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On the one hand there's iBlog, a "rough edges" application that reads RSS feeds and generates a blog composed of static web pages with no add-on tools (commenting, counters, search, etc.). It has a small user base and limited on-the-ground support but it is supremely easy to use. On the other hand, there are a number of "specialist" applications that have cared out a niche, integrating with well-established and comprehensive server-side solutions like WordPress and Movable Type. Frustrated by iBlog's inconsistencies and poor support for web standards, the time has come to consider making the transition to an alternative solution that meets my expectations. Here, I look at WordPress...

Update 29.05.06: See also "Step-by-step iBlog to WordPress" here.

A solution made of parts

Sometimes several solutions acting in concert can be better than a single solution that does everything, but nothing all that well. There are several applications that might help a migration from iBlog.

An alternative RSS reader

Sometimes you'll want to create a fresh blog entry; at other times you might be reading the RSS feeds of other sites and want to "blog this". I already use NetNewsWire ($US25) which is a great RSS reader, and version 2 has support for external weblog editors such as MarsEdit and ecto.

An alternative weblog editor

When you choose "Post to Weblog" in NetNewsWire, your external editor opens and extracts the title, link, and description of the RSS item. Incidentally, this also works if you set iBlog as the external editor (but you'll need to edit away the XHTML, or use iBlog's HTMLCode container):

However, remembering that we are trying to avoid creating bad XHTML using iBlog, we need to consider alternatives that will integrate with WordPress. MarsEdit from Ranchero Software costs $US25:

MarsEdit is a weblog editor for Mac OS X that makes weblog writing like writing email?with spell-checking, drafts, multiple windows, and even AppleScript support. It works with various weblog systems: Blosxom, Conversant, Manila, Movable Type, Radio UserLand, TypePad, WordPress, and others.

ecto form Kula Co., Ltd. costs $US18:

ecto is a feature-rich desktop blogging client for MacOSX and Windows, supporting a wide range of weblog systems, such as Blogger, Blojsom, Drupal, MovableType, Nucleus, TypePad, WordPress, and more... With ecto you can write and manage entries for your weblog(s). The advantage over using your weblog's control panel is that you can compose entries offline and use the extra features ecto offers, such as spellcheck, creating links, attachments, and much more. ecto is designed to make blogging much more easier and yet give the users as much power as possible to manage their weblogs.

Migrating existing iBlog entries to WordPress

Even this requirement seems to be covered. Agitprop from Twiddly Bits is a free application:

Agitprop is a Mac OS X application for liberating your blog entries from Lifli Software?s iBlog application. iBlog (1.4.x and earlier) does not readily provide any form of export functionality that preserves all of your blog entry information, such as category, posting date, etc. Agitprop was written for the express purpose of migrating all of your blog entry information to the Movable Type import file format so it can then be imported into Movable Type, WordPress, etc.

Converting your entries is straightforward:

Unfortunately it looks like all that extra and often invalid XHTML baggage (div, span, style) that iBlog insists on inserting (even when specifying an external stylesheet) is part of the deal :-(

Here's an example in the Movable Type import/ export format used by Agitprop:

--------
AUTHOR: bruce
TITLE: Send files between a Palm T3 and a Mac via Bluetooth
ALLOW COMMENTS: 0
ALLOW PINGS: 0
STATUS: publish
PRIMARY CATEGORY: Gadgets
DATE: 10/11/2003 08:32:12
-----
BODY:
<div class="Normal"><span style='font-style: italic;'>Avoid a slow HotSync by
creating a wireless Personal Area Network to move individual files between your
Mac and your Palm T3...</span></div>
-----
EXTENDED BODY:
<div class="Normal"><span style='font-weight: bold;'>Mac to Palm</span>
<span style='font-family: Helvetica;'>Having an older G4

[etc.]

Installing and configuring WordPress, Apache, MySQL, PHP

In considering a move from iBlog, one of the big draws of WordPress was its proclaimed adherance to web standards. WordPress requires pre-installation of Apache, MySQL, and PHP:

Following the MacZealot tutorial here, installation sounded simple enough but turned out to be challenging:

1. Download, decompress, and move the WordPress folder into /Library/WebServer/Documents; I downloaded version 1.5.
2. Turn on Personal Web Sharing in System Preferences to fire up the built-in webserver, Apache.
3. Download, install, and configure the backend database, MySQL; I downloaded version 4.1.10a.
4. Activate the pre-installed server-side scripting language, PHP; I used Mac OS X 10.3.8.
5. Configure WordPress. I was greeted with an "Error establishing a database connection" message at this point.

Eventually, I learned that the version of PHP installed with Mac OS X 10.3.8 is not compatible with MySQL 4.1.10a (lesson: read the last comment on a tutorial first!). I downloaded PHP 4.3.10 for Apache 1.3 here (26.6 MB). Unfortunately, however, the same error persits and I have not been able to complete the installation.

I give up. Bugger!

There is a lot ridding on iBlog 2.0... or is there? Both MarsEdit and ecto can also be used to post to Blogger (no client-side installation) or Movable Type (Perl cf. PHP-based, requires installation), and Agitprop can of course assist in the migration of existing iBlog entries to Movable Type as well. That leaves other options open:

Hmm...

Update 15.04.05: It works! So I lied: I didn't give up...

I started with a clean installation of Mac OS X 10.3.8 (no Developer Tools) with all software updates applied.

Apache

I turned on Personal Web Sharing in Mac OS X Preferences to start the built-in Apache server.

PHP

I downloaded PHP 5.0.4 for Apache 1.3 here and as suggested created a text file called test.php in my Sites folder, containing the line:

[?php phpinfo[] ?]

This displayed the status of the PHP installation at the following URL (where the IP address corresponds to "localhost" and "bm" is my OS X username):

http://127.0.0.1/~bm/test.php

MySQL

I downloaded the Installer package (Mac OS X v10.3) Standard 4.1.11 here. Following these instructions I installed the MySQL package, the startup item (to activate the server at login) and the System Preferences panel. In Terminal I typed:

cd /usr/local/mysql

followed by:

sudo chown -R mysql data/

then my OS X account password, followed by:

sudo echo
sudo ./bin/mysqld_safe &

To test the installation, I typed:

/usr/local/mysql/bin/mysql test

Then I set the default MySQL account password (where "bugger" is my new password):

/usr/local/mysql/bin/mysqladmin -u root password bugger

Now create the "wordpress" database:

CREATE DATABASE wordpress;

and exit Terminal.

WordPress

I download and expanded the wordpress folder, dragged into Sites folder, and followed the instructions here to open the file called "wp-config-sample.php", and change the username and password from the defaults to "root" and "bugger" respectively:

define('DB_NAME', 'wordpress');
define('DB_USER', 'root');
define('DB_PASSWORD', 'bugger');
define('DB_HOST', 'localhost');

I saved the file as "wp-config.php" into the same folder then in Safari typed:

http://127.0.0.1/~bm/wordpress/wp-admin/install.php

and away we go...

Problems?

You see this:

Solution: Start the Apache server by turning on Personal Web Sharing in Mac OS X Preferences.

You see:

Solution: Make sure the MySQL database server is started.