Student Discussion Board (PHP)

A
Project Report
On
“STUDENT DISCUSSION BOARD”
Student Discussion Board Page 1

INDEX
1) Project Profile.......................................................05
2) Project Definition..................................................06
3) Abstraction............................................................06
4) Front-End & Back-End Tools................................07
5) H/W & S/W Requirements.....................................13
6) Scope of the Project............................................14
7) Proposed System.................................................15
8) Scope of the System............................................17
9) Project Plan & Scheduling....................................18
10) Risk Management.................................................21
11) Feasibility Study....................................................24
12) Table.....................................................................28
13) E – R Diagram.......................................................33
14) DFD.......................................................................34
15) Security Feature....................................................37
16) Types of Testing....................................................38
17) Screen Shot...........................................................40
18) Feature Enhancement...........................................54
19) Conclusion.............................................................55
20) BiblioGraphy………………………………………...56

Project Profile
Project Title : Student Help Discussion Board
Project Guide : Ms. Anjana bagdai
Project Team :
Languages Used : PHP, HTML, CSS, JQuery, JavaScript
Database : MYSQL

Project Definition
“Student Help” Discussion Board“
Student Help Discussion Board as its name implies it is a
Discussion Board and covers most of areas. Here a user can register
his/her name with this site and can throw their views and also can get
others too. We have tried to cover most of areas which can attract
many users to this site.
The objective and scope of my Project Student Forum System

is to record the details various activities of user. It will simplifies the
task and reduse the paper work. During implementation every user will
be given appropriate training to suit their specific needs. Specific
support will also be provided at key points within the academic
calendar. Training will be provided on a timely basis, and you will be
trained as the new is Student Forum System rolled out to your area of
responsibility.

Abstraction
The client uses MS Excel, and maintains their records, however it is
not possible them to share the data from multiple system in multi user
environment, there is lot of duplicate work, and chance of mistake. When
the records are changed they need to update each and every excel file.
There is no option to find and print previous saved records.
There is no security; any body can access any report and sensitive
data, also no reports to summary report. This Student Discussion Board is
used to overcome the entire problem which they are facing currently, and
making complete atomization of manual system to computerized system.
Front End & Back End tools introduction/features :
Front End:-PHP
Back End:-MySQL
What is PHP?
The full form of PHP is “Hypertext Preprocessor” it‟s original

name was “Personal Home Page”. Resume Lerdorf software
engineer, Apache team member is the creator and original driving
force behind PHP. The first part of PHP was developed for his
personal use in late 1994.By the middle of 1997, PHP was beginning
used approximately 50,000 sites worldwide.PHP is server side
scripting Language like ASP, which can be embedded in HTML Tags
or used as stand-alone. PHP is an open source software (OSS) PHP

files have a file extension of “. Php” or “. Php3” or “phtml”. PHP
doesn‟t do anything about what a page looks and sound like. In fact,
most of what PHP does is invisible to the end user.Someone looking
at a PHP page will necessarily be able to tell that it was not written
purely in HTML, because usually the result of PHP is HML. PHP
supports many advantages.
Advantage of PHP:
Cost: PHP costs you nothing. It is open source software and doesn‟t
need to purchase it for development.
Ease of Use: PHP is easy to learn, compared to the others. A lot of
Ready-made PHP scripts are freely available in market so, you can
use them in your project or get some help from them.
HTML- Support: PHP is embedded within HTML; In other words,

PHP pages are ordinary HTML pages that escape into PHP mode
only when necessary. When a client requests thispage, the web
server preprocesses it. This means it goes through the page from top
to bottom, looking for sections of PHP, which it will try to resolve.
Cross-platform compatibility: MySQL run native on every popular

flavor of Unix and windows. A huge percentage PHP and of the
world‟s HTTP servers run on one of these two classes of operating
system.

PHP is compatible with the three leading Web servers: Apache
HTTP Server for Unix and Windows, Microsoft Internet Information
Server, and Netscape Enterprise Server.It also works with several
lesser-known servers, including Alex Blits‟ fhttpd, Microsoft‟s
Personal Web Server,
AOL Server and Omnicentrix‟s Omni server application server.
Stability: The word stable means two different things in this context:
• The server doesn‟t need to be rebooted often
• The software doesn‟t change radically and incompatibly from
release to release.
Speed: PHP is pleasingly zippy in its execution, especially when

compiled as and Apache module on the Unix side. Although it takes a
slight performance hit by being interpreted rather than compiled, this
is far outweighed by the benefits PHP drives from its status as a Web
server module.

What is MySQL?
MySQL, the most popular open source SQL database

management system, is developed, distributed, and supported by
MYSQL AB.MYSQL AB is a commercial company, founded by the
MYSQL developers. It is second-generation open source company
that unities open source values and methodology with a successful
business model.The MYSQL web site (“http://www.MySQL.com/”)
provides the latest information about the MYSQL software and
MYSQL AB.
Feature of MYSQL
 MySQL is a Database Management System.

 MySQL is a relational Database Management System.
 MySQL software is Open Source.
 The MySQL Database server is very fast, reliable, and easy to
use.
 MySQL server works in client/server or embedded system
environment.
 A large amount of contributed MySQL software is Available.

What is Apache ?
Apache is one of the world‟s mostly widely used web

servers.origionally developed in 1995 by a group that was to go to on
become the apache group,the apache HTTP server is open source
software,and considered by proponents to be fast,scalable and
secure.
Apache is unix based, Open source web server that is used to

host about half the sites on the internet. Originally Apache was a
UNIX product,but now versions for windows,OS and other plateform
exists. As with most open souse software projects,there are
numerous add-ones and tailored versions of the server
available,which are created using the apache module API. The name
comes from its origins as a series of „patch files‟.
What is Javascript ?
JavaScript is a scripting language developed by Netscape

Navigator to enable web authors interactivity sites. Although it shares
many of the features and structures of the full java language, it was
developed independently. JavaScript can interact with HTML source
code, enabling web authors to spice up their sites with dynamic
content.
JavaScript is endorse by a number of software companies and

is an open language that anyone can use without purchasing a
license. It is supported by recent browsers from Netscape and
Microsoft, though internet explorer supports only a subset, which
Microsoft calls JavaScript. Scripts return with JavaScript can be
embedded into HTML documents.

H/W & S/W Requirements
Hard Ware Requirements:-
 Modem 56 Kbps.
 Internet connection through D.O.T.or through I.S.P.
 Free Disk space 2 G.B.
 Minimum RAM 256 MB.
 486 DX2 or Higher Microprocessor.
Soft Ware Requirements:-
 Operating System (WIN 2000 or Higher)
 Internet Browser (Mozilla Firefox, Netscape Navigator,

Opera)
 PHP as a Front-end Tool

 MYSQL as a Back-end Tool

Scope of the Project
It may help collecting perfect management in details. In a very short
time, the collection will be obvious, simple and sensible. It will help a
person to know the management of passed year perfectly and vidly. It also
helps in current all works relative to College. It will be also reduced the cost
of collecting the management & collection procedure will go on smoothly.
The present project has been developed to meet the aspirations

indicated in the modern age. An attempt has been made through this
project to do all work easy & fast. It provide current add, Update,
MoveNext, MovePrevious, MoveLast, Find & Delete all facilities to
accomplish the desired objectives. The facility Include in this project and
the suggested activities have been organized to impart knowledge &
develop skill & attitude in the College official works.

Proposed System
External Users
Without Login:
View Discussion Board
View topics
View posts
View site information
View board rules
Can register
View FAQ
Make simple search
With Login:
View board
View topics
View posts
Can start new topic
Can make a new post
Can delete his/her posts
Can edit hie/her profile
Can see others member‟s profile
View site information
View board rules

Special Users( called moderator in forum websites)
A moderator can enjoy all the rights which can be enjoyed by the
registered users. Moreover he/she has been given some special rights as
mention below:
A moderator will have one category to moderate.
A moderator will have rights like delete all thread, delete all posts,
lock a particular thread in his/her category area.
Admin User:
Block user
View all board
View all Topic
View all posts
Can start new category
Can delete category
Can delete all topics
Can delete all posts
Can inactive categorys
Can make ban on users
Can promote a user from common user to moderator
Can demote a user from moderator to common user
Can see all moderator lists
Can inactive moderator for a particular time
Can make an announcement
Can edit site profile

Scope of the System
“Software scope describes the data and control to be processed, function,
performance, user management, access control management”
 Data and Control
The input data to the system will be customer detail, as well as

document detail for order. The output data will be different reports and
reports usable in order and inquiry analysis. With the help of various
reports, easy to make any needed decision.
 Functions
Basic functions of the system authenticate the user and user inputs
document details, customer details and inquiry details as needed. It
processes the input data to make the output information presented as
reports.
 Performance
The performance of the system requires the project to take low

resources from Server and present more information in smallest memory
utilization.
 User Management
Each user should have its own password to log in to the system and
based on the rolls and rights allocated to the user by the administrator of
the system, user will be allowed to open the different forms and perform
required operations.

Project Plan & Scheduling
The waterfall model is a popular version of the systems development
life cycle model for software engineering. Often considered the classic
approach to the systems development life cycle, the waterfall model
describes a development method that is linear and sequential.
Waterfall development has distinct goals for each phase of development.
Imagine a waterfall on the cliff of a steep mountain.
Once the water has flowed over the edge of the cliff and has begun
its journey down the side of the mountain, it cannot turn back. It is the same
with waterfall development. Once a phase of development is completed,
the development proceeds to the next phase and there is no turning back.
The advantage of waterfall development is that it allows for

departmentalization and managerial control. A schedule can be set with
deadlines for each stage of development and a product can proceed
through the development process like a car in a carwash, and theoretically,
be delivered on time.
Development moves from concept, through design, implementation,

testing, installation, troubleshooting, and ends up at operation and
maintenance. Each phase of development proceeds in strict order, without
any overlapping or iterative steps. The disadvantage of waterfall
development is that it does not allow for much reflection or revision.
Once an application is in the testing stage, it is very difficult to go

back and change something that was not well thought out in the concept
stage. This is the classical system development model. It consists of
discontinuous phases:
1. Concept
2. Requirements
3. Architectural design
4. Detailed design
5. Coding and development
6. Testing and implementation

Strengths
Minimizes planning overhead since it can be done up front.

Structure minimizes wasted effort, so it works well for technically
weak or inexperienced staff.
Weaknesses
Inflexible
Only the final phase produces a non-documentation deliverable.
Backing up to address mistakes is difficult.

Project Plan
The project plan sets out the resources available to the project, the
work breakdown and a schedule for carrying out the work. This is the plan
which we have been following through the development of our products i.e.
Document Management System.
The planning process starts with an assessment of the constraints

affecting the project. This is carried out in conjunction with as estimation of
project parameters such as its structure, size and distribution of functions.
The project milestones and deliverables are then defined. The process then
enters a loop.
A schedule for the project is drawn up and the activities defined in

the schedule are initiated or given permission to continue. After sometime,
progress is reviewed and discrepancies noted. Because initial estimates of
project parameters are tentative, the plan will always need to be modified

Risk Management
Risk management is concerned with identifying risks and drawing up
plans to minimize their effect on a project. A risk is a probability that some
adverse Circumstance will occur. Project risks affect schedule or
resources.
Risk Management Strategies:
Requirements Changes:
Derive traceability information to assess requirements change impact,

maximize information hiding in the design.
Organizational Restructuring:
Prepare a briefing document for senior management showing how

the project is making a very important contribution to the goals of the
business.
Risk management includes four major parts as follows:
1. Risk Identification
2. Risk Analysis
3. Risk Planning
4. Risk Monitoring

Risk Identification
RISK IDENTIFICATION
1. Technology risks.
2. People risks.
3. Organizational risks.
4. Requirements risks.
5. Estimation risks.
Technology Risks:
The database used in the system cannot process as many

transactions per second as expected. Software components that should be
reused contain defects that limit their functionality.
People Risks:
It is impossible to recruit staff with the skills required. Key staff is ill
and unavailable at critical times. Required training for staff is not available.
Organizational Risks:
The organization is restructured so that different management is

responsible for the project. Organizational financial problems force
reductions in the project budget. Tools the code generated by CASE tools
is inefficient. CASE tools cannot be integrated.
Requirements Risks:

Changes to requirements that require major design rework are
proposed. Customers fail to understand the impact of requirements
changes.
Estimation Risks:
The time required to develop the software is underestimated. The

rate of defect repair is underestimated. The size of the software is
underestimated.
Risk Analysis:
Assess the likelihood and consequences of these risks.
Assess probability and seriousness of each risk.
Probability may be very low, low, moderate, high or very high.
Risk effects might be catastrophic, serious, tolerable or insignificant.
Risk Planning:
Draw up plans to avoid or minimize the effects of the risk. Consider
each risk and develop a strategy to manage that risk.
Risk Monitoring:
Assess each identified risks regularly to decide whether or not it is
becoming less or more probable. Also assess whether the effects of the
risk have changed. Each key risk should be discussed at management
progress meetings.

Feasibility Study
A feasibility study is a preliminary study undertaken to determine and

document a project's viability. The results of this study are used to make a
decision whether to proceed with the project, or table it. If it indeed leads to
a project being approved, it will - before the real work of the proposed
project starts - be used to ascertain the likelihood of the project's success.
It is an analysis of possible alternative solutions to a problem and a

recommendation on the best alternative. A feasibility study could be used
to test a new working system, which could be used because:
The current system may no longer suit its purpose.
Technological advancement may have rendered the current system
The business is expanding, allowing it to cope with extra work load.
Customers are complaining about the speed and quality of work the
usiness it provides.
Competitors are now winning a big enough market share due to an

effective integration of a computerized system.
Operational Feasibility:
Operational Feasibility measures how well the solution will work in the
organization and how will end user and management feels about the
system. On studying the operational feasibility of the project, following
could be derived:
Aspects of Operational Feasibility
Is the problem worth solving?
Will the solution serve problem.
Political acceptability

Computerized system for searching in the database will provide all
the necessary information to employees and users in timely and efficient
manner and in useful format.
Technical Feasibility:
This involves questions such as whether the technology needed for

the system exists, how difficult it will be to build, and whether the firm has
enough experience using that technology. The assessment is based on an
outline design of system requirements in terms of Input, Output, Fields,
Programs, and Procedures. This can be qualified in terms of volumes of
data, trends, frequency of updating, etc.
Economical Feasibility:
This involves questions such as whether the firm can afford to build
the system, whether its benefits should substantially exceed its costs, and
whether the project has higher priority and profits than other projects that
might use the same resources. This includes whether the project is in the
condition to fulfil all the eligibility criteria and the responsibility of both sides
in case there are two parties involved in performing any project.

OUTPUT DESIGN (Introduction)
Presenting the data processed by a computer-based information system in

an attractive and usable form has become very essential these days‟
success and acceptance of a system to some extent depends on good
presentation.
Therefore, system analyst must know fully how to design output

report in an attractive way. Many new output devices are being introduced
in the market because of recent development in computer technology.
System analyst must be aware of these new technologies and try to

use these new output devices if possible. Currently, excellent graphic
displays are widely available. Speech output systems are also fast
emerging.
There are three main reasons why outputs from the computer are required.
They are:
 For communication to the persons concerned.

 For re-input to the computer for being connected with other data and
further processing.
 For permanent storage.
Types of Output:
Outputs of a system can take different forms. The most common are
reports, displays on screen, printed forms etc. the outputs also vary in
terms of their contents, type of stationery. Frequency and timing etc.
besides, due consideration also need to be given as to who will use the
output and for what purpose. All these points must be kept in mind while
designing outputs so that the objectives of the system are met in the best
possible way.
Outputs of a data-processing system can be placed into two categories:
 Application Output
 Operating Output

Application Output
These are the outputs desired out of the system to meet its objectives.
These are of three types:
 Output as a basis for decision-making. This type of output is generally

required by management for decision-making purposes.
 Output as a requirement to meet a functional objective. Invoices,
Excise Gate Pass, Purchase Orders are the examples of such output.
 Statutory outputs: All organization is required to produce a certain
amount of reports and forms as required by law.
Operating Output
These outputs are mainly generated for use of EDP staff and give
various indications as to how the system operates. System logs, error
messages, status indicators etc. are the examples of such output. These
types of output are not concerned for the users.

Tables
db_user:

db_icons:
db_cats:
db_visits:

db_posts:
db_sessions:
db_subscription:

db_reply:
db_topic:
db_settings:

db_smilies:

E-R Diagram

Data Flow Diagram
Context Diagram:

Security Features
As security is a prime importance to any software today, so we have
also taken care to make system secure. We have provided two types of
login users: one is Administrator i.e. Secured Users login and other is User
login.
For secured users, we provide a strong password, which is a

combination of number, date and characters. This password of Super user
can change anytime as it is combination of number and character. For e.g.
if today is 31st March 2013, then password would be
“31JAMES2013DMS03”. This type of combination is known to
Administrator, so that anyone can‟t change secured information.
Also, we have provided special Access Rights to various users at

Module level. The entire users will be given rights for each and every
Module. This right contains No Rights, View Rights, Edit Rights, Add / Edit
Rights, Approved Rights, Exports Rights, Print Rights and Delete Rights
(All Rights).
Buttons on common toolbar will be enabled / disabled according to

the rights assigned to current user i.e. if user does not have Edit and Delete
rights for particular module then for that user Edit and Delete button will not
be enabled. This two buttons will remain disabled so user cannot make any
modification or deletion and so on.

Types of Testing
Testing is an integral part of software development. It is broadly
deployed in every phase in the software development cycle. Typically,
more than 50% of the development time is spent in testing. It is not just
limited to, the process of executing a program or application with the intent
of finding errors.
Software testing aims at evaluating an attribute or the capability of the

project or the system in order to determine that the system meets its
required result.
White Box Testing:
The purpose of any security testing method is to ensure the

robustness of a system in the face of malicious attacks or regular software
failures. White box testing is performed based on the knowledge of how the
system is implemented.
White box testing includes analysing data flow, control flow,

information flow, coding practices, and exception and error handling within
the system, to test the intended and unintended software behaviour. White
box testing can be performed to validate whether code implementation
follows intended design, to validate implemented security functionality, and
to uncover exploitable vulnerabilities.
White box testing requires access to the source code. Though white
box testing can be performed any time in the life cycle after the code is
developed, it is a good practice to perform white box testing during the unit
testing phase. White box testing requires knowing what makes software
secure or insecure, how to think like an attacker, and how to use different
testing tools and techniques.
The first step in white box testing is to comprehend and analyse

source code, so knowing what makes software secure is a fundamental

requirement. Second, to create tests that exploit software, a tester must
think like an attacker. Third, to perform testing effectively, testers need to
know the different tools and techniques available for white box testing. The
three requirements do not work in isolation, but together.
Black Box Testing:
Black box testing is based on the software‟s specifications or

requirements, without reference to its internal workings. Grey box testing
combines white box techniques with black box input testing. This method of
testing explores paths that are directly accessible from user inputs or
external interfaces to the software. In a typical case, white box analysis is
used to find vulnerable areas, and black box testing is then used to develop
working attacks against these areas. The use of grey box techniques
combines both white box and black box testing methods in a powerful way.

Screen Shots
Home page:

Login:
Add Post:

Category:

Change Password:
Edit View Member Page:

Search:
Registration:
Profile:
FAQ:

View Thread:

Member Profile:

Admin

Login:
ACP(Admin Control Panel)

Edit ,Delete Category :

Topic:
Post:
Reply:

Banned user:

Upload Icon:

Future Enhancement
In future we want to add much new functionality to “Student
Help Discussion Board”. We want to add more chats, blog facility. In
short we want to give power to our site like as other social networking
sites have. So “Student Help Discussion Board” will be more better
then other forum sites.
Disclaimer
Any work may not always be perfect. There may be some error
or some defect in the work. We have taken enough care to make
project user friendly and more interactive. I hope that “Student Help
Discussion Board” will be useful to user.
We never claim that this system may fulfil all the requirement of
the entire user in every condition.

Conclusion
The “Student Help Discussion Board” has been developed by us
through applying our knowledge gained in class room, referring to certain
books, browsing some sites and through the help of external and internal
guides and using our own knowledge related to the subject itself. No
project can be termed as “perfect” in real sense and there always remains
scope for further improvement and so that helps to develop a new version.
We are always eager to know some new points and validations

related to the projects and which give us more knowledge and help us to
create new version. We would like to thank the project guides that
extended all their support and helped us in completing this project
successfully.

BiblioGraphy
Sites:
http://www.google.com
http://www.w3school.com
http://www.dynamicdrive.com
Books:
PHP Manual
JavaScript Manual
MySQL Manual

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Student Discussion Board Page 1

Student Discussion Board Page 2

Project Title : Student Help Discussion Board

Project Guide : Ms. Anjana bagdai

Languages Used : PHP, HTML, CSS, JQuery, JavaScript

Student Discussion Board Page 3

The objective and scope of my Project Student Forum System

Student Discussion Board Page 4

Front End & Back End tools introduction/features :

The full form of PHP is “Hypertext Preprocessor” it‟s original

Student Discussion Board Page 5

HTML- Support: PHP is embedded within HTML; In other words,

Cross-platform compatibility: MySQL run native on every popular

Student Discussion Board Page 6

Speed: PHP is pleasingly zippy in its execution, especially when

Student Discussion Board Page 7

MySQL, the most popular open source SQL database

 MySQL is a Database Management System.

Student Discussion Board Page 8

Apache is one of the world‟s mostly widely used web

Apache is unix based, Open source web server that is used to

JavaScript is a scripting language developed by Netscape

JavaScript is endorse by a number of software companies and

Student Discussion Board Page 10

Hard Ware Requirements:-

 Internet connection through D.O.T.or through I.S.P.

 Free Disk space 2 G.B.

 Minimum RAM 256 MB.

 486 DX2 or Higher Microprocessor.

Soft Ware Requirements:-

 Operating System (WIN 2000 or Higher)

 Internet Browser (Mozilla Firefox, Netscape Navigator,

 PHP as a Front-end Tool

Student Discussion Board Page 11

The present project has been developed to meet the aspirations

Student Discussion Board Page 12

View Discussion Board

View site information

View board rules

Make simple search

Can start new topic

Can make a new post

Can delete his/her posts

Can edit hie/her profile

Can see others member‟s profile

View site information

View board rules

Student Discussion Board Page 13

A moderator will have one category to moderate.

View all board

View all Topic

View all posts

Can start new category

Can delete category

Can delete all topics

Can delete all posts

Can inactive categorys

Can make ban on users