How to design mysql table for a blog

Question

0.00/5 (No votes)

See more:

, +

Dear All,

Detailed description goes below.

The Requirement

I'm developing a Blogging page which includes designing both front and back end. Using MVC WebAPI as service and MySQL to store data.
My blog page requires to be presented in 2 different layouts as of now, and in future I may add more layouts for the same page. The challenge here is designing the database table since contents for different layouts will be presented in different formats, e.g.-3 paragraphs and 2 images in first layout, 5 paragraphs and 3-4 images in second layout.

What I'm planning

To create a MySQL table with various columns for both paragraphs and images(P1,P2,P3,IMG1,IMG2...etc), but again to me this approach looks not so future proof considering modifying the table would be hard in future.

Not finding a proper approach I come here to get a right approach to to my requirement. The attached screenshot is an initial view of my first blog description page.
TIA.

Regards,
Dash

What I have tried:

After going through various concepts "Storing the entire HTML content in database" sounded the most feasible solution since it's quite straightforward approach to do. However this approach isn't feasible for me since:

1. It means hard coding the data-->Resulting hard to modify in future.
2. I've plans to develop mobile apps in future in which case this HTML data would be meaningless for me.

Posted 26-Feb-17 19:48pm

P_Dash

Updated 27-Feb-17 5:44am

Add a Solution

1 solution

Add a Solution

Add your solution here

Treat my content as plain text, not as HTML

Preview 0

…

Existing Members

Sign in to your account

...or Join us

Download, Vote, Comment, Publish.

Your Email
Password
Forgot your password?

Your Email
This email is in use. Do you need your password?
Optional Password

I have read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
Please subscribe me to the CodeProject newsletters

When answering a question please:

Read the question carefully.
Understand that English isn't everyone's first language so be lenient of bad spelling and grammar.
If a question is poorly phrased then either ask for clarification, ignore it, or edit the question and fix the problem. Insults are not welcome.
Don't tell someone to read the manual. Chances are they have and don't get it. Provide an answer or move on to the next question.

Let's work to help developers, not make them feel stupid.

This content, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)

CHill60 · Answer 1 · 2017-02-27T05:43:00

Solution 1

There is nothing stopping you storing HTML in the database as the blog itself.
The important point is to not include any display specific code.

For display purposes consider using CSS to manipulate the HTML (and any images).

Have a look at Zen Garden to get a better idea of what I mean - CSS Zen Garden: The Beauty of CSS Design[^]

Android has its own way of applying styles Styles and Themes | Android Developers[^]

So perhaps store your blog as plain text or xml, convert to the appropriate format (HTML/android:text) and apply the appropriate style as required, when required.

Posted 27-Feb-17 5:43am

CHill60

Comments

P_Dash 28-Feb-17 2:37am

I'm using HTML5/Bootstrap/AngularJS in my application. Storing HTML without Bootstrap/CSS in server and then collaborating is too complex/painful and at most of the times not possible at all.

Unfortunately this approach couldn't be considered. FYI. I already have tried storing and manipulating how you mentioned.

CHill60 28-Feb-17 7:54am

Storing the content i.e. the data separately from the formatting or UI element is exactly the purpose of modern tools (such as the ones you mention) and is absolutely the way forward. In other words you must separate the concerns of data and presentation or you are doomed to rewriting lots and lots of code.

I also question your use of the word "Table" - your database design should contain many tables and you absolutely should not have columns for your images in your main table - use a link table so the number of images is unlimited.

This blog may prove helpful: Design Pattern: Blog ERD[^]

P_Dash 1-Mar-17 0:22am

What you said is correct. I've various tables for different kind of data storage/formats. Just for the sake of simplicity I mentioned as table.
Will have a look into the link, hopefully it'll answer my question upto an extent.