code block below for the contents of my `comment.php` -script. We perform the following tasks in this script: +See the code block below for the contents of my `comment.php` script. We perform +the following tasks in this script: 1. Grab the POST data from the HTML form. 2. Sanitize the comment data with `htmlentities`. @@ -146,12 +138,11 @@ script. We perform the following tasks in this script: 4. Create a PHP object that combines all of this data. 5. Check if our destination file `comments.json` exists. 6. If so, convert the PHP object to JSON and save it to the file. -7. If the `comments.json` file does not exist, the script - will exit with an error. You can alter this to ensure it creates the - script, but my source code includes the file by default, so it will - always exist. -8. Finally, send the user back to the `#comments` section of - the blog post they just read. +7. If the `comments.json` file does not exist, the script will exit with an + error. You can alter this to ensure it creates the script, but my source + code includes the file by default, so it will always exist. +8. Finally, send the user back to the `#comments` section of the blog post they + just read. ``` php // Get the content sent from the comment form @@ -190,9 +181,9 @@ if (file_exists($file_name)) { header('Location: ' . $post_url . '#comments'); ``` -If you\'re using Apache, make sure the `www-data` user on -your server has the correct permissions to your website directory or -else it will not be able to write to `comments.json`. +If you're using Apache, make sure the `www-data` user on your server has the +correct permissions to your website directory or else it will not be able to +write to `comments.json`. ```sh chgrp -R www-data /path/to/website/ @@ -201,18 +192,15 @@ chmod -R g+w comments.json # Display User Comments -Now that we can submit comments, and they are saved to the -`comments.json` file, let\'s make sure we can show those -comments in each blog post. +Now that we can submit comments, and they are saved to the `comments.json` file, +let's make sure we can show those comments in each blog post. -The code block below shows the function I use to decode my -`comments.json` file, check if the comments apply to the -current post, and then display them. +The code block below shows the function I use to decode my `comments.json` file, +check if the comments apply to the current post, and then display them. -This piece of code should **really\*** be inside a function (or at least -in an organized PHP workflow). Don\'t just copy-and-paste and expect it -to work. You need to at least supply a `$query` variable -depending on the page visited. +This piece of code should **really** be inside a function (or at least in an +organized PHP workflow). Don't just copy-and-paste and expect it to work. You +need to at least supply a `$query` variable depending on the page visited. ``` php $query = 'your-blog-post.html'; @@ -248,30 +236,26 @@ foreach ($comments as $comment) { echo $comment_section; ``` -# Bonus: Create a \'Recent Comments\' Page +# Bonus: Create a 'Recent Comments' Page -Finally, the last part of my current system is to create a Recent -Comments page so that I can easily check-in on my blog and moderate any -spam. As an alternative, you could use PHP\'s `mail()` -function to email you for each blog comment. +Finally, the last part of my current system is to create a Recent Comments page +so that I can easily check-in on my blog and moderate any spam. As an +alternative, you could use PHP's `mail()` function to email you for each blog +comment. -The code to do this is literally the same code as the previous section, -I just make sure it is printed when someone visits -`https://example.com/comments/`. +The code to do this is literally the same code as the previous section, I just +make sure it is printed when someone visits `https://example.com/comments/`. # Possible Enhancements -This comment system is by no means a fully-developed system. I have -noted a few possible enhancements here that I may implement in the -future: - -- Create a secure moderator page with user authentication at - `https://blog.example.com/mod/`. This page could have the - option to edit or delete any comment found in - `comments.json`. -- Create a temporary file, such as `pending_comments.json`, - that will store newly-submitted comments and won\'t display on blog - posts until approved by a moderator. -- Create a `/modlog/` page with a chronological log, - showing which moderator approved which comments and why certain - comments were rejected. +This comment system is by no means a fully-developed system. I have noted a few +possible enhancements here that I may implement in the future: + +- Create a secure moderator page with user authentication at + `https://blog.example.com/mod/`. This page could have the option to edit or + delete any comment found in `comments.json`. +- Create a temporary file, such as `pending_comments.json`, that will store + newly-submitted comments and won't display on blog posts until approved by a + moderator. +- Create a `/modlog/` page with a chronological log, showing which moderator + approved which comments and why certain comments were rejected. |