CMS Made Simple Forums

How about some clever person makes a module so we can 1-click install the version of Microtiny we all seem to want?

calguy1000 wrote: 1.7 will have an option on each content page to set it as 'secure'.. that way you can automatically use https for your orders stuff, etc.
this was a feature we've needed for a LONG time.

This is marvellous! I dreamed of this feature... you made it right on time. Great job!

More Changes - Module API.

The module api in 1.7 will be getting some more long needed attention.... use caution because this could break some ill-behaved, or improperly implemented modules:

a) the $this->cms, $this->config  and $this->db member references are gone.  Some of the old modules (including TinyMCE) used this improperly to get  a reference to the $gCms object and the $db object.

   The proper methods have been for a long time:

   // access the global gCms object
   global $gCms;  

   // access the database object
   $db =& $gCms->GetDb();    
       or
   $db =& $this->GetDb();

   // access the config array
   $config =& $gCms->GetConfig();
       or
   $config = $this->GetConfig();

b) We'll be tightening up the permissions on the methods and members in this object, (adding private and protected keywords where appropriate etc).  To tighten up the module api.  This shouldn't effect too many modules, except those that are badly ill-behaved.

Just a heads up.

Edit:
--
I've removed the cms and the config and the db (if there was one) reference from the module api.  This broke a bunch of modules, I've already fixed a bunch of my modules, and fixed the core modules... so it's not a big deal.  Developers can update their modules and release a version that is still compatible with CMS 1.6.
--

Oh yeah, one more thing.... for our international users.

The NLS stuff in CMS 1.7 has been written and a couple of tags introduced that will make translation easier:

a) {set_language lang='xx_XX'}
This tag, when used at the top of your page template, or in the 'smarty data for this page' stuff will set the language for that page request.  it will OVERRIDE any lang=xx_XX parameter that you have given to any module.  This will be useful for explicitly specifying the language for a particular page, or set of pages.

b){set_language_auto allow='fr_FR,de_de,nl_NL'} 
  (optional params are:  'sticky=1'  and 'use_sticky=1'}
This tag attempts to autodetect the language that the user prefers given the headers in the request.  Then it maps that against what is allowed as specified in the tag, and what nls files are available, and then sets the language for that page if a match can be found.

Additionally if it detects a lang= parameter on the URL it will attempt to set that specified language, and use it for all module calls.

Thirdly,  a sticky=1 parameter can be used (particularly useful if using the lang= parameter stuff on the url) to store the selected language into the session.  This is useful on landing pages to store the users selected language.

Fourthly, a use_sticky=1 parameter can be used to use any language selection stored in the session.  This is useful for non lading pages to use the users selected language.

I think this new functionality will go a long way to helping people with their multi-lang sites.

Yet another update:

Ted has moved a bunch of his stuff from the 2.0 stream into 1.7.  Including his ORM (object relational mapping),  The content stuff is being re-written to use that.  This should prove to be efficient in terms of queries (properties are loaded on demand).. and lead to much smaller, cleaner, more efficient code.  Not to mention it'll let us do alot more of the funky stuff that we want to do down the road alot easier (hopefully).

Other things that we plan to do for 1.7 include:   
  - Rewriting the listcontent to use a jquery tree type thing for increased performance, and functionality.
  - Rewriting the template management so that module templates are all managed from the same place (probably using another jquery
        tree type interface).

The ORM stuff is still broken in CMS 1.7 at the moment,  but it's already a heckuva lot cleaner, and I've already noticed a marked improvement in performance.

1.7 won't be out for a while, but when it comes out... it's gonna be sweet!

listcontent performance improvement would be amazing for when the number of site pages add up, looking forward to 1.7

ORM --- were can I read on this... I'm writing 2 new mods, and have 5 current ones... and I'm fearing with all the changes so quickly I'm creating something that is well going to be DOA... Still super excited to hear of all the changes...

Cheers
Jeremy

with 60+ modules out there... believe me, things won't be dead.  There will be some compatibility issues but I'll hold em to a dull roar.

I don't feel like rewriting everything... I'm just taking the dumb stuff out.

Cool... I'll just press forward then... Thanks

calguy1000 wrote: Including his ORM (object relational mapping)...

what exactly does that mean in PHP code? a php snipped of both would be great to see to see the difference!

Techaven, I share your frustration with the overall direction of CMS Made Simple.

Whilst I think it's a very good CMS, like all community-developed software it is led by the whims and interests of its developers; sometimes they're not motivated by features which are in anyway commercial. The roadmap is a perfect example of this. There's not a single feature in there which I care about, that my clients have asked for, or will help me sell web design work. In fact, it's not until "post 2.0" that the ever-elusive -- and continually asked for -- workflow and content approval is likely to appear.

But you need to accept open source software for what it is, peculiar quirks 'n all. Sometimes stuff which seems totally bloody obvious to us who work in the commercial realm is way down the list of important tasks for the developers. Sometimes tweaking, polishing, and seemingly needless re-writing is what they feel like doing. Remember it's their free time and their time away from their kids and family -- they can do what they want with it. We should not feel we have a right to judge what they do, particularly since I assume most CMSMS users haven't paid for a penny of their time.

FWIW, I don't agree that Wordpress is quite the same as CMS Made Simple; its core is mostly developed by employees of Automattic. Its roots are far more commercial.

Deak wrote: Techaven, I share your frustration with the overall direction of CMS Made Simple.

For what it's worth, IMHO what make CMSMS great is that one can make/have made a module for almost any need.  I can tell you for sure that the "workflow and content", the "multi site", and the "inline editing" can be done as mods.  I know this for sure as I'm slow working on mods that do 2 of the 3... but like it's said this is "community-developed software " which means "you" have a hand in it... One could pool with others to fund your whims and interests iby either time or money.  But this is just IMHO

SimonSchaufi wrote:

calguy1000 wrote: Including his ORM (object relational mapping)...

what exactly does that mean in PHP code? a php snipped of both would be great to see to see the difference!

To this I would like to find something on this... I've looked for 5mins and didn't find anything ... but it was only 5mins of searching..

I sure hope the API docs will be updated then. It has been a long time since I have looked at the code base and seeing what could be potentially released, I am getting excited again to update my modules.

I like it that you are making changes like this:

  - We'll be replacing the huge, and bloated TinyMCE module with a Tiny-Lite for basic wysiwyg functionality only.  The full TinyMCE will be available as a third party addon module.

Simple is in the name, so keep it as simple as possible!

Hello,

Techaven wrote: ...the new editor...
...its easily overcome by installing a different editor.

Yes, there is what we want in the product and we can have it the way we prefer (like changing nothing : the TinyMCE module is still the TinyMCE module).
Thanks to "The devs of CMSMS".

Pierre M.