Module development and code questions

Hello,

I am trying to figure out the code to display the number of buddies the logged in user has. I want to create a block that says how many total buddies the user has. Any ideas?

Thanks

I'm developing a module that needs access to the database other than default. I know that i can add another db_url in settings.php manually and then use db_set_active('other'). but is it possible to do it using form on settings page of my module? can i somehow use get/set_variable to set that db_url['othet'] and then use db_set_active('other')?

We are a university and we do not trust each other. People must create content, which will not be immediately available to other users or guests. There will be a group of moderators who will check the content and make a decision whether to publish it or ask the author to make changes first. Everybody outside that group should have no chance to publish.

like if I write an image tag with an absolute url, it changes it to a relative url automatically, how can I turn this off? what file in the module can I hack?

thanks!
FJ

Will Simple Access be ported to 5.x?

I had tried simple access, but it wasn't quite what I was after. So, I installed node_privacy_by_role, but it's having no effect at all.

Is this a known problem, or am I leaving something out?