scripts for direct DB creation of nodes?

Here is a stripped down version of some code I have used in 4.7 for creating a node from code. You will need to modify as noted in the comments

<?php
                global $user;

		$node = new StdClass();
		// Information for base node
		$node->type = 'content type';  // *** This needs to be a valid content type
		$node->uid = $user->uid;

		// Optional - Useful if you want the create date/time to reflect something other than now
		// $node->created = ** Valid unix time stamp

		$node->status = 1;  // Set to 0 if you do not want the content published
		$node->promote = 0;  // Set to 1 if you do not want the content promoted to the front page
		$node->sticky = 0;  // Set to 1 if you do not want the content sticky
		$node->title = 'This is the title for the content';
		$node->body = 'The body of the node';
		$node->teaser = 'The teaser of the node';

		node_save($node);
		$nid = $node->nid;
?>

*bump* for subscription

Hi all,

I made use of the information on this page and on others. I wanted to give back my completed script in case it helps others. This work for me on Drupal 5 importing hundreds of records.

// Written by Victor Kane - victorkane at awebfactory dot com dot ar
// *** This script affects your database
//
// Edits by Jeff Vogelsang - jeffvogelsang at pqa dot com

// CONFIGURATION

// Change the value below to TRUE when you want to run the script After running,
// immediately change back to FALSE in order to prevent accidentally executing
// this script twice.
// NOTE: I find the best way to do this is to leave it false. When you are ready
// to execute, set to this variable to true, and then click Preview. The script
// will execute, but will not be saved with the value set to true. This prevents
// accidentally saving the script with the value set to true. Also, it prevents
// the unfortunate situation where the cron job runs while it's set to true,
// and you get double imports.
$active = false; 

// Bootstrap Drupal
include_once "includes/bootstrap.inc";
include_once("includes/common.inc");
drupal_bootstrap(DRUPAL_BOOTSTRAP_FULL);

// CSV file containing the data to import.
// For simplicity I place this in the root of the Drupal
// site and remove it when done.
$data_archive = 'mn1.csv';

// Content information... This is the CCK type data you wish to import to.
// It needs to match exactly your created content type information.
$content_type = 'eis_meeting_notes';
$content_name = 'EIS Meeting Notes';

// Check for the script being enabled, and for appropriate permissions.
if ($active) {
    if (user_access("administer content types")) {
        insert_content($content_type, $data_archive);
    } else {
        print "You don't have permission to administer content types.";
    }
  } else {
        print "Variable active is set to false.";
}

function insert_content ($content_type, $data_archive) {
	// Open the CSV file read only.
    $handle = fopen($data_archive, "r");
	// Read the headers from the first line.
    $theHeaders = fgetcsv ($handle);
	// Keep count of how many lines we have processed.
    $lineno = 0;
    while ($line = fgetcsv ($handle)) {
        $output = '';
    $valueno = 0;
    $lineno++;
    $output .= '<ul>Line: '. $lineno;
    $observaciones = '';
    foreach ($line as $value) {
      if ($value) {
        $output .= '<li>'.$theHeaders[$valueno].': '.$value.'</li>';
        $observaciones .= '<li>'.$theHeaders[$valueno].': '.$value.'</li>';
      }
      $valueno++;
    }
    $output .= '</ul>';

    // Create new node
    $node = array();
	// Node is of type $content_type/$content_name
    $node['type'] = $content_type;
    $node['name'] = $content_name;
	// Formats on CCK nodes apply to fields, so no format set here.
    $node['format'] = 0;
	// Enable read/write comments.
    $node['comment'] = 2;
	// Published
    $node['status'] = 1;
	// Not promoted to front page.
    $node['promote'] = 0;
	// Not sticky.
    $node['sticky'] = 0;
	// Create a log entry for the first revision.
    $log = 'Imported from csv.' . date('g:i:s a');
    $node['log'] = $log;

    // Node fields here, mapped to CSV file data.
    $node['title'] = $line[1];
    $node['created'] = $line[4];
    $node['name'] = $line[7];
    $node['uid'] = $line[8];

    // CCK fields here, mapped to CSV file data.
	// For each, we set the value, and the desired input/output format.
	// In this case, format 4 is a non-html-filtering input type.
	
	$node['field_eis_action_items'] = array
	(
	    0 => array
	        (
	            'value' =>  $line[16],
	            'format' => 4
	        )
	);

	$node['field_eis_agenda'] = array
	(
	    0 => array
	        (
	            'value' =>  $line[14],
	            'format' => 4
	        )
	);

	$node['field_eis_attendees'] = array
	(
	    0 => array
	        (
	            'value' =>  $line[9],
	            'format' => 4,
	        )
	);

	$node['field_eis_meeting_date'] = array
	(
	    0 => array
	        (
	            'value' =>  $line[10]
	        )
	);

	$node['field_eis_notes'] = array
	(
	    0 => array
	        (
	            'value' =>  $line[22],
	            'format' => 4
	        )
	);

	$node['field_eis_open_issues'] = array
	(
	    0 => array
	        (
	            'value' =>  $line[20],
	            'format' => 4
	        )
	);

	$node['field_eis_purpose'] = array
	(
	    0 => array
	        (
	            'value' =>  $line[12],
	            'format' => 4
	        )
	);

	$node['field_eis_requirements'] = array
	(
	    0 => array
	        (
	            'value' => $line[18],
	            'format' => 4
	        )
	);

	// Basic check for having a non-blank title.
	// Then submit/save node, and output the data we used for this node.
    if ($node['title']) {
      $node = (object)$node;
		// This is the unique TID from the taxonomy table. It can also be an array of values.
		// Set it here after we turn the node into an object...
		$node->taxonomy[] = 1;
      $node = node_submit($node);
      node_save($node);
      print $output;
    };
  }
}

---
Jeff Vogelsang
Senior Associate (Technical Architect, Developer)
Perrin Quarles Associates

          CREATE TABLE {node_example} (
            vid int(10) unsigned NOT NULL default '0',
            nid int(10) unsigned NOT NULL default '0',
            color varchar(255) NOT NULL default '',
            quantity int(10) unsigned NOT NULL default '0',
            PRIMARY KEY (vid, nid),
            KEY node_example_nid (nid)
          ) /*!40100 DEFAULT CHARACTER SET utf8 */;

Excellent thread, suggested comments on inserting from CSV into node_example table as described?
----
Darly

oops! this was meant to be threaded above to post: http://drupal.org/node/67887#comment-209250
i'll repost there for context

thanks for providing the code!

why do you both submit and save the node at the end?

the previous examples only save the node.. just curious!!

thanks

I'd like to contribute back some tips I got while discussing with jeff (jjv).

1) The select list CCK item seems to do some string validation based on the valid list you gave. The way to import in those fields is to temporarily turn these fields as plain text fields AND remove any valid entries for that field. As Jeff said:

if you set your select list field in your cck node to be a plain text field, and then run the script, you'll get your data in. Then you can go back to the cck field and change it to a select list with your desired options. After you save the save the change the values that were already there as text will still be there and work in the select list

2) If you are unsure about the format of a given custom node you made using CCK, you can use the "devel" module to output the node structure. As Jeff puts it:

you can do a "dev load" and "dev render" on any node. This will cause Drupal to output the $node structure for that node type, and will help you set up the assignments that you see listed in my script.

Hope this helps some of you trying to import from external databases.

Regards

I have the script working well except that it is not writing the uid specified in the CSV. The uid is staying 0 (default). All of the other fields are updating. Any ideas?

Thanks!

Mitch

Hi guys,

how do you do achieve the same for comments (directly create a comment for a node, given its nid, not via the web interface, e.g. when the xml-rpc interface of the module is being called)? I saw that there is comment_save but this doesnt seem to call any hooks...

I am trying to insert path for the node but I anm not able to so.
This is what I have tried.

$node['path'] = "aboutus";

I have also tried it with

$values['path'] = "aboutus";

But it is not working.
Pls Help

JUNED KAZI
junedkazi@gmail.com

I spent the last few day importing data from an old (and terribly designed) access database into drupal. This thread helped me a great deal, fist I went with a more direct aproach inserting into the database through the drupal abstractation layer. This however was a bit messy, and you have to rewrite a lot of stuff that is essensially already in drupal, plus no modules gets a chance to hook in. Emulating form submission using the api really feels like the way to go (with nodes anyway). I made a script inspired by some in this thread:

(It's pretty specific for my needs, and not very pretty, but since those posted in this thread helped increase my understanding the process of submitting a node maybe this can be useful for others)

// Bootstrap Drupal
include_once "includes/bootstrap.inc";
include_once("includes/common.inc");
drupal_bootstrap(DRUPAL_BOOTSTRAP_FULL);

// Import some useful functions for formating and importing data, nothing fancy
include_once('import_functions.php');

$active = FALSE;

if ($active && user_access("administer content types")) {
  print 'Great success!<br />';
  //Importing data from html table
  $data = get_table($import_data_folder . '/chat.html');

  // Quick and dirty cleanup
  $data = array_map('cleanup', $data);
  function cleanup( $line ) {
    $line = preg_replace('/&#\d*;/', ' ', $line);
    return array_map('trim', array_map('strip_tags', $line));
  }
  // Array mapping usernames in old database to user names in drupal database
  global $old_to_new;
    
  foreach($data as $line) {
    $skip = FALSE;
    $old_uname = current(explode(' ', $line[2]));
    
    // Checking just to be sure
    if(!isset($old_to_new[$old_uname])) {
      print('Warning: User: ' . $old_uname . ' missing in $old_to_new.<br/>');
      $skip = TRUE;
    }
    if(empty($line[1])) {
      die("This should never happen, time to panic..");
      //$skip = TRUE;
    }
    // We skip post if post to short or user unknown
    if(!$skip && strlen($line[1]) >= 100) {
      
      $node = new StdClass();
      $node->name = $old_to_new[$old_uname];
      $account = user_load(array('name' => $node->name));
      if(!$account){
        die('User: '. $node->name .' does not exist, check mapping for '. $old_uname .'.<br />');
      }
      // Assigned when calling node_submit (if $node->name is set), so not really necessary to set value here
      $node->uid = $account->uid;
      $node->type = 'nyhet';
      $node->created = olddate_to_unix_time($line[3]);
      $node->changed = $node->created;
      // Must set this so that created is not overwritten some where else
      $node->date = format_date($node->created, 'custom', 'Y-m-d H:i:s O');
      $node->title =  mktitle(html_entity_decode($line[1]), 30);
      $node->body = $line[1];
      // Format set to filtered html
      $node->format = 1;
      $node->log = 'Importerad från HEABNET '. date('d/m-y H:m') .'.';
      // Status set to published
      $node->status = 1;
      // Promote to first page
      $node->promote = 1;
      $node->sticky = 0;
      $node->revision = 0;
      // Enable read/write comments
      $node->comment = 2;
      $node->pathauto_perform_alias = 1;
      
      print '<pre>';
      print '<em>Before submit:</em><br />';
      print_r($node);
      $node = node_submit($node);
      print '<em>After:</em><br />';
      print_r($node);
      print '</pre><hr />';
      //node_save($node);
      // Just testing, only need one post
      break;
    }
  }
}
else {
  print 'Script ' . __FILE__ . ' is not set to active, or access denied';
}

Some pitfalls:
Found out that if node->date is not set the following code in node_submit will result in the 'created' property losing its value:

$node->created = !empty($node->date) ? strtotime($node->date) : time();

thanks for this script
my script to import images in an image cck field :

$active = FLASE;

if($active){
	# upload files
	$nid = $node->nid;
	$uploads = array();
	for($files as $file){
		$upl = new StdClass();
        $upl->fid = 'upload';
        $upl->filename = $file['dest_path'];
        $upl->filepath = $file['src_path'];
        $upload->filemime = 'image/jpeg';
        $upl->filesize = $file['size'];
        //$upl->description = $file[1];
        $upl->list = 1;
		array_push($uploads, $upl);
	}
	
	$node->files = $uploads;
	upload_save($node);
	
	# save image fields
	$files = $node->files;
	$images = array();
	foreach($files as $file){
		array_push($images,array(
				'title' => $file->filename,
				'nid' => $nid,
				'fid' => $file->fid
			)
		);
	}
	$node->field_diaporama = $images;
	node_save($node);
}

    
// over here you connect to your old database and retrieve the values like this till the end

      while ($row= mysql_fetch_array($resultwithlimit)) {

      $a1 = $row["YourTitlefield"];
      $a2 = $row["firstnameauthor"];
      $a3 = $row["lastnameauthor"];
      $a4 = $row["otherfield42"];
      $a5 = $row["themistfield"];
      $a6 = $row["body"];
      $a7 = $row["field2"];
      $a8 = $row["wordsvalley"];
      $a9 = $row["randomfield29"];



$mynode = array();

$mynode['title'] = "$a1";

$mynode['type'] = "yourcontenttype"; // all content types have names which are given at the time of the content type creation. visible at content types page when you drag your mouse over the list of content types

$mynode['name'] = "thenameoftheusersubmittingthepage";//not necessary

$mynode['body'] = "$a6"; // You can remove the body field from your content type if you want.

$mynode['status'] = 1;//stands for published=1 or unpublished=0 content

$mynode['uid'] = 121;//uid is user id, the user id 1 being the id of the one who makes first id after a drupal installation, uid 1 has all prvilleged, make sure your user id comes with all privileges,preferably use userid 1 to save yourself from the hassle.

$mynode['promote'] = 0; // promote =0 doesn't promote the content to the front page , whereas promote=1 promotes the content to the front page

$mynode['comment'] = '2'; // comment 0=off , comment 1=readonly, comment 2=allowed

$mynode['field_friendlytitle'] = array(array('value' => "$a4" ));// field_friendlytitle is the field I presumably created using cck for the content type. Notice how I am filling in the value for field_friendlytitle using array in an array. 

$mynode['field_firstnameauthor'] = array(array('value' => "$a2" ));
$mynode['field_lastnameauthor'] = array(array('value' => "$a3" ));
$mynode['field_fieldIcreatedwithcck'] = array(array( 'value' => "$a9"));
$mynode['field_fieldIcreatedwithcck1'] = array(array('value' => "$a8" ));
$mynode['field_fieldIcreatedwithcck2sjhdshjdj'] = array(array('value' => "$a7" ));

$mynode['format'] = '2'; // inputformat, format=0 means Filtered HTML,format=1 means PHP code , format=2 means Full HTML 


//You can also specify $mynode['nid'] followed by a number which will be the nid but I presume that it wont be of use to you at the moment. Not mentioning it will lead to a sequential auto generation whereas mentioning a static number will overwrite the old content each type you save the node!;




$mynode = node_submit($mynode);
node_save($mynode);

unset($mynode);

}

Ali Hammad Raza
WordsValley

Hi I'm using the trying to enter in user data (which I have linked to a node) from another Joomla database to Drupal 6.

The user_save function can handle this, the problem I have is the serialized 'data' column. I'm unsure what it is needed for and what I should put in there. It seems to be a serialized array for the new node but there is extra info in there like '_error_element'. Is there a way of programmatically running a form (that a user would enter on the front end), this would make any migration much easier as we have already developed the form and its validation, why can't be just send data to the form?

If not can someone tell me what the 'data' column is used for?

Ronan