<?php echo "Hello Again, World!"; ?>
Note: If upgrading to VMB 2.5 from a previous version, please read the upgrade instructions.
Greetings and salutations.
This is my second blog, which is here to serve as a repository for the really die-hard geekery that I feel just doesn’t belong in my regular blog. When I realized the need for a second blog, installing it ended up being a longer process than i anticipated, and I thought I would share the fruits of my experience.
Let me step back for a moment. I am a true hacker at heart, in the traditional sense: I love to pull things apart and take a look. To see how they work and how they might work better. I’m also an avid Mac-head, and since the rise of OS X, I’ve been learning the ins and outs of its Unix-like underbelly.
In a nutshell, my computer is highly customized.
A few years back I got a second computer — a laptop — and quickly discovered that while keeping one computer tweaked to prime operation just the way I like it is kind of fun, trying to keep two computers in such a state, and relatively synchronized, is a frustrating exercise in futility.
I also know a good bit of web coding. As I’ve been working with WordPress for a couple years now, I’ve come across a number of good plugins and expansions along the way. Beyond issues involved with installing them, (which is admittedly pretty easy, usually) over time I have to keep up with updates to these — not to mention updates to WordPress itself. From time to time I even delve into the plugin files myself and make improvements….
And I want to put in a second blog? Am I nuts??? Thinking of what a pain it would be to maintain two copies of WordPress, I started looking into the various multi-blog solutions people have come up with. Most of them involve a lot of weird modifications to several files and basically comprise major modifications to large swaths of the WordPress code that are fundamentally incompatible with the regular version.
I am a great fan of what I consider “elegant” coding, which means that the designer does his job with the simplest and most straightforward methodology possible. And I found a very elegant solution to the “multiple blog on one install” question. Allan Mertner came up with something that blew me away with its simplicity and power.
WordPress holds all of its data in a MySQL database, and there is a single file called wp-config.php that holds the database login information. Allan looked at this and realized that if you can change that one file, you can completely replace the blog. With this key realization he came up with a cunningly straightforward multi-blog system:
- Replace the standard wp-config.php file with a new version that calls a different configuration set depending on what directory it’s in.
- Set up symbolic links that serve as “virtual directories” that all point to the WordPress directory.
Using the example of this site, I have an install of WordPress in the root web directory, and a symbolic link called “nerdaphernalia” (that’s right, you’re soaking in it!) that points back to the root. The modified wp-config file points to either the default or nerdaphernalia config file, depending on which of those two directories it thinks it’s in.
So other than a happy user, where do I come in in all this? Well, I made a number of improvements. First, Allan’s system was great, but it required us to install various files in and around the core WordPress files, which for me at least defeats part of the purpose of using a multiblog system in the first place. I’m trying to make updates easier, remember? Updating WordPress generally involves deleting everything but the wp-config.php file and the wp-content folder, and then dropping in the new versions of everything else; but if there are important but non-standard files strewn about, I can’t just do that. I have to remember to go through and preserve those files, and then replace them when they’re done. Add in a few plugins that work the same way, and we have a real hassle.
So first off, I tucked all the files, except for the one modified wp-config.php, into a folder in a safe place. Next, I greatly streamlined the install process. At a minimum, the user only need edit a single configuration file, autoconfig.php. If desired, the various blogs can each have individual config files, but it’s no longer necessary.
I’ve added user-accessible functions (and the really handy VUSER constant) that can be used in themes and plugins. I’ve added the ability to customize the location of the configuration files, so the security-conscious can move them entirely out of the Web directories if they wish. Overall, we are left with a easy but powerful system for running virtually any number of blogs off a single install of WordPress.
Install instructions are included with the download. Still have questions? Check out the readme and the FAQ. (Note: Sometimes the readme will list a higher version than the download. That happens if I have a development version installed.)
User “JZ” is selling written instructions for installing the system. (Please Note: I have not even seen his instructions, I’m just letting you all know.) More info in this comment.
…And if the directions are worth money to you, perhaps the actual software is worth something as well?
Download
Here’s what you’re really looking for: the download link. Have at it!
History/ Acknowledgements
For a detailed history, please see the readme file in the download.
Many of the improvements to version 2 were based upon or inspired by commenters to my blog. To them, and to everyone who has sent comments, I am grateful.
Good luck. Have fun.
684 Comments
Pages: « 1 … 19 20 21 22 23 [24] 25 26 27 28 29 … 35 » Show All
Steve, I think what you’re describing is essentially how WPMU works. If your user has access to the blogs on the MU system it uses the same user account for all of them, same login etc.
Set up one WordPress installation for multiple blogs (/root/blog/) based off of the subdomain (e.g. code.example.com/blog) – but at the same time, be able to access these multiple blogs with one “master” user account.
>> THIS CAN BE DONE
Is there either a way of using Virtual Multiblog in conjunction with WordPress MU, or maybe an add-on that forces the use of a “master” users table for all potentially existing blogs –
>> YOU NEED TO REALIZE THAT MYSQL DATABASE CAN HANDLE ALMOST AS MANY TABLES AS YOU CAN THROW AT IT. SO, IF YOU HAVE ONE db you just need to create different tables under th DB for your different blogs. Access to the db can use the same LOGIN AND PASSWORD. You can have different levels of access for different users or you can allow open access to all users and there is no reason you cannot use the same user name and password with unrestricted or restricted access to your blogs.
I wrote some EXACT KEYSTROKE instructionS on how to install Multiblog and asked $25.00 for 4 days of my work of which
I was going to give Stephen the author of Multiblog some of procceeds from people who bought the instructions. To date I have had one inquiry and no sales.
I guess bailouts of $30 an hour autoworkers and $80,000 a year cigarette workers are worth more than the .78 cents per hour I was asking.
Steve — As is, VMB doesn’t combine admin or users at all. However, something like this plugin might help you — or at least give you a starting point: http://xentek.net/code/wordpress/plugins/wp-orphanage/
I have about 100 websites using the virtual multiblog — it is great. I would like to add a plugin that would be available to each of these sites. It would be very cumbersome to login to each site and add the plugin. I thought about adding to the database field, but am fearful that I will overwrite something important. Does anyone know a more efficient way to do this?
You may be able to add a hook in the config file — not sure if that will work. Basically, make a script that calls the plugin file directly, and add a hook to call it on “plugins loaded” or something like that.
Thanks Stephen. I have written a hook in the plugins, but never one in the config file. I will have to look more into this option.
I have now reviewed the database record for active_plugins in the options table. It seems fairly straightforward with the way holds the plugins, with one exception — I don’t know what the ‘s’ id means.
a = array count
i = the array key
s – ???
example:
a:2:{i:0;s:39:”multiblog-support/multiblog-support.php”;i:1;s:37:”revision-control/revision-control.php”;}
Any idea what it means?
That’s a serialized array — meaning the program has taken a binary object and translated it into a simple string of characters for storage.
Read it this way…
Array with 2 elements:
{
Integer key : “0″;
content is String : 39 characters long : “blah blah blah”;
Integer key : “1″;
content is String : 37 characters long : “blah blah blah”;
}
BTW — Donations are appreciated.
Excellent — that answer makes sense and it corresponds to what I am seeing. Thank you. I will share a solution if I come around to making one.
Incidentally, if you are using a current version of Virtual Multiblog, you no longer need the “multiblog support” plugin. That functionality is built-in to the system now. You can delete the plugin.
[...] Internet VPS account, successfully getting it set up to run two blogs using Stephen Rider’s Virtual Multiblog which I found pretty painless. Finding a working theme proved to be more of a challenge: I [...]
[...] on the FKE Internet system: The links didn’t work in either direction! I went back to the Virtual Multiblog documentation, and found the clue I needed: The .htaccess file has to be set up differently when [...]
[...] visiems galima nustatyti skirtingus nustatymus ir naudoti skirtingus priedus. Siun?iam?s iš: http://striderweb.com/nerdaphernalia/features/virtual-m.... Iškart patariu naudoti VUSERS funkcionalum? ir palikti autoconfig’? ramyb?je
Jei [...]
[...] ways to run multiple blogs from a single wordpress installation. The most promising one IMO is Virtual Multiblog. The thing I like most about it is that it is based on standard WP. WP is both, less [...]
[...] Alea iacta est. The dice has been cast. I’m giving up on WPMU. Definitely. I will be using Virtual Multiblog instead. [...]
[...] setup these spaces, I’ve used Nerdaphernalia’s Virtual Multiblog hack / configuration. Implementing it was rather [...]
[...] successfully managed to repair my blog and tweak it to the needs of Virtual MultiBlog. Though you don’t see any changes (I’ll tackle the intended theme change at a later [...]
[...] Virtual Multiblog [...]
And what about automatic wordpress upgrade, will it work with this plugin enabled???
Yes X it does work with auto upgrade. I suggest using the first blog you create to manage that type of thing though. That is what I do anyway.
One thing I would like to see as a feature added to this would maybe be a section in config or something where you can enter a list of plugin names that you wish to have auto load on all the blogs as I create a user account for each that does not have access to enable plugins and it is a bit of a nuisance to have to go log into possibly hundreds or more blogs to activate specific plugins that need to bee in each blog.
Hello all, this is JZ.
Yes I have written detailed instructions that are easy to follow to install multiblog 2.5 and as many WP blogs as you like using VUSER.
So, for those who want to get multiblog and several wordpress blogs installed in the shortest amount of time with the least amount of aggravation I don’t think $25.00 or .78 cents per hour is too much to ask. I in turn will share some of that with Steve.
Happy blogging
JZ
Pages: « 1 … 19 20 21 22 23 [24] 25 26 27 28 29 … 35 » Show All