Daily-Gist Blog Platform

A modern, responsive blog platform built with PHP and MySQL, featuring user authentication, post creation, and social media-like interactions.

Features

• User Authentication (Login/Register)
• Profile Management with Profile Pictures
• Post Creation with Images
• Like and Repost Functionality
• Comment System
• Dashboard for User Posts
• Responsive Design
• Modern UI with Bootstrap 5
• Secure File Uploads
• Session Management
• Error Handling and Validation

System Requirements

• PHP 7.4 or higher
• MySQL 5.7 or higher
• Apache/Nginx Web Server
• XAMPP/WAMP (Recommended for local development)
• Modern Web Browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)

Installation

1. Clone the repository to your web server directory:

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/daily-gist.git

2. Create a MySQL database:

CREATE DATABASE daily_gist;

3. Import the database schema:

mysql -u username -p daily_gist < database/schema.sql

4. Configure database connection:

• Edit config/db_connect.php with your database credentials
• Ensure proper permissions for the uploads directory

5. Set up the uploads directory:

mkdir -p uploads/{posts,profile_pictures}
chmod -R 777 uploads

6. Configure web server:

• Ensure mod_rewrite is enabled for Apache
• Set proper document root permissions

Directory Structure

blog_platform/
├── config/
│   └── db_connect.php
├── templates/
│   ├── auth.php
│   ├── dashboard.php
│   ├── index.php
│   ├── login.php
│   ├── logout.php
│   ├── nav.php
│   ├── post_create.php
│   ├── post_delete.php
│   ├── post_edit.php
│   ├── profile.php
│   ├── register.php
│   └── templates/
├── uploads/
│   ├── posts/
│   └── profile_pictures/
└── README.md

Database Schema

The database schema includes tables for:

• Users (authentication)
• Posts (blog content)
• Comments (post interactions)
• Likes (post engagement)
• Reposts (content sharing)

Security Features

• Password hashing
• Prepared statements
• Input validation
• CSRF protection
• File upload validation
• Session management
• XSS protection

Usage

1. Create an account or login:

   • Navigate to /login.php
   • Register at /register.php

2. Create Posts:

   • Go to /post_create.php
   • Add title, content, and optional image

3. Manage Profile:

   • Visit /profile.php
   • Update username, bio, and profile picture

4. View Posts:

   • Main page: /index.php
   • User dashboard: /dashboard.php

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Commit your changes
4. Push to the branch
5. Create a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Support

For support, please:

1. Check the documentation
2. Search existing issues
3. Create a new issue if needed

Acknowledgments

• Bootstrap 5 for UI components
• Font Awesome for icons
• jQuery for DOM manipulation
• MySQL for database
• PHP for backend logic