I anticipate this is going to be a very broad question however I shall endevour to be as concise as possible without divulging too much project critical information.
For quite some time I have been working a Content Management System. However, its vastly different to many CMS's available because of the way it handles the dispatch of requests over a server pool and incorporates its own Template Engine which I developed speciffically with flexibility and ease of use in mind.
Any way, this is completed and I'm happy.
Looking over my product, I'm seeing lots of practical applications for such a product. However for my target audience to be reached I need to expand on several of the core features which I currently offer.
Namely, I want to provide a solid document management system and include sharing and versioning of documents to enable businesses to pretty much use the product as an Enterprise Content Management Solution.
I am trying to find if there are first any 'plug' in document control solutions available on licence. After researching SharePoint I can see that its not really the 'plug' in type of thing I'm looking for as I would need to take a massive step BACK to refactor lots of the site.
The site is coded in PHP and runs several Java apps in the back end also currently so code/language divergence is not an issue. I run accross a mySQL database currently however can support (again) other types of RDMS.
If you have created a website, which creates websites, how would you handle the additional features that a ECM demands.
Does your site already use Web Services?
In regards to Oracle UCM. All actions (check in/out, add, update, delete, etc) can all be controlled via webservices (wsdl's). WDSL is becoming pretty standard (at least in the Oracle space).
Adding support should allow you to create wrappers for multiple stores.
More info;
http://www.w3schools.com/WSDL/default.asp
http://www.w3.org/TR/wsdl
I would take a look at KnowledgeTree (http://www.knowledgetree.com). It's open source, php core, and has built in Rest web service API's for easy connection.
Related
Trying to integrate something like tracewatch into admin panel of my PHP, MySQL based website.
But I need 1 page solution, not heavy system like twatch with user management.
I wonder, is there any simple php class or mini app for this purpose (want to get something like this on admin page)?
There are bunch of tracewatch alternatives. Here are somes:
Piwik
Piwik is an open-source Web analytics application developed using PHP and MySQL. It has a "plugins" system that allows for utmost extensibility and customization. Install only the plugins you need or go overboard and install them all – the choice is up to you. The plugins system, as you can imagine, also opens up possibilities for you to create your own custom extensions. This thing’s lightweight – the download’s only 1.9MB.
FireStats
FireStats is a simple and straight-forward Web analytics application written in PHP/MySQL. It supports numerous platforms and set-ups including C# sites, Django sites, Drupal, Joomla!, WordPress, and several others. Are you a resourceful developer who needs moar cowbell? FireStats has an excellent API that will assist you in creating your own custom apps or publishing platform components (imagine: displaying the top 10 most downloaded files in your WordPress site) based on your FireStats data.
JAWStats
JAWStats is a server-based Web analytics application that runs with the popular AWStats (in fact, if you’re on a shared hosting plan – AWStats is probably already installed). JAWStats does two things to extend AWStats – it improves performance by reducing server resource usage and improves the user interface a little bit. With that said, you can’t go wrong with just using AWStats either if you’re happy with it.
SimpleStats
Simple Stats is a PHP based, web analytics utility designed to enable you in monitoring visits on your website. It is very simple to install, and it's interface goes straight to the important facts such as the Google search queries (understand "the search expressions in Google") that your visitors might have used to browse to your website.
You could try Piwik. You can access features using an API or embed a widget via iframe.
I'm trying to develop an application server that will deliver content to a core group of websites, as well as provide third party services to other websites that also want to use this content. The app server will be hosting web services for these core + 3rd party websites. Authentication and all that comes into play. The data itself will consist of millions of records.
These records will come from a variety of sources: APIs, RSS feeds, REST services, etc. This app server will essentially collect this data on a routine basis, and update the database with this new information. This data will then be shared via some sort of web service (most likely REST) to the core websites and 3rd party websites.
FYI, I'm making a distinction between core sites and 3rd party websites because there will be different access levels, i.e. a core website will have more access than a 3rd party website.
All that said, I'm trying to make the best decision on which framework to use. At the risk of losing all credibility, I currently have a ton of this code written as a wordpress plugin. What started as a one-time site evolved into several sites, and some homebrew hacking to make my outdated infrastructure work across multiple sites.
I'm looking to migrate all of this to a new application server, with a solid framework.
Since everything is written in PHP, obviously I'm tempted to do the migration in PHP. However, I'm considering Python because of its powerful ability to manipulate data. I don't know if it's worth the hassle, though, of rewriting a lot of code in Python.
Could anyone give me some tips on what I should do? I'm really looking to clean up a big mess more than anything, and would like a framework to encourage some solid programming conventions.
All of the frameworks that you mentioned are capable. Pick one in the language that you know the best and use that.
I agree with #gpojd's opinion. All of them that you mentioned are fully capable.
However, it looks like they are too powerful for your job. Because they are all full-stack MVC-like web frameworks shipped with ORM, Template engine, URL redirections and i18n supports.
So, I suggest you to use more lighter/thinner frameworks. and if you don't mind choosing any programming languages, please check out the below frameworks.
Python
Werkzeug : http://werkzeug.pocoo.org/
Javascript
node.js : http://nodejs.org/
with Stylus framework : http://expressjs.com/
I've read that you can host multiple drupal sites, while they use the same core files(so not needing to copy a few megabytes for each site). I wanted to ask if there is an automated tool that can create a new site, while let you choose a template and then connecting it to the drupal system?
Are there tools like that(with a web layout)?
I would really like to get a few pointers as to how, lets say a company for building websites, will be able to use an automated system to build sites easily. I also understand that with drupal you have alot of manuver to edit your own code, when lets say you want some future in one of the sites. Is it pure php/html or in order to do that you have to delve into core Drupal futures? Also what are the chances that somebody already did it before and you can use this module?
Last, if a company wants to move to a Drupal system (web development company), how much of a transformation is it? Should they be Drupal core experts in order to not lose themself? Or they can keep a drupal base while still using the regular html/php? I really appreciate any leads.
Thanks.
*the questions is also intended to Joomla.
To answer your first question, the Aegir project is a system whereby you can use Drupal to create and manage Drupal sites. That includes installing from install profiles--which are sort of like site templates--or a distribution (Drupal installations pre-packaged with modules). The downside is that installation is fairly involved, more so than just Drupal itself. There's a lot of documentation on the Drupal groups site for Aegir. For a straight multi-site install, there's some documentation on the subject, but the install instructions with the software come with help that you should consult first.
As for your second question, the answer is (unfortunately) "it depends". Knowledge of PHP, especially "the Drupal way", plus integration with the community, are huge plusses. If you intend to join the community, immediately sign up both yourself and all developers an account on Drupal.org and, if you find solutions to bugs or other problems, providing back is a sign of goodwill, and it usually pays back dividends (one example: you submit a patch, it gets included in a module, and then the community maintains it for you). Developers need not be experts with Drupal core, but they need to be pretty comfortable with learning the API and knowing how to create sites for clients in general. First start with requirements gathering, then see how it fits into the Drupal way of doing things. If it doesn't fit, then use the right tool.
That's a tip of the iceberg view from the developer's point of view (as opposed to the businessman's point of view). There are plenty of companies that do only Drupal and there are plenty of companies where Drupal is one tool they use out of many.
Researching various open source, web-based document management/version control systems. I've checked google/questions here, etc...
I'm looking for a lightweight web-based (apache) document mgmt/version control app that runs on top of SVN.
I need to have the ability to:
have multiple users checkin/checkout
have a workflow (when userA checks the file in, and finishes the app passes it to the next person, etc...
the app needs to allow me to have a structure where the files can be moved as a group. the files will be changed on a monthly basis
app needs to have a access/premission control system. some people can see certain files, and perform certain actions on the files
I imagine that I'm going to have 40-50 people dealing with the different files. I imagine that I'm going to have 2000-3000 files that have to be massaged.
I'd prefer that the app be php based if possible, as opposed to a straight java app.
Thanks
I suggest you take a look at Subversion:
WikiPedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subversion_(software)
Mainpage: http://subversion.apache.org.
I honestly don't know if it fits all requirements that you've posted, as I've only used it on projects involving small teams, but you should be able to sort that out by reading the WikiPedia page linked above. That said, it definitely meets the web-dev version control.
A vanilla installation of SVN isn't going to do this; it only does regular version control (commits, branches, etc.). There are plenty of web based svn interfaces, but all they do is give you a way to work with regular svn over the web. The document management features and workflow you require are going to come from some other document management system; I don't know of any that use svn as a back end.
I believe Mercurial provides a web-based interface as well.
For a simplistic, but working version control system made entirely in PHP, built on top of ASVCS, take a look at IntraVersion (http://webscripts.softpedia.com/script/Development-Scripts-js/IntraVersion-39805.html) Not much, but for those stuck like me with no server to host private projects on at the moment, it's a helper.
Have a look at knowledge tree. PHP, open source, with support/hosting available. I've used it in the past. It sucks less than other solutions.
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It's hard for me to imagine a php script that is more than a few hundred lines of code. It seems that, for a non-persistent environment, web-based scripting is usually done is small chunks and used for the purpose of delivering a portion of a website to the end user. I'd like to know if people are developing any type of large, or persistent, or complex apps with php, and what is it exactly you are working on. I've only done small projects for small websites, so I don't know what can be accomplished on a larger scale. It would also be nice to know what libraries you are using, and what other technologies you are integrating with. Please enlighten me so I can start to dream of bigger things!
I would look at some of the well-known open source web apps that use PHP to get a good sense of what can be accomplished, and how PHP is used in each of them. The advantage is that since they are all open source, you can actually look at the PHP code to see how various functionality was implemented.
Some good examples to look at include:
WordPress
TextPattern
MediaWiki
PhpBB *questionable code quality
SugarCRM
Joomla
Drupal
Also look at some of the popular frameworks to see what kind of functionality they offer (this should give you a good sense of what types of things PHP is most often used for):
Zend Framework
CakePHP
CodeIgniter
Symfony
For my day-job we run everything in PHP - our front-end website, our backend for agents and employees, inventory, server control interfaces, etc. These are everything from spiffy new AJAX-enabled Zend Framework apps to legacy code that we haven't ported yet. On top of that we use things like Mantis (bug tracking built in PHP), Mediawiki, and phpMyAdmin.
The only thing that isn't PHP are vendor apps because vendors love Java. The one ASP.NET application we have was actually abandoned by the vendor during the project (not really a knock against ASP.NET, that app was just the perfect definition of a runaway project and would have failed no matter what language it was written in).
With mature frameworks like Zend Framework, CodeIgnitor, and CakePHP creating just about anything in PHP is possible.
The biggest problem developing large scale programs is definitely keeping them maintainable in the long-term. Initially, a program starts out all full of ideal methods and ideas, but keeping the integrity intact, especially, over time fails, in my opinion, more often than not.
In addition, scope creep is your enemy. You HAVE to reign that in ASAP.
As far as large scale programs go the company I work for has a few internal programs constantly under development. One example is our proprietary website engine. It's a very large code-base that includes a dozen modules (user management, survey system, blogs, user galleries, etc) that allows us to build our clients sites rapidly.
We also develop our own internal project management program for managing our clients work.
You should definitely be thinking in terms of scale in the long term. In almost every project I've worked on there's a permission/group element for users involved. You might want to start thinking about the possibilities and issues involved in that and work up to more complicated functionality.
MediaWiki is one of the largest public PHP apps, and it's got very nice code. . I know some larger ones, but they're utterly awful and you'd learn nothing by reading them.
There are lots of complex OpenSource php applications. For example, the Drupal CMS, which can be considered a platform in its own right for developing other web sites.
You can browse through the source code online: http://cvs.drupal.org/viewvc.py/drupal/drupal/
+1 for Wilco
I have a software I use for some of my clients, it's a CMS, Blog, eCommerce beast, the code base is HUGE, but everything cooperates with each other nicely.
My company works on educational software. We've recently started doing web-based content delivery, including video and audio, with the backend written entirely in PHP using MySQL. We have two primary apps, one which lives on our servers and one which is delivered to the customer. One clocks in at ~42,000 lines of code (using a physical line count) and one at ~68,000 lines.
We use PEAR extensively and a recently started project is using the Zend Framework.
We use PHP at our company. (We do online language learning: http://www.livemocha.com. You should go take a look at the site. Yes, it's sort of a shameless plug, but it's also topical. :-) )
I can't give you a precise number of users, but we put out a press release a while back celebrating hitting the 3 million mark. That's a pretty large scale as web apps go.
We build on the CakePHP framework, which is based on an MVC architecture... at least in theory. In practice, they auto-generate certain methods for the models which tend to have the result of pushing some pieces of model code (caching, deciding which DB to use) into the controllers. They also have a few localization issues in 1.2 that make me think this part of the framework hasn't really reached maturity yet. That said, I find CakePHP pretty comfortable to work with overall, and you should at least take a look at it if you're considering implementing a large-scale web app in PHP. It has some excellent documentation available as well (google for "CakePHP bakery").
Get CodeIgniter and rebuild Amazon or Ebay. If you can dream it you can build it in PHP but you might not be able to maintain it because it is so easy to created bad code that works. PHP.net is your friend. Whatever framework you use make sure your read the User Guide and let it guide you.
I can't believe nobody has mentioned the MVC pattern yet. IMO, it's one of the best things you can use to help you maintain large codebases.