CMS Building Script

[cameron]

I've built my own CMS for one of my sites that uses php and mysql. I'm about to start work on another site, and I realize now that I will probably be building a CMS for every site I ever make again. That got me thinking. What if I make a script to build a CMS for me.

This idea just came to me a few minutes ago, so I'm kind of developping it as I write this.

Basically it would just be some forms that you fill in to create the the tables for your database. From that it generates the admin area with the necessary forms adding, editing, and deleting entries for each section of the tables you specified.

This is a pretty simple idea, so I'm sure it's probably actually been done already, but I think I'm going to try my hand at it just so that I end up with the CMSs being in a form I like.

Just for reference though, anyone know of any scripts like this that are decent?

[chromate]

No basic ones. I only know of the major CMS systems which come with an "install" script and use messy templates etc.

I've written my own CMS's that I've made so modular, they're no problem to install even without forms. Though, from an end user point of view, an install form would still be useful I guess.

[Mike]

Sorry, I don't know of any. It does sound like a good idea though.

[GCT13]

Offering the option to create different table structures for each CMS you build sounds like trouble imho. I've messed around with numerous open source CMSes and a few "enterprise" CMSes and none of them changes their database table structure to suite the needs of the end users.

cameron, what sort of functionality would be editable on your CMS? I'm thinking along the lines of offering the option to add more editable fields within each template, etc.

[cameron]

Originally posted by chromate
I've written my own CMS's that I've made so modular, they're no problem to install even without forms.

What do you use then to keep the install process quick? My programming skills are pretty basic, so I don't see how the modules help.

For the CMS i have right now, I would have to go through the add, delete, modify, and modify2 files and change everything so that it has the fields I want. It took me about two weeks to do it last time.

[cameron]

Originally posted by GCT13
Offering the option to create different table structures for each CMS you build sounds like trouble imho. I've messed around with numerous open source CMSes and a few "enterprise" CMSes and none of them changes their database table structure to suite the needs of the end users.

cameron, what sort of functionality would be editable on your CMS? I'm thinking along the lines of offering the option to add more editable fields within each template, etc.

What I would be building would just auto generate that admin area I guess. I would still have to take the output and manipulate it to build the actual site. So, it's kind of just half the CMS I guess.

The main thing I want to do is have my admin area automatically generated. This table for example:

CREATE TABLE article_posts (
article int(7) NOT NULL auto_increment,
article_title varchar(50) NOT NULL default '',
article_content text NOT NULL,
article_date varchar(40) NOT NULL default '',
article_time varchar(25) NOT NULL default '',
article_image varchar(80) NOT NULL default '',
article_image_alt varchar(50) NOT NULL default '',
article_keywords text NOT NULL,
article_description text NOT NULL,
author varchar(30) NOT NULL default '',
PRIMARY KEY (article)
) TYPE=MyISAM;

Right now if I want to add something like this I would need to go to my add.php file where I would setup the form to take all the inputs for each field. Then I need to go work on the delete file, and two edit files.

If on my next site I don't want to have an image with the articles, but I want some related links, or something, I don't want to have to go through those four files again and edit that.

So basically what I want my script to do is to accept input of how my table will be structured, and from that create the forms of the admin section.

[GCT13]

Originally posted by cameron
If on my next site I don't want to have an image with the articles, but I want some related links, or something, I don't want to have to go through those four files again and edit that.So for each CMS, you want to have the flexibility to determine which editable attributes you have on your site. By editable attributes, I mean anywhere you enter the data, like an image upload, or a page title, or related links, or body text, etc.

That flexibility will put you ahead of 90% of the open source CMSes out there now. Most CMSes are extremely rigid with their editable attributes: you get a title input, body text, and 1 image... period.

If you're more comfortable doing it by customizing each database table structure go for it, although I'm sure there's a way to do it with a fixed table structure. Good luck.

[Chris]

SitePoint developed an application like this before, it never made it out of beta though. I personally didn't like it that much because it didn't have the flexibility I needed.

[MarkB]

This sounds like it'd be hell to support...

[cameron]

Originally posted by MarkB
This sounds like it'd be hell to support...

I'd just be doing it for myself though.

[cameron]

Originally posted by GCT13
So for each CMS, you want to have the flexibility to determine which editable attributes you have on your site. By editable attributes, I mean anywhere you enter the data, like an image upload, or a page title, or related links, or body text, etc.


Yah, that's pretty much the plan. I'm sure it's harder than what I'm thinking right now, but I'll see once I get to that point.