Apache Roller 4.0 – Beginner's Guide

Table of Contents

Apache Roller 4.0

Credits

Foreword

About the Author

About the Reviewers

Preface

What this book covers

What you need for this book

Who this book is for

Conventions

Time for action — heading

What just happened?

Pop quiz - heading

Have a go hero — heading

Reader feedback

Customer support

Errata

Piracy

Questions

1. An Introduction to Weblogs

Basic concepts about weblogs

What can you do with a weblog?

Express your feelings to the world

Time for action — a little visit to Technorati

What just happened?

Get in touch with other people

Time for action — leaving comments on other people's weblogs

What just happened?

Promote your business or professional activities

Time for action — Microsoft employee blogs

What just happened?

Share experiences with other users

Who's using Apache Roller

Rollerweblogger.org

Blogs.sun.com

Blog.usa.gov

IBM developerWorks blogs

JRoller community

Weblogs versus Content Management Systems

A blog is not a CMS

Blogs and newsfeeds - the world is your audience

What is a newsfeed

How can a newsfeed help to promote your blog

Time for action — subscribing to a newsfeed

What just happened?

Using newsfeed readers

Time for action — using Bloglines

What just happened?

Pop quiz - weblogs and newsfeeds

Have a go hero — doing more with the thing

Summary

2. Installing Roller on Windows

Checking your environment

Installing Apache, Java, Tomcat, and MySQL

Apache web server

Time for action — installing the Apache web server

What just happened?

The Java SE Development Kit

Time for action - installing a JDK

What just happened?

Tomcat servlet engine

Time for action installing Tomcat

What just happened?

MySQL database server

Time for action — installing MySQL

What just happened?

Downloading and installing Apache Roller

Files required for Apache Roller

The JavaMail API

Time for action downloading the JavaMail API

What just happened?

The JavaBeans Activation Framework API

Time for action — downloading the JAF API

What just happened?

The MySQL JDBC driver

Time for action — installing MySQL connector/J 5.1

What just happened?

Deploying Roller files to Tomcat

Time for action — downloading and deploying Roller

What just happened?

Creating the Roller database

Time for action — creating a MySQL database for Roller

What just happened?

Roller properties and context files

The roller-custom.properties file

Time for action — creating roller-custom.properties

What just happened?

The Context.xml file

Time for action — creating Context.xml

What just happened?

Changing keys in security.xml

Time for action — changing key values in security.xml

What just happened?

Testing your Roller installation

Time for action — testing Roller

What just happened?

The mod_jk connector for Apache and Tomcat

Time for action — installing the mod_jk connector

What just happened?

Pop quiz - installing Roller on Windows

Have a go hero — doing more with the thing

Summary

3. Installing Roller on Linux

Checking your environment

Installing Apache, Java, Tomcat, and MySQL

Apache web server

Time for action — installing the Apache web server

What just happened?

The Java SE Development Kit

Time for action — installing a JDK

What just happened?

Tomcat servlet engine

Time for action — installing Tomcat

What just happened?

MySQL database server

Time for action — installing MySQL

What just happened?

Downloading and installing Apache Roller

Files required for Apache Roller

The JavaMail API

Time for action — downloading the JavaMail API

What just happened?

The JavaBeans Activation Framework API

Time for action - downloading the JAF API

What just happened?

The MySQL JDBC driver

Time for action — downloading and installing MySQL connector/J 5.1

What just happened?

Deploying Roller files to Tomcat

Time for action — downloading and deploying Roller

What just happened?

Creating the Roller database

Time for action — creating a MySQL database for Roller

What just happened?

Roller properties and context files

The roller-custom.properties file

Time for action — creating roller-custom.properties

What just happened?

The Context.xml file

Time for action — creating Context.xml

What just happened?

Changing keys in security.xml

Time for action — changing key values in security.xml

What just happened?

Testing your Roller installation

Time for action — testing Roller

What just happened?

The mod_jk connector for Apache and Tomcat

Time for action — installing the mod_jk connector

What just happened?

Pop quiz - installing Roller on Linux

Have a go hero — doing more with the thing

Summary

4. How to Start Working with Roller

Your first steps with Roller

Creating your first user and weblog

Time for action — creating your first user and weblog

What just happened?

Adjusting basic server settings

Time for action — basic server settings

What just happened?

Creating/editing your first entry

Time for action — creating/editing entries

What just happened?

Defining weblog categories

Time for action — define a category for your blog

What just happened?

Enhancing your weblog

Adjusting basic weblog settings

Time for action — basic weblog settings

What just happened?

Creating/editing bookmarks (blogroll)

Time for action — managing bookmarks in Roller

What just happened?

Using a Rich Text Editor

Time for action — using Roller's Rich Text Editor

What just happened?

The Summary field

Time for action — using the Summary field

What just happened?

Pop quiz - working with Roller

Have a go hero — doing more with the thing

Summary

5. Spicing Up Your Blog

Before the action begins

Uploading files to your weblog

Using images on your posts

Time for action — uploading images into Roller

What just happened?

Changing file upload size limit

File upload settings

Time for action — changing Roller's file upload settings

What just happened?

The struts.properties file

Time for action — modifying the struts.multipart.maxSize property

What just happened?

Using videos in your posts

Time for action - uploading and inserting videos on your posts

What just happened?

Using sound files in your posts

Time for action — uploading and inserting sound files in your posts

What just happened?

Google Maps, YouTube, and SlideShare

Including Google Maps in your posts

Time for action — using Google Maps

What just happened?

Have a go hero — explore Google Maps

Including YouTube videos in your posts

Time for action — including a YouTube video

What just happened?

Have a go hero - explore YouTube

Including SlideShare presentations in your posts

Time for action - including a SlideShare presentation

What just happened?

Have a go hero — explore SlideShare

Pop quiz - images, sounds, and videos

Summary

6. Roller Themes and Blog Promotion

Before the action begins

Choosing a weblog theme

Time for action — choosing a Roller theme

What just happened?

Exploring the differences between themes

Time for action — differences between the Brushed Metal and Basic themes

What just happened?

Downloading and installing additional themes

Time for action — getting additional themes for your weblog

What just happened?

Editing themes

Using a custom theme

Time for action - editing a custom theme

What just happened?

Adding a Twitter widget to your custom theme

Time for action — adding a Twitter box

What just happened?

Have a go hero — explore Twitter widgets and custom themes

Promoting your blog on Technorati, Digg, StumbleUpon, and Delicious

Get a free dynamic DNS service account

Time for action — open a No-IP.com account

What just happened?

Have a go hero — install the No-IP Dynamic Update Client

Open up your web port (80) to the world

Time for action — forwarding port 80

What just happened?

Adding a Digg It button to your weblog

Time for action — adding a Digg It button

What just happened?

Have a go hero — adding Technorati, StumbleUpon, and Delicious buttons

Pop quiz - editing themes and promoting your weblog

Summary

7. Working with Templates

Your first template

Creating and editing templates

Time for action — creating your first template

What just happened?

The Velocity template language

Using Velocity macros in your Roller weblog

Time for action — showing your weblog's blogroll and most recent entries

What just happened?

Velocity model and data objects in Apache Roller

The $config object

Time for action — properties of the $config model object

What just happened?

The $model, $category, and $entry objects

Time for action — properties and methods of the $model model object

What just happened?

The $url and $utils objects

Time for action — properties and methods of the $url and $utils objects

What just happened?

Creating a Roller theme from scratch

Creating a directory for your theme

Time for action — creating a directory for your theme

What just happened?

The stylesheet override file

Time for action — editing the stylesheet override file

What just happened?

The weblog template: Your weblog's main page

Time for action - editing the weblog template

What just happened?

Have a go hero — finishing your Roller theme

Pop quiz - Roller themes

Summary

8. Comments and Trackbacks

Managing comments

Enabling comments in your Roller weblog

Time for action — enabling comments

What just happened?

How to leave a comment in your weblog

Time for action — leaving comments in your weblog

What just happened?

Deleting unwanted comments in your weblog

Time for action — deleting a comment in your weblog

What just happened?

Moderating comments

Enabling comment moderation in your weblog

Time for action — enabling moderation in your weblog

What just happened?

Approving comments

Time for action — how to approve and disapprove comments

What just happened?

Avoiding spam in your weblog

Marking comments as spam

Time for action — marking comments as spam

What just happened?

Have a go hero — using Roller's blacklist effectively

Using Roller's comment validators

Time for action — Roller's comment validators

What just happened?

Trackbacks

Enabling comment notification via e-mail

Time for action — enabling e-mail comment notification in Roller

What just happened?

Sending a trackback from your weblog

Time for action — sending trackbacks

What just happened?

Pop quiz - comments and trackbacks

Have a go hero — blog and social media blending

Summary

A. Pop Quiz Answers

Index

Apache Roller 4.0

Beginner's Guide

Alfonso V. Romero

Apache Roller 4.0

Beginner's Guide

Copyright © 2009 Packt Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author, nor Packt Publishing, and its dealers and distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this book.

Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all of the companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.

First published: December 2009

Production Reference: 1071209

Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.

32 Lincoln Road

Olton

Birmingham, B27 6PA, UK.

ISBN 978-1-847199-50-8

www.packtpub.com

Cover Image by Tina Negus (<tina_manthorpe@sky.com>)

Credits

Author

Alfonso V. Romero

Reviewers

Tarkan Karadayi

Ricardo Javier Romero

Acquisition Editor

James Lumsden

Development Editor

Swapna Verlekar

Technical Editors

Conrad Sardinha

Mazhar Shaikh

Copy Editor

Sanchari Mukherjee

Editorial Team Leader

Gagandeep Singh

Project Team Leader

Priya Mukherji

Project Coordinator

Zainab Bagasrawala

Indexer

Rekha Nair

Proofreader

Lynda Sliwoski

Production Coordinator

Shantanu Zagade

Cover Work

Shantanu Zagade

Foreword

Roller is not the most popular blog server out there, or the one with the most plugins and themes—that distinction goes to WordPress—but Roller can be the best choice in many situations. For an IT department seeking a Java-based blog server to run on their existing Java EE application server, Roller is the most complete open source option out there. It's also the best choice for developers looking to build full-fledged blogging features into an existing product. Roller's business-friendly Apache license means you can use Roller's code in your product even if your product is closed-source and commercial.

Alfonso's book fills a very important need for those of us who do find Roller the best choice. Roller has a basic installation guide, user guide, and template author guide. Roller also has user and developer mailing lists where you can ask questions and get some support from other Roller users. What this book provides, you won't find in the stock Roller documentation: illustrated, in-depth, and step-by-step instructions that explain how to setup, customize, and start blogging with Apache Roller.

Whether you're setting up an Apache Roller site for your own personal use or helping to set up a site for thousands of bloggers, this book is a great starting point for everybody involved.

David M. Johnson

Founder of Apache Roller

http://rollerweblogger.org/roller

About the Author

Alfonso V. Romero has been working with Linux and Open Source Software since 1999, when he started operating his first Web server (Apache) from a PC at home. Since then he's been working as a Computer consultant for LASECLAT & ProEco Laboratories in Mexico, along with several other clients, as a Java, C++, and web applications developer. He also works for Pearson Education in Mexico as a Computer Books Freelance Translator and Consultant. When he's not experimenting with new trends in Open Source and .NET applications, he enjoys spending some quality time with his beautiful wife, his three kids and his three dogs, or playing his old electric Ibanez guitar.

He's also a big fan of Stephen King, and one of his maximum aspirations is to write a fiction novel, but his passion for computers and information technology keeps him busy as a technical writer.

To my lovely wife Adelina, whose patience, love, encouragement, and support kept me working on this extreme project every time I just felt like bailing out... We finally made it through, baby! I love you very, very much! My heart will always be yours!

To my two daughters Adelina and Arlae, and to my son Alfonso Jr., because every time I got writer's block they always managed to cheer me up with a smile, a kiss or a hug… I love you infinitely, guys!

To my mother and father, for her unconditional support and for always showing me that patience, perseverance and stubbornness will always help you achieve whatever you're up to.

To all the staff at Packt Publishing for turning this dream into reality… Special thanks to: Kshipra, James, Swapna, and Zainab, who were always willing to answer my questions and coach me through the long journey of writing this book.

And last, but not least, to Dave Johnson, creator of Apache Roller, the best blog server I've ever worked with!

About the Reviewers

Tarkan Karadayi has been writing code since age 14. He has a Masters in Computer Science and is currently working as a Lead Developer.

I would like to thank my wife Anna, my parents, and my three sons Taran, Kyle, and Ryan for their love and support.

Ricardo Javier Romero is an Electronic Systems Engineer with over thirteen years of software development experience, both as a developer and as a team leader, in many of the technologies that have surfaced over the past few years.

He has worked on military projects, and is currently a team leader for an oil and gas service company, focusing on .NET development in C#, C++, and MFC, as well as web development and database engines.

He has also translated two technical books into Spanish, and worked extensively in web development when the Internet was still in its infancy, using JavaScript, VBScript, and ASP.NET.

When he's not delving into his love for all things technical, he works on his screenwriting, filmmaking, and music.

Preface

This hands-on and practical book introduces you to Apache Roller. Starting off with the configuration and installation of your own blog, you'll then quickly learn how to add interesting content to your blog, with the help of plenty of examples. You'll also learn how to change your blog's visual appearance with the help of Roller themes and templates and how to create a community of blogs for you and your colleagues or friends in your Apache Roller blog server. The book will also look at ways in which you can manage your community, and keep your site safe and secure, ensuring that it is a spam-free, enjoyable community for your users.

What this book covers

Chapter 1, An Introduction to Weblogs, gives you insight on weblogs and how they can be used to create a worldwide presence through the blogosphere. It also teaches you the difference between a blog and a CMS, the basics about newsfeeds and the important role they play for blogs, and how you can use them to spread information on the blogosphere.

Chapter 2, Installing Roller on Windows, teaches you how to install Apache Roller in a Windows environment, along with all the supporting software required—Apache web server, JDK SE 6, Tomcat servlet engine, and MySQL database server.

Chapter 3, Installing Roller on Linux, teaches you how to install Apache Roller in a Linux Ubuntu environment, along with all the supporting software required—Apache web server, JDK SE 6, Tomcat servlet engine, and MySQL database server.

Chapter 4, How to Start Working with Roller, teaches you the basics about blogging with Apache Roller, and how to manage the blogroll—an important element of every blog that shows up on the front page. You'll see how to create your first user and weblog, adjust basic settings of your server and weblog, create and edit weblog entries (posts), manage categories, use the Rich Text Editor included in Roller in order to enhance the appearance of your post, and maximize your front page's space by means of the Summary field.

Chapter 5, Spicing Up Your Blog, teaches you about all the different tools available on the Internet that can help you build a very attractive weblog for your visitors. You'll learn how to upload files to your blog and use the Rich Text Editor to insert images, sound files, and videos, change the file uploading size limit of your blog server in order to upload bigger files, and use Google Maps, YouTube, and SlideShare to embed maps, videos, and document presentations in your blog.

Chapter 6, Roller Themes and Blog Promotion, teaches you how to change your Roller weblog theme, download additional themes, and promote your weblog on all the popular bookmarking services. You'll learn how to choose a weblog theme from Roller's administration interface, download additional themes and install them in your Roller weblog server, create an account in No-IP.com—a dynamic DNS service provider—to run your Roller weblog from your own PC, open the web port (80) via port forwarding on your DSL modem/router firewall, and add a Digg It button to your weblog so that visitors can vote for your posts on the Digg.com social bookmarking website.

Chapter 7, Working with Templates, teaches you how to create and edit your first template in Roller, along with some basics about the Velocity template language, and how to create your first Roller theme from scratch. You'll also learn about Roller's model and data objects, and how to use these objects' properties, methods, and macros in a custom template to show data from your weblog.

Chapter 8, Comments and Trackbacks, will show you how to work with comments and trackbacks in your Apache Roller blog, using Roller's comment management tools to approve, disapprove, and delete comments. You'll also learn to moderate comments in Roller using comment management tools, avoid spam, and use all the anti-spam tools available in Roller, and how trackbacks can help you in interacting with other bloggers.

Chapter 9, Advanced Topics, will show you some stuff that will help in promoting your blog and creating your own weblog community. You will learn to manage group blogs, use aggregators and blog search engines, and configure