Towards an Urdu Forum
Actually I wanted to talk about several topics in this post but as it grew quite large, I decided to split it into two posts. I will post the second part later. So stay tuned.
The Urdu community needs a Unicode Urdu forum. There are already a few Urdu forums that support Urdu in text form. One such forum is at Urdu Life. This forum is based on the InVision Power Board forum software, which is a commercial product. It is still a well-organized forum. I remember people mentioning phpBB, which is open source, and thus free. A fellow blogger Qadeer has already taken up the challenge of translating it into Urdu. I just thought of providing support for Urdu while the translation is still being done. I really had a hard time browsing the source code of phpBB until I discovered PHPXref (PHP Cross Referencing Documentation Generator). It generated an HTML based cross reference of the whole phpBB source code. This made my life considerably easier. I then modified the relevant style sheets and templates (*.tpl files). I was successful in displaying the forum names in Urdu. Then I got stuck at a point where the posted message appeared as hexadecimal codes instead of Urdu text. Asif helped me with his knowledge of php. I used his hints to look at the problematic parts of the code. These are the statements to strip the posted message off HTML tags. I effectively had to castrate that part of the phpBB code. Although Urdu gets posted appropriately now, I am not sure if this is an appropriate solution.
Problems are not over yet. As shown in the images, the post subject gets truncated. I have also tried posting with an Urdu user name and there the user name also gets truncated. I assume that some restriction on some field inside the database is causing this problem. I intend to test drive the Urdu forum by installing the modified phpBB on some free host after this problem is fixed. Again your expert opinion is more than welcome. You are also welcome to download the modified phpBB modules here and have a look if you feel like it. I cannot wait to have a Unicode Urdu forum.
The forum index page properly shows the Urdu forum names and descriptions
The post contents are properly displayed but the post title is truncated. The style sheet is correct. The truncated value is return from the database.
The message index page also shows truncated titles. The same happens with user names entered in Urdu (not shown in the figure).
It must be noted that I worked with the sources of phpBB 2.0 whereas the latest release is phpBB 2.0.11. I will try to prepare a complete protocol of the modifications that I made in different modules. Following are the modules I modified:
- posting.php : receives “submit” and “preview” commands from the post message page
- include\functions_post.php : does the necessary processing on the user name, subject and the message
- language\lang_English\lang_main.php : contains settings such as the general character encoding and the directional characteristics of the html pages
- templates\subSilver\subSilver.css : The style sheet that is included in every page
- templates\subSilver\overall_header.tpl : This is the template that describes the header included in every page on the forum
February 23rd, 2005 at 8:08 am
I am waiting for the second part before I install a test copy on my hosting for our experiments….
February 24th, 2005 at 4:26 am
I have had success in providing Urdu support in phpBB, at least that is what I think. As it turns out, no changes to the php code were necessary. I just had a look at the Farsi language pack to see how they were managing to get Persian support inside phpBB. I tried overwriting the original English language files with the Farsi language pack files but it did not work. I had to actually modify the English language files accordingly. I saved a page of the forum as simple HTML and put it here as a proof. I just thought it was less annoying than downloading the whole screenshot. The alignment of paragraphs is not correct in the demo page.
Having been able to support Urdu inside phpBB I was looking for a free web host to actually test it. You are most welcome to test it on your web host. I will be eagerly waiting for the results. I am not sure about creating a separate installation of the modified phpBB at the moment. My suggestion would be to get yourself a copy of phpBB and install it. Although the website of phpBB announced the availability of version 2.0.12, I was not able to download it yesterday. I then downloaded the version 2.0.11 instead. After the installation, just overwrite the modified files which you can get from http://www.geocities.com/simunaqv/urdu_patch.zip">here. Be careful to retain the directory structure. Feel free to contact me in case you encounter any problems.
Please note that the modified style i.e. subSilver is the default phpBB style. This style may not be sufficient for an Urdu forum since some shade of gray is needed in the background to properly display Urdu text. I have modified the style sheet to include “Urdu Naskh Asiatype” font for Urdu text. Some of my friends will turn up their noses on this. I would have selected Nafees Web Naskh but I don’t like the English glyphs of this font. Since a lot of information is still in English, it looks somewhat ugly when displayed using the Nafees Web Naskh font. The colors and the point sizes may not look right at the moment but these can be easily adjusted later. I think it is more important to get an Urdu forum up and running in the first place.
I hope that this work sparks enough interest in the Urdu community. The actual Urdu translation, when finished, can easily be incorporated.
February 25th, 2005 at 6:21 am
I would like to mention another thing here: the adjustments done to phpBB to provide Urdu support are pretty much on ad-hoc basis. I have not yet delved into the template mechanism of phpBB. I will be reading more about it from phpBB’s knowledge base. I think we can get a better hold of the forum’s look and feel by a better understanding of the templates. The work on Urdu support inside phpBB is not finished yet. Some modifications and updates may follow.
I posted a reply to Asif’s comment yesterday in the morning but the comment count stayed on “1” the whole day long. Is this a bug or a feature?
February 25th, 2005 at 8:18 am
->Nabeel: I installed phpBB *.12 and applied your patch. It changes formatting but introduces errors like “Headers already sent..” I was a bit busy last night so couldnt spend much time on figuring out what was wrong. Also the rtl formatting, as it seems, is only valid in firefox and not in IE. If you would like to see it, its online at urduforum.sovereign….
It would take me sometime to get back to it.
February 25th, 2005 at 9:45 am
Asif: I have been using Internet Explorer all the time and the “rtl” directive worked ok. There is a remote chance that V2.0.12 has some peculiarity of its own. I will replace my V2.0.11 installation with the newer one and then work on this as soon as posssible. Thank you very much for taking the initiative.
March 13th, 2005 at 12:23 pm
A new Urdu book http://aqdas1.tripod.com/nastaleeq_book.pdf
March 21st, 2005 at 2:12 am
Hi Nabeel, I’ve found this site ofter much time spending. I need a form for vBulletin forum..
vBulletin is not a free software using it pirated will get your hosting banned, but I can send you one compy if you dont use that or in yor own respnsibility (I have purchased a copy)
can I send you for generating Urdo form in my forum?
March 21st, 2005 at 5:26 am
Dear pkdc
I do not understand exactly what do you want. If you want to integrate the web-based Urdu Editor into your forum, you are most welcome to do it. If you want me to do this favor for you, I will have to excuse myself. I simply have no time these days. Integration of the Urdu Editor is pretty simple as you can see from the phpBB example provided.
March 21st, 2005 at 12:23 pm
Yes you are right but I’ll include your “Credits” please help me because vBulletin has many deffrent features.. or tell me what to do I cant code anything
I am not a programmer, after a hard search I found you..
March 21st, 2005 at 12:28 pm
Thanks for reply.. And also can users of Win98 use this form?
March 21st, 2005 at 12:45 pm
The web-based Urdu Editor is identical in functionality to the Urdu Pad from urdulife.com and hence should work on windows 98.
How do you compare vBulletin with phpBB? What are the features of vBulletin not found in phpBB? What is going to be the focus of your forum?
I would have been glad to help but I am extremely busy in other projects right now. Using the Urdu Editor is really simple. Even a sudent would be able to help you (at least I think).
March 22nd, 2005 at 11:40 am
There’s too much diffrenne in vBulletin and phpBB..I tried it but its giving errors..
Anyways best of luck with your projects hope you’ll be doing best for Urdu
March 23rd, 2005 at 11:25 pm
Hi, I was just referred to this site from a friend. Sounds like you guys are working towards an excellent topic. If you need any kind of help with developing the urdu language pack for the phpBB, i will be glad to work with you towards the standard language pack for phpBB in urdu.
March 24th, 2005 at 12:49 am
Khurram: Thanks for your offer of help. Qadeer and Nabeel are the ones working on phpBB. You can contact them at their blogs.
July 2nd, 2005 at 8:55 am
salam
August 3rd, 2005 at 11:23 am
“p[ur] Masha Allah Bohat Acha Kaam Ho Raha Hay. ”
August 4th, 2005 at 1:09 am
شکریہ۔
February 24th, 2006 at 2:11 pm
Your aim is good. May GOD bless you. I am also a big supporter of standard urdu.
There is a software available to convert inpage to unicode. Do you have any experience with InPage To UniCode converter. Available at http://www.nayaab.net.
I want to purchase it but asking experienced person is always safe.
Thanks
Hafiz Muhammad Akbar
February 24th, 2006 at 3:34 pm
Hafiz Muhammad Akbar: I do not have any experience in the use of InPage or the Unicode conversion of InPage documents. You may want to see the information posted on the Urdu Mehfil Forum in this regard.
July 7th, 2006 at 3:27 pm
Just Visit: http://urdugoogle.com
August 21st, 2006 at 1:14 pm
%[ur]Omran
August 21st, 2006 at 8:09 pm
hi please i want to know the meaning of word SEQAL and bada gusaar from faiz’s sher..
ther aye dil jamale rue zeba hum bhi dekhengay
zara seqal to ho ley tishnigi bada gusaron ki
thx.
September 12th, 2006 at 8:06 am
kia mae aap sae mil sakta hoon
September 12th, 2006 at 8:10 am
plz translat this words into english mae nae yae sim mangwani hae aap hamaen bhej daen aaap ki mehirbani ho gi
October 3rd, 2006 at 7:06 am
http://www.AllahMuhammad.com is complete Urdu (Unicode) Website on Islam to preach the ISLAM. We invite you to visit our site and register yourself as a Beta Tester. We welcome all your Suggestions and Comments.
October 4th, 2006 at 6:22 pm
I know the codes that inpage use to store data. by using codes u can write your own programme and convert inpage document into unicode.
February 26th, 2007 at 12:34 am
Friends, I am writing in the hopes that someone here may be able to help with two requests. First I would like to learn to read Urdu script ( I can read Devanagiri) in order to be able to appreciate the works of Manto in the original. Secondly I need to see the words “aawaaz-e-Khaufpur” clearly spelled in Urdu script. This is something to do with a recently published novel of mine which is set in a city called Khaufpur. I would be very grateful for any help you can offer. All good wishes, Indra
April 20th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
i m tabish matin . i m a student of SSUET . i select english to urdu translator as a final year project if u have any experience about that so plz sahre me this will be very helpfull for me.
our main focus on transformation english sentence in urdu according to grammar
contatc # 0333-3275892
July 9th, 2007 at 11:58 pm
i am also working on urdu translator scripts and i admire the work done by urduweb
September 17th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
hye ! My name is Annie i m very thankful to you please solve my problem translate english to urdu
September 25th, 2007 at 11:00 pm
How do u write WELCOME inUrdu
September 25th, 2007 at 11:01 pm
how do u write welcome in urdu
October 3rd, 2007 at 12:49 pm
پاکستان کے صدر اور فوج کے سربراہ جنرل پرویز مشرف نے آئی ایس آئی کے سابق سربراہ لیفٹیننٹ جنرل اشفاق پرویز کیانی کو ترقی دے کر فوج کا نیا سربراہ نامزد کر دیا ہے۔فوج کے ترجمان میجر جنرل وحید ارشد نے تصدیق کی کہ ابھی صدر جنرل پرویز مشرف نے آرمی چیف کا عہدہ نہیں چھوڑا۔
October 11th, 2007 at 3:26 am
کہ ابھی صدر جنرل پرویز مشرف نے آرمی چیف کا عہدہ نہیں چھوڑا..tausif
October 11th, 2007 at 3:35 am
hellp me a good my feriad to a narves ali _khann@2211yahoo.com
March 10th, 2008 at 5:24 am
Nice great sharing
October 13th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Khush Amdeed?
October 13th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Rehan Ahmed SEO
is My 1st Blog sir check this out
August 28th, 2009 at 8:14 am
Hi all,
http://urdupad.co.cc
I was just able create this pad, I have updated this with SELECT ALL and COPY TO CLIPBOARD buttons and will upload soon,
Now I want this to integrate with IPB (Invision Pro Board), so if someone need to post in urdu he could do that, working on this…
I would be thankful if you guys could help me in this regard n make my work easy, or if you people know any pre made addon to be integrated easily.
Regards,
Amjad Miandad.
http://diginstock.deviantart.com