Explay CMS 2.1

Well, it seems this time has come. Explay CMS 2.1 release. To download, you must first visit the promo page , but it is better to read to the end :)

Introduction

Since the release of version 2.0, almost 4 months have passed, and I can assure you: it was not for nothing. Every day I was convinced that I couldn’t program in PHP and every day I tried to fix it. Corrected everything I could, within reasonable compatibility of versions :) In principle, only part of the structure of tables in the data meringue remained from the old one, the engine was rewritten completely, and in some places even several times.

The main thing

The main thing, as you might think, is not a completely rewritten code, not UTF-8, not a new admin panel design, not even an attempt to comply with MVC. The main thing for which I actually did and release 2.1 is a system of updates. System updates in the full sense of the word. From now on, you don’t have to manually replace the updated files, you just have to click one or two buttons and update the CMS to the latest version. Previously, it was the privilege of paid boxed (with rare exceptions) site management systems, now the secretary has the opportunity to update Explay CMS :)
')
It should be noted that the update process is rather uncommon, simple and, at the same time, stable from the technical side. Therefore, I hope he will find his place in other free CMS.

About new

In the user interface from version 2.0, almost nothing has changed, a ratings module has been added, a profile has been expanded, a search has been created and the ability to save articles into drafts has been created, the rest is trivial. Administrators were lucky a little more, now they have a custom desktop and a new “glamorous” design.

Besides users, I really wanted to improve the lives of programmers, so I rewrote (in some places I limited myself to refractoring) and commented on all the code. The database itself has slightly improved, which made it possible to slightly reduce the number of requests and improve performance. Considering that the PLO and the parodies of MVC did not write much documentation either .

Those who will install Explay CMS from scratch are waited by the “installation wizard”, which will check the server configuration, as well as set up the rights to files and folders.

Openness to developers

Now the current version of the code can be viewed and downloaded from SVN to Google Code. And I really hope that after the release of this release there will be people who will directly participate in the development of Explay CMS and the development community will reach a new level.

List of changes regarding version 2.0

1. Created update system
2. UTF-8
3. Article modules rewritten
4. RSS feed for all comments
5. Created search for articles
6. The user’s page can now be accessed by username (similarly to the user’s blog)
7. Added kernel, modified database classes and templates
8. 3 new classes were written: User, explayFroms, imageResize
9. Absolutely new template engine
10. Added the ability to create static variables for templates
11. Added exceptions to the MySQL class, which allows to determine the real location of the error
12. Most of the code is commented
13. Optimized all code, including the admin part
14. API & AJAX moved to modules and work like them
15. Now uses the AJAX engine from jQuery
16. Small user avatars are now cached, not created every time.
17. Changed adminpanel design
18. In the same admin panel now customizable desktop
19. Created a quick search for article titles
20. New fields added to user profile: dota birth and gender
21. Added the ability to change the password
22. Articles now can be saved in drafts
23. Created installer that checks file permissions and server configuration
24. In the basic package comes Sape plugin
25. Site settings are cleaned and transferred from a table to a database in a PHP file
26. The new unit for the module "People"
27. Includes the latest version of TinyMCE
28. All version 2.0 bugs fixed

Upgrade from version 2.0 to 2.1

To my regret, I was not able to achieve full compatibility of the two versions. Of course there is an update file, but it only updates the structure of the tables in the database. The main problem with updating is waiting for you in the templates: Template maker has changed, no old template will work under 2.1. If you did not change the floor of the standard design, then you are lucky - just replace the templates, and if you created your design ...

With the encoding UTF-8, you may also have to tinker. Despite the fact that there is a file that changes the coding of the database tables, it is better to err and make a full backup.

Plans

Soon I plan to close the 2nd branch and start developing from scratch to create a normal architecture. And now I'm going to drink beer.

For bug reports there is a community, my e-mail and personal mail on Habré.

I’m waiting for objective criticism, not phrases like: “Everything should be rewritten under ZF - shit code!”. If you think so - justify.

Related Links:
Promotional page - download Explay cms and hosting requirements
Developer community
Google Code Project
Documentation
Wikipedia article