Upload of images in folder instead of database possible / recommended? [CKEditor]

Question

Just now I realized that CKEditor uploads files into the database (table qa_blobs).

As far as I could see those images are not cached and thus result in slower server handling.

This is why I would like to ask how to change that behavior to have the files saved to a folder on the server, e.g. \uploads\images\

From my understanding, I have somehow to change the "qa-wysiwyg-upload.php" from line 102??

 

Searching the net regarding CKEditor (which is definitely pain) I found a little discussion about image uploads and absolute paths, if that helps: Image uploading in FCKeditor as well as kind of tutorial here.

 

Added:
I get a bit confused reading about folder vs. database in stackoverflow. Post by John Gietzen:

"FileStream solves most of the problems around storing the files in the DB:

1. The Blobs are actually stored as files in a folder.
2. The Blobs can be accessed using either a database connection or over the filesystem."

Others disagree...

 

What is Question2Answer using? What is the best way to serve cached images?

Comments

You should take a look at TinyMCE. IMO it's a more solid editor to start with, and uploading files to a folder is dead simple with a plugin.

Answer 1

The caching of images in the end user's browser is unrelated to the way in which the images are stored on the server. When outputting a blob (including an image), Q2A adds an HTTP header to encourage caching at the client end (see qa-blob.php).

Having said that, if you want blobs to be stored as server files rather than in the database, you can write a plugin which overrides the following functions:

qa_db_blob_create(...)

qa_db_blob_read(...)

qa_db_blob_delete(...)

qa_db_blob_exists(...)

qa_get_blob_url(...)

I'm sure other people would enjoy this plugin too!

Comments

Thanks for your answer. If caching is encouraged, then I don't worry. So the only extra work for the server is the db connection as far as I understand.

When talking about images in folders, I hat Apache's module mod_expires.c in mind, to set an expiration date and force caching.

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Would anybody be interested to write that plugin ?

- Storing images in filesystem
- Storing a thumbnail in filesystem

Pricing ?

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I am but not now ;) Storing in files is better only because caching. I think in new Q&A version it will be included

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The issue of caching is independent of how the files are stored. Q2A sets the appropriate HTTP headers on images to allow them to be cached by proxies and browsers.

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You are right. Just most of scripts caching blobs bad. Your Q&A not, is ok. Thanks

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Want to comment that my interest in this is not caching but easier image handling and bandwidth. If I have thousand images in folders, i can resize them easily, if they are stored in the database I dont know an easy way to modify them. The other thing is, that on image based projects the images could be moved easily to a content delivery network.

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@monk333: How is your experience, have you used the new feature of uploading to a folder instead to the db? ... Image Handling: Yes, it is easier to access it directly and resize it. Good point! And right, the images could be easily transferred to another storage. Thanks for pointing out these two essential advantages.