database.markdown

Articles - Database structure

The module uses three tables, created from the SQL files in modules/articles/queries/.

Columns of type ml_varchar / ml_text are multi-language fields. The framework expands each of them into one real column per configured language (for example title_en, title_de, ...), so from templates and managers they are accessed as a single field returning an array keyed by language.

1. articles

Main storage table for articles.

Column	Type	Default	Description
id	int	auto increment	Unique article id (primary key).
group	int	NULL	Id of the article_groups row this article belongs to, or NULL when ungrouped.
text_id	varchar(32)	NULL	Optional human-friendly textual id.
timestamp	timestamp	CURRENT_TIMESTAMP	Article creation time.
title	ml_varchar(255)	''	Multi-language article title.
content	ml_text		Multi-language article body (Markdown).
author	int		Id of the user (system access) who created the article.
gallery	int		Id of an associated gallery entry.
visible	boolean	0	Whether the article is publicly visible.
views	int	0	View counter (reserved, currently not used).
votes_up	int	0	Number of positive votes.
votes_down	int	0	Number of negative votes.

Indexes: author, group, text_id.

2. article_groups

Containers grouping multiple articles.

Column	Type	Default	Description
id	int	auto increment	Unique group id (primary key).
text_id	varchar(32)	NULL	Optional human-friendly textual id.
title	ml_varchar(255)	''	Multi-language group title.
description	ml_text		Multi-language group description.
visible	boolean	1	Whether the group is publicly visible.

Indexes: text_id.

3. article_votes

Records individual votes so a single client address can vote only once per article.

Column	Type	Description
id	int	Unique vote id (primary key).
address	varchar(64)	Client address (IP) that cast the vote.
article	int	Id of the voted article.

Indexes: (address, article).