Hi All,
Since what we need in API manager is API wise list down of threads, where
in which users can make posts and etc., I doubt the proposed solution
"OSQA" would be able to deliver on this because of it's "Q & A" approach,
to the situation. Basically, an entry made by the user becomes a question,
and what ever replies posted for that question becomes answers.
Since the structure we would require is something like the following
(layout):
Topic (API)
├─────── Thread
├──── Post 1
└──── Post 2
We could however make use of the "tags" function in OSQA, to get something
similar going. Once a user clicks on a link listed under API X, he will be
directed to a URL like
"https://osqa.apimanager.com/tags/api_x/<https://osqa.wso2.com/tags/esb/>"
where in which all the questions tagged under that API Name will be listed.
An API name would become the "tag". We can also enforce a restriction from
the OSQA side when the user posts a question, to validate if he had chosen
at least one tag pertaining to an API. But a solution such as this would
not be scaleable.
On the contrary we may adopt one of the following solutions (both are PHP
based opensource industry standard solutions, under GPL V2);
1) PHPBB
This is the forum used by Alfresco and the Blender Community. A showcase of
the same is available at [1].
2) BBPress
This is a Wordpress Plugin. A showcase is available at [2].
Both these solutions are full fledged forums, that will adhere to the
layout listed above (and replies are published out as posts, in contrast to
a Q & A context).
For your reference, a feature comparison of popular forum solutions can be
found at [3]. IMHO, PHPBB (option 1) seems to be a viable solution.
However in all the cases discussed here, the forum functionality would not
be "integrate-able" inside the AM pack directly, and would require hosting
in a separate Application Server.
One additional point we need to look at is the synchronization of user
accounts on AM side with the forum solution we decide to go ahead with,
since both the databases are MySQL based (Our User Management DB and their
Forum DB) we can consider migrating their tables to our format, but i do
not know how future proof this would be if we are to upgrade to future
versions of the latter.
I know that we will require a lot more research and discussions to decide
on a particular solution, just wanted to get the idea out there and get
your feedback. Please feel free to share your thoughts.
[1] - https://www.phpbb.com/showcase/all/
[2] - http://bbpress.org/about/examples/
[3] - http://www.forummatrix.org/compare/bbPress+miniBB+phpBB+SMF+vBulletin
Thanks,
Ruwan Yatawara
Software Engineer,
WSO2 Inc.
lean . enterprise . middleware
email : [email protected]
mobile : +94 77 9110413
www: :http://wso2.com
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