I am a sort-of newbie with MVC and Zend in particular. I have taken over a project from another team, site is built in Zend framework. There is an admin dashboard to add content, assets like images and media, a blog and a portal into Zen Cart for the store.
What is the easiest method of adding a new web page that has as its contents several things that are dynamic - items for sale, music to listen to, blog entries, news items from the database and a featured artist. All of this is stored in the MySQL db. I just do not know enough about MVC to make it work correctly.
I can create a page in the admin dashboard and use as the URL another "module" that already exists, but if I attempt to copy a module folder (for instance the folder called musiclive is almost exactly what I need except I need to add another column of elements...) the admin dashboard does not render. I know that I need to create some sort of "view" and fiddle with or create a controller, but not sure of the easiest method of doing this. I probably have to tell the admin dashboard I have added another "module" but it really is just the main or home page of the site - the other guys never built it because it was rich with details and I guess they put it off. I also probably have to change the files inside the module folder to reflect a different page.
Would love some help or pointers. Ask if you need more details on what the heck I am describing here...
Create a new controller in that same module instead of copying the whole module if the module is so similar to your requirements. And then extend already built resources like forms, models. I strongly recommend you to read about zend framework documentation, especially skeleton application tutorial. That will increase your knowledge as well as make you understand MVC and your current project.
http://framework.zend.com/learn/
One more thing there are 2 versions of zend framework and both are entirely different. You need to know the version in which the project is built. Zend framework 2 has following generic directory structure:
config/
autoload/
application.config.php
module
Application/
config/
src/
view
Module.php
SomeOtherModule/
...
public/
vendor/
Related
Hopefully someone can help me, I'm new to EPiServer and have been given a data migration task. We are using the latest version 8.5. I need to migrate content from a clients home grown CMS (that luckily is in a tree like structure) to EPiServer. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of information about this on the web - perhaps I just don't know the right thing to search for.
It looks like using the EPiServer.ServiceApi might be the route to go but again locating useful documentation is proving difficult.
I was thinking of setting up the client CMS in SQL Server and writing a simple console application to call the EPiServer.ServiceApi inserting the content. If anyone has any information on this or better still and example i would be very grateful.
Thanks,
Dan
If you are just importing content from another CMS I would write a scheduled job in EPiServer:
http://world.episerver.com/code/dannymurphy/Stoppable-Scheduled-Job-with-feedback/
That job then uses the standard IContentRepository to create content:
http://world.episerver.com/documentation/Items/Developers-Guide/EPiServer-CMS/8/Content/Persisting-IContent-instances/
That way you can run it whenever you want and have access to EPiServers complete API. Also you can see progress of the import through the job status.
In the job you can read the content as a file in any format you like or directly from the source CMS database or some xml or RSS feed perhaps.
I have moved content from PHP, Java and .NET CMS this way. In .NET you could even access the source CMS via WCF or SOAP if available.
The ServiceApi is relatively new and more focused on Commerce products and media assets rather than CMS page and block content so I wouldn't use that.
There is complete documentation below for the ServiceApi by the way, did you not find it?
http://world.episerver.com/documentation/Items/EPiServer-Service-API/
Regarding language management you can read more in the below links:
http://cjsharp.com/blog/2013/04/11/working-with-localization-and-language-branches-in-episerver-7-mvc/
http://tedgustaf.com/blog/2010/5/create-a-new-page-language-branch-programmatically-in-episerver/
Basically you have two options for multiple languages. If the content is just straight translations you should create nine different language versions (branches) of the same page. You can also have multiple sites in an EPiServer installation but that requires 9 separate licenses (and the associated costs).
I've done a lot of EpiServer content migration projects. The easiest way if it's possible is to export your current sites tree in Json and then import that into EpiServer. I've had to do it on a recent project and mixed with Json.net it's pretty easy.
If you want to go that route you can find all the code to do it here: EpiServer Content Migration With Json.Net/
Ive inherited a project created using Zend.
I need to move the site to a new server, same platform but with a new base URL and domain.
Currently if I go to www.domain.com/index.php the first page of the site will be correctly pulled up. No other pages work.
On the old site, the url convention worked like this: www.domain.us/module/view
So for example the index page could be pulled up by going to www.domain.us/index/index
Im sure this is a simple issue of changing some path or setting (the include path, application path and application environment are dynamically generated and appear to be correct) but I have not been able to find anything.
Where does zend decide what controller to include? Is this url convention of using the subdomain to determine the controller standard and if not any hints as to where this logic might be?
I'm trying to build a simple content management system based on the Zend Framework 2. The problem is that I don't know how should the folders structure be like.
Until now I have to solutions in mind:
A. Building a general "Admin" module that has multiple controllers like Login Controller, Pages Controller, Posts Controller, each of this controller with his own actions.
B. Building an module for each component, like: Pages Module that has an adminController an an frontendController.
I'm sure that none of the above solution is the corect one, but couldn't find any solid solution or books to provide one. I've taken a look at gotCMS but noticed that this one i.e, saves all the data like layout views in the database, and this is not a solution.
Though it's a very first alpha solution, I work on ensemble which is what I'd rather call a content management framework.
Ensemble's admin runs on ZfcAdmin. So you can drop in a Blog module which just has a admin controller under ZfcAdmin's route. But you can also manage pages (like texts) with a navigational page structure. All content parts (text, blog, etc) are separate modules.
So I'd suggest you take a look at the sample application and you can check out our blog as well, which just hooks in into ensemble. I know currently the documentation is scarce, but if we reach kinda beta stability we will focus more on docs.
The main benefits for "your system B" is you can drop in modules when needed. They all provide their own config, controllers, models and views. It's easy to install them from a developers perspective (load in composer, enable in application config) and you can easily override any view with your own ones.
TL;DR: choose structure B and have a look at Ensemble.
/edit: seeing you comment on Sam's answer: yes you have to do that. In ensemble, you specify a route config for the frontend and create your admin routes as child routes of ZfcAdmin. For both the frontend as the backend you have separate controllers.
There is no right or wrong when it comes to building something new. Personally I'd go with B. I wouldn't even name the Controllers like you did (I'd break them down a lot more, like NewsAddController, NewsEditController, NewsDetailsController, etc...). Then I'd have an AdminModule that would simply display a new Layout with a specific "AdminNavigation". This AdminNavigation can be filled via the other Modules (i.e. NewsModule would inject it's own administrative Routes into the AdminNavigation via module.config.php)
As a Joomla (novice) developer, I'm concerned about why we really need modules to create our own forms. I'm definitely not an authority on the subject when it comes to Joomla but here's my issue.
I understand (through hands-on discovery) that we can create forms using two ways (without additional custom modules).
By writing the form content straight in the index.php page, then checking for submit using PHP.
By inserting the HTML content for the form as a CustomHTML article using the admin back-end. Then have a separate PHP page to do the processing and return back to a specific landing page.
First I'm not sure if the above methods are considered sane in the joomla world but I do think they're workable.
If so, why do we need to run through rough seas trying to download and install form-builder plug-ins and write code that looks pretty absurd with so many files.
The first solution you mentioned is the worst that could be done. Editing the index.php should never be done. If an update for the template is bought out and you install it, it will override your changes.
The second point you mentioned is also a bad idea. There is no point in using separate PHP pages if you're using the Joomla CMS.
Stick to Joomla standards and create a custom module (not custom HTML module) either by coding it yourself or getting started with a Module Generator.
The whole point of using a CMS is to make life easier. A Joomla site is built of of Components, Modules and Plugins.
Components are like applications such as a Forum, e-commerce system etc. Modules are like widgets such as a twitter feed, shoutbox etc.
Plugins change the behavior of something.
why do we need to run through rough seas trying to download and
install form-builder plug-in?
Trying to download and install a form builder is not difficult at all. Simple go to the Joomla Extensions Directory, go the the necessary category, click on an extension that suits your needs, download and install it and voilà.
We are considering purchasing Sitefinity (or DotNetNuke) on pretty short notice and there are is a question I have that I am having trouble finding a quick answer to. (I have a separate but similar post with DotNetNuke as the focus, if you can answer that better or in addition.)
We are currently not using any CMS at all and we have some custom development that will not go away just because we go with a CMS for some or most of our site.
Our custom development is c# ASPX with Site Master and nested Site Master pages. These custom apps do not own their own top level in our web site, but are part of a branch, typically one or two levels down (for example, http://www.contoso.com/branch/app/default.aspx).
How is Sitefinity typically configured in a CMS/Custom “mixed mode”? For example, is Sitefinity installed at the “top” of the web site, or “where needed” down in the web site.
How does this relate when mixing CMS and custom web applications?
Does the CMS interface allow for adding these custom apps or do you just go to the web server and add them to the structure?
It appears from reading other posts, we can create our own custom c# modules and have CMS editors “drop in” the modules on the pages. Can someone confirm that for me?
If I did not provide enough detail, please feel free to ask for more.
We have Sitefinity installed at the root with plenty of subfolders containing custom pages. We typically build a usercontrol, add it to the sitefinity ToolboxesConfig.config file, then drag/drop it into a sitefinity CMS page. I believe this is what you're talking about regarding having "CMS editors drop in modules on the pages".
We also have master/child pages that are imported as page templates into Sitefinity and they work well. You can also link from any CMS page to a regular .aspx page out in a subfolder of your own and implement code there that uses the sitefinity API, but we personally found this much more tricky and veered away from this approach whenever possible.
So in a nutshell, custom code is relatively easy to integrate into sitefinity as long as you can condense it into a user control or master page.
Disclaimer: This was all done with regular web forms development. I'm not sure how an MVC site would interact with Sitefinity (which I believe is built using an MVC architecture itself anyway).
The part of your question I'm unsure of is regarding the custom webapps in nested branches. I would recommend installing the trial version of sitefinity and trying to get a single branch integrated as a prototype. This might take a day, but it would be worth it to know if the sitefinity route is going to give you heartache.
Full disclaimer: I work on Sitefinity.
First, let me say that throughout the history of Sitefinity, extensibility and developer-friendliness have been our top priorities. We've tried to create a CMS that uses concepts familiar to ASP.NET developers and build on top of them.
Now let me go through each of your points.
You can organize Sitefinity deployment however you like. In your case with sub-apps, you can either create virtual directories in IIS and deploy separate instances of Sitefinity in each of them, or you can use the CMS to do the sub-apps. In the CMS they can be separate branches of pages, have separate templates applied and feel like separate sites. You'll still manage them through one interface. It is up to you to choose an approach.
Sitefinity is a normal ASP.NET web application with the CMS assemblies in the BIN folder. You can open the project in Visual Studio and run it like a normal ASP.NET Web app. From a developer viewpoint, there's no difference between a custom app and a Sitefinity app - they are just ASP.NET web apps.
If you follow an approach of installing Sitefinity in the root and then using the CMS to create sub-apps, you can do it through the UI. If you choose to run separate virtual directories, you have to manually upload the files. Also, Sitefinity has a built-in File explorer, which you can use to manage the files on the server.
The modules you are referring to are called widgets in Sitefinity. For a developer, they are nothing more than custom ASP.NET controls and user controls. The Sitefinity page editor UI allows you to drop widgets in placeholders on a page and configure their properties. The placeholders are defined in a masterpage (a normal ASP.NET masterpage) or through the UI.
It is very easy to create custom widgets. Here's a Quick Start: http://www.sitefinity.com/blogs/gabesumner/posts/11-08-29/ldquo_hello_world_rdquo_guide_to_custom_sitefinity_widgets_amp_controldesigners.aspx
We also have modules, which are a little more complicated concepts. They manage data, have backend and frontend UI. I encourage you to go through our blogs and documentation for further info.
We also have an SDK, containing samples with source code for extensions to the CMS.
You may want to look at Kentico CMS that supports similar scenarios - you can easily mix your own ASPX pages and CMS-controlled ASPX pages, so it's very flexible.