CodeIgniter + Wordpress + phpBB + Facebook

Question

I've been working on a home project using CodeIgniter Reactor, and have come to a point where I'm going to need to implement whole set of features that ideally will work via one single sign-on system for users. 2 of these features will be custom features that rely on user registration, the other 2 features are pretty standard feature requests. I could write these 2 new features myself, but that would take a while, and I feel like I'd be re-inventing the wheel, given the feature sets of the alternatives out there. I wonder if I'm better off using existing solutions, using their user registration/sign-on system, and hooking my new features into that system.

The key standards requirements are:

A blog system - obvious answer here is to use WordPress, and use the WP Pages for the more static content but updateable content. Users will be able to comment on blog posts.

A forum - In addition to commenting on individual blog posts, they will be able to start up their own discussions about subjects. The obvious thing here is 1) one user login for both the blog and the forum, and 2) Upon creating a blog entry, a forum thread is created, and all comments on the blog entry are actually posts on this thread.

Facebook integration - the user login/registration will allow the user to connect via facebook. (I may add twitter integration later), with any comments posted on a blog entry optionally being posted to their facebook wall.

I have been trying to look at http://www.wp-united.com , which supposedly integrates WP and PhpBB, but the site is down. I've also been looking at facebook plugins for wordpress, which would cpver the majority of my requirements. Integration with phpBB or some other forum could come later.

My question really is: has anyone had a go at doing this amount of integration/hacking of wordpress/phpbb and facebook before? Did it save time, or did you opt for a completely custom solution?

Answer 1

It's good not to re-invent the wheel, but in your case you are merging a heavyweight platform (Wordpress) with a library (CodeIgniter).

I really think there's little value in what you're doing. Here's why

• Wordpress is more than just a blog; with plugins you can turn it into a full-fledge CMS. It's also very heavy.

• Wordpress is coded as a stand-alone application. Incidentally, there are forum plugins for WordPress

My suggestion would be:

1. Use Wordpress, use the Pods plugin for routes and ORM functionality
2. Use CodeIgniter, find a lightweight blog plugin for CodeIgniter