Is it possible to integrate my database with a forum (SMF, phpBB) database?

I have a web application with a user base. I want to add a forum, but I don't want users to register there again.

I'm using Rails/Postgresql.

Is it possible to integrate the forum so that after registering in my site, a user will also be regi开发者_如何学运维stered in a forum?

Thanks

Yes, it's possible. The simpler way is to centralize registering and authentication through the forum.

Implementation depend of what kind of forum you use and the structure of your site.

The packaged forum should have some kind of API that you can use to programmatically add a user when they register with your main site. If not, you can just write to the tables yourself (which is considerably riskier, but certainly doable if the forum software isn't ridiculously complex and over-engineered).

You may need to add some fields to your site's registration if the forum software requires some that you don't already have. If that's the case, the bigger challenge will be integrating existing users. You might have to use dummy values for them, or prompt them at their next login to supply the necessary values in order to complete their forum registration.