BicBucStriim 1.1 released, HTML and OPDS server for Calibre libraries

[textmulch]

Version 1.1 of BicBucStriim, the web server for Calibre libraries, is available with some new features and bug fixes.

The usual pitch: BicBucStriim was made for internal use on a low-power NAS, similar to media servers for audio and video. So your Calibre library is always online, even when the PC with Calibre is shut down.

New features are:

• sending books via e-mail, thanks to @janeczku
• global search over all categories
• display of custom columns
• tag-based download protection, thanks to @blowk

Please note that this will be the last version for PHP 5.2. Future version will require PHP 5.3 as a minimum.

If you want to know more, just check the description. For the impatient: just click on the download link.

Rainer


UPDATE: there is now a special version of BicBucStriim 1.1 for PHP 5.2 users. A library it depends on doesn't work with PHP 5.2 anymore. So please download this version if you are still on PHP 5.2.

[epirph]

Hello,
I've tried my best, but my regex knowledge is very limited. Would someone familiar with Cherokee and regex help me figure out what the correct expressions might be? I tried the material on the BBS wiki for tiny or light httpd without success.

Much appreciated.

Moderator Notice
Moved post to BicBucStriim 1.1 thread. Hopefully the developer will be notified of a post on his thread.

[textmulch]

Unfortunately I have no experience with the Cherokee web server. However, looking at the documentation, I would recommend to follow the approach in their Wordpress recipe. That's what I usually do when confronted with a new web server.

Their regex solution for index.php is a common one and should work for BBS, too. The directories with static content are "/style" "/img" and "/js" so you would have to create a Directory rule for each of them. The only other static file is "/installcheck.php". That is all.

If you get it working, could you please add some infos to the wiki?

HTH,
Rainer

[Goner]

Hi, nice program !!
Is it possible to secure the 'home' page of BBS with a password too (like the Admin page) ??

Normally I would use a .htaccess file (with account/password or specific IP addresses) to restrict access from outside the LAN, but I'm using a Kobo Touch and it's web-browser doesn't support basic authorization ...

[textmulch]

Hello,
the next version will provide regular logins, even for multiple users, and with this protection for all pages. So this could solve your problem.

Currently there is no other way than to add an external protection like .htaccess, because the application was originally intended to run in a private intranet.

[Goner]

Great!
Yes, I realize BBS was developed for home use, it just would be nice to be able to download a book when you run out of e-books while on holiday

Normally .htaccess is a good solution and it works fine for other devices (tablet, Sony e-reader), it's just the Kobo webbrowser that can not handle the Apache basic authorization. It just gives some error message ...

[nathanashton]

Hi there,

Just wanted to thank you for this wonderful application! Was hoping I could suggest a few things for a newer version as my PHP skills are nowhere near good enough to understand your code

* Password protect the entire app (I see you mentioned maybe the next update).
* Include URL to book on Amazon on the details page - Good to go check reviews to see if worth reading
* Possible include a shortened version of the book description on the main pages - would fill in the "White space" when viewing the app through a normal browser.

Great work, keep it up!

[textmulch]

Yes, the login protection for the app is on its way. I just have to find the time to finish it. Related meta data is also on the list.

As for the inclusion of the description in the main screen: that could be a possibility for wider screens, another would be to use multiple columns. The topic is still open for discussion.

Thanks for the hints,
Rainer

[nathanashton]

Thanks Rainer. I managed to hack together a link on the title_detail page that simply searches Amazon based on the Title, Author and Year all combined.

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords={{ book.title }} {% for author in authors %}{{ author.name }},{% endfor %}{{ book.pubdate | date("Y") }}" target="_blank">View Book on Amazon</a>

Are there any ID's or similar (ISBN maybe?) that I could use to link directly to the book on Amazon instead? Something that takes me directly to the book rather than search results? At the moment it returns search results that works most of the time, but it wont work with non-standard characters in the title (C# etc).

Your PHP skills are way too advanced for me to understand myself

Cheers

[textmulch]

Sure, if the Calibre record for a book has something like isbn:9780981531601 in the "IDs" field, you could optimize the search by using the ISBN:

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-isbn={{ book.isbn }}" target="_blank">View Book on Amazon</a>

This would still bring you to the search results, but with only one book listed (or none), instead of many.

To jump directly to the book would require the ASIN, as far as I know. Of course, you could add the ASIN in the IDs field like "amazon:0981531601", but BicBucStriim currently doesn't look for the other IDs.

[nathanashton]

Just downloaded the latest source of GitHub and it's looking great.

Having issues though with the Send to Kindle function. I'm using a Synology DS1512+ with DSM4.2 and it just sits there trying to send the email with no result. I have tested PHP sendmail separately and it works fine otherwise.

Cheers

[textmulch]

Thanks for trying the alpha version. I just tried mailing on the DS512+ with DSM 4.2 and I received the mail with the book -- but only after a very long time. So long that I thought it had crashed, too. Probably due to the many infrastructure upgrades in 1.2.0-alpha. I'll check.

If you really need the mailing function, please use the release version.

[textmulch]

OK, I replaced the simple mailing solution with something more flexible (SMTP, sendmail or PHP mail) in the Github alpha version. One of these might be faster.

[textmulch]

Just in case somebody has problems after an upgrade to Synology DSM 5: see the wiki for a solution https://github.com/rvolz/BicBucStrii...pgradeSynology

[isaacrdz]

Ive been using COPS and decided to give BBS a try. The install is done on a Drobo5N NAS and the issue I'm having is that when I enter the URL for the BBS index page, it appears I get redirected to an admin directory which does not exist. This was the case with the 1.1 version. Attempting to load the install check page gave me an error about date and time which the Drobo5N currently does not have the function to correct. But in any case, the page did not load.

I decided to try the 1.2.2 version on GitHub to see if any updates could have fixed my issue and this time the index page appeared to redirect me to an admin/configuration directory which again does not exist. Unlike version 1.1, I was able to see the install check page this time and everything was green except for the URL rewriting and htaccess page. Unsure if this is what is causing my issues but there was nothing on the BBS homepage that stated these had to be set correctly like the statement concerning permissions for the data directory.

Does anyone have any ideas as what is causing this issue?