Overview of CMS Drupal.
Often there is a task, using already existing material, to create a website on which this material would be presented in a hierarchical form. To solve this problem, you can develop your own site engine, or you can resort to already existing solutions. Such solutions are including CMS (Content Management System).
Introduction
If you have a sufficiently large amount of text materials with pictures (or without), then the main task that you have to solve is a system that is convenient for filling the site and is easy to update in the future. Here come to the aid of existing systems CMS. These systems are good already created and developed structure that you need only fill your content.
My task was to create a website of a tree structure, where a large number of text pages with links would be placed. It was supposed to be a fairly extensive system with easy navigation and the ability to search through it.
')
I chose a ready-made solution called Drupal (www.drupal.org).
What is a CMS?
A content management system (or content manager in another way) is a website engine that allows you to manage text and graphic content. In other words, change the content of the site, without worrying about its internal mechanism of building pages. Some of the sites to maintain without a content manager is extremely difficult.
There are several types of content managers. They can be divided into three types according to the principle of operation. If you ask for information on the wiki, we will learn the following:
1. Generation of pages on request. The presentation module generates a page with content when requested for it, based on information from the database. The trouble with this method is that the pages are recreated by the server with each request, loading the server.
2. Generation of pages when editing. In this case, CMS essentially acts as a program for editing pages that, when amended, create content. Interactivity is sacrificed.
3. Mixed type. As the name implies, it combines the advantages of the first two. It can be implemented by caching. The cache can be updated for different events or through the admin panel. Another approach is to save a certain number of information blocks and build a page of them on request.
Application CMS.
Systems content management system is anyway in any more or less thoughtful engine. The Drupal system can be used to solve various tasks. These can be blogs, news sites, document type document storage systems and everything else, where there is room for a large amount of textual information and there is a need for a tree structure.
Install CMS Drupal.
The latest version of the engine is always available on the developer site www.Drupal.org . At the moment, this is 4.6.6 stable version and 4.7.0 RC1. The system is written in php. MySQL and PostreSQL DBs can be used to store content. However, I would recommend using the MySQL database, since most of the modules (if not all) that need to change the database contain instructions only for this type of database. All that is required is a web server (for example, apache) with the php module installed. From myself I can only add that the installation takes no more than 5 minutes and consists only in creating the database and copying the Drupal files into the home directory of the site.
After completing these steps, your Drupal will already be available. You need to go to the address you have chosen and register the first user. The system will automatically give him administrative rights.
Drupal structure.
Drupal is built on a modular structure that makes it very easy and simple to add the missing functionality. To do this, you only need to download the module file you need from the off site of the system, copy it to the ../modules folder and execute brief instructions from the readme file.
Modules are of two types - those that only need to be copied to the specified folder and those for which you need to add instructions to the database. Files with instructions for the database are contained in the files "module_name.mysql" (or "module_name.postgresql").
Some modules, among other things, contain language files with the extension “po”. Unfortunately, for the native language I did not see the files in the modules.
After adding the module, open the administration link on your system and select “modules”. On this page you can choose which modules in your system will be included. I recommend that you immediately enable the localization module.
Here in the admin panel you can change other parameters of the future site. Those who are not fluent in English should first make localization.
Localization.
Since we still live in Russia and our native language is Russian for us, then of course we want the site to “talk” with us in our language. If you have enabled localization, then you just have to download the required language file. This can be done on the off site or on the site www.Drupal.ru (at the time of this writing, the site was under development and the only thing that was available from it were localization files and two links to Russian-language Drupal resources). I preferred to take the file from offsite, because there is localization of everything in one file ru.po
After the file is downloaded, it remains only to import into the system through the same administration links by clicking on localization. Here you will be offered the choice of replacing an existing language or adding a new one. I think you will make this choice yourself. After completing the addition, the system will indicate how many instructions were translated from all existing in your Drupal at the moment. (In my case, it was about 90%, since localization was for version 4.6.6, and I took 4.7.0 beta.)
Modules
On the official website of Drupal is a fairly large number of modules. I will not list them all, I will say only that for almost all my needs, the modules were found there without problems. It is tolerable enough to read in English to find what you need, and the installation, as mentioned above, will not take much time.
Here I want to draw your attention to the fact that even for such purposes as attaching graphic files to materials, you will need to install the appropriate module. In general, Drupal in the delivery is rather poor in functionality and you cannot avoid installing additional extensions anyway. Therefore, it is better to immediately follow the link “Modules” on the official website.
Where to read.
The most complete information on the Drupal system at the moment can be found on the Drupal.htdogs.ru website. As is clear from the name, this is a Russian-language website with various materials for working with this engine. In particular, there is described the ideology of content organization in Drupal, the so-called "taxonomy". Unfortunately, most of the articles gave me almost nothing. Either the materials were written this way, or I did not understand them. Therefore, I would recommend to get acquainted with the handbook on the official website www.drupal.org
Results
I liked this system by its ease of installation and the ease with which the modules are connected. Of course, the localization process made a pleasant impression, since it did not require shaman dances. Adding materials to the site, as expected, is not difficult and is performed in just a few clicks on the links.
I won’t say that I didn’t like it, but nevertheless I had the most unpleasant sensations as I delved into the very essence of Drupal and understood how it can be applied. Maybe I should follow the links where there are a variety of sites built on this engine. However, one of my friends said that the tree structure always has a fairly high level of user occurrence. I hope it will be easier for you.
The article is very brief and can only be considered as an introductory. A very large number of questions are not considered here. Maybe if there is interest in this topic, then other materials will follow, in which the work with Drupal will be discussed in more detail.
Links to various interesting sites built on Drupal:
www.fearlessliving.org
pronline.ru
creativebits.org/critique
www.artalyst.com
www.evolt.org
designcollector.ru
(c) akeeper Korshunov Alexey.
The first published in the electronic supplement to the journal "System Administrator" called OSA .
Introduction
If you have a sufficiently large amount of text materials with pictures (or without), then the main task that you have to solve is a system that is convenient for filling the site and is easy to update in the future. Here come to the aid of existing systems CMS. These systems are good already created and developed structure that you need only fill your content.
My task was to create a website of a tree structure, where a large number of text pages with links would be placed. It was supposed to be a fairly extensive system with easy navigation and the ability to search through it.
')
I chose a ready-made solution called Drupal (www.drupal.org).
What is a CMS?
A content management system (or content manager in another way) is a website engine that allows you to manage text and graphic content. In other words, change the content of the site, without worrying about its internal mechanism of building pages. Some of the sites to maintain without a content manager is extremely difficult.
There are several types of content managers. They can be divided into three types according to the principle of operation. If you ask for information on the wiki, we will learn the following:
1. Generation of pages on request. The presentation module generates a page with content when requested for it, based on information from the database. The trouble with this method is that the pages are recreated by the server with each request, loading the server.
2. Generation of pages when editing. In this case, CMS essentially acts as a program for editing pages that, when amended, create content. Interactivity is sacrificed.
3. Mixed type. As the name implies, it combines the advantages of the first two. It can be implemented by caching. The cache can be updated for different events or through the admin panel. Another approach is to save a certain number of information blocks and build a page of them on request.
Application CMS.
Systems content management system is anyway in any more or less thoughtful engine. The Drupal system can be used to solve various tasks. These can be blogs, news sites, document type document storage systems and everything else, where there is room for a large amount of textual information and there is a need for a tree structure.
Install CMS Drupal.
The latest version of the engine is always available on the developer site www.Drupal.org . At the moment, this is 4.6.6 stable version and 4.7.0 RC1. The system is written in php. MySQL and PostreSQL DBs can be used to store content. However, I would recommend using the MySQL database, since most of the modules (if not all) that need to change the database contain instructions only for this type of database. All that is required is a web server (for example, apache) with the php module installed. From myself I can only add that the installation takes no more than 5 minutes and consists only in creating the database and copying the Drupal files into the home directory of the site.
After completing these steps, your Drupal will already be available. You need to go to the address you have chosen and register the first user. The system will automatically give him administrative rights.
Drupal structure.
Drupal is built on a modular structure that makes it very easy and simple to add the missing functionality. To do this, you only need to download the module file you need from the off site of the system, copy it to the ../modules folder and execute brief instructions from the readme file.
Modules are of two types - those that only need to be copied to the specified folder and those for which you need to add instructions to the database. Files with instructions for the database are contained in the files "module_name.mysql" (or "module_name.postgresql").
Some modules, among other things, contain language files with the extension “po”. Unfortunately, for the native language I did not see the files in the modules.
After adding the module, open the administration link on your system and select “modules”. On this page you can choose which modules in your system will be included. I recommend that you immediately enable the localization module.
Here in the admin panel you can change other parameters of the future site. Those who are not fluent in English should first make localization.
Localization.
Since we still live in Russia and our native language is Russian for us, then of course we want the site to “talk” with us in our language. If you have enabled localization, then you just have to download the required language file. This can be done on the off site or on the site www.Drupal.ru (at the time of this writing, the site was under development and the only thing that was available from it were localization files and two links to Russian-language Drupal resources). I preferred to take the file from offsite, because there is localization of everything in one file ru.po
After the file is downloaded, it remains only to import into the system through the same administration links by clicking on localization. Here you will be offered the choice of replacing an existing language or adding a new one. I think you will make this choice yourself. After completing the addition, the system will indicate how many instructions were translated from all existing in your Drupal at the moment. (In my case, it was about 90%, since localization was for version 4.6.6, and I took 4.7.0 beta.)
Modules
On the official website of Drupal is a fairly large number of modules. I will not list them all, I will say only that for almost all my needs, the modules were found there without problems. It is tolerable enough to read in English to find what you need, and the installation, as mentioned above, will not take much time.
Here I want to draw your attention to the fact that even for such purposes as attaching graphic files to materials, you will need to install the appropriate module. In general, Drupal in the delivery is rather poor in functionality and you cannot avoid installing additional extensions anyway. Therefore, it is better to immediately follow the link “Modules” on the official website.
Where to read.
The most complete information on the Drupal system at the moment can be found on the Drupal.htdogs.ru website. As is clear from the name, this is a Russian-language website with various materials for working with this engine. In particular, there is described the ideology of content organization in Drupal, the so-called "taxonomy". Unfortunately, most of the articles gave me almost nothing. Either the materials were written this way, or I did not understand them. Therefore, I would recommend to get acquainted with the handbook on the official website www.drupal.org
Results
I liked this system by its ease of installation and the ease with which the modules are connected. Of course, the localization process made a pleasant impression, since it did not require shaman dances. Adding materials to the site, as expected, is not difficult and is performed in just a few clicks on the links.
I won’t say that I didn’t like it, but nevertheless I had the most unpleasant sensations as I delved into the very essence of Drupal and understood how it can be applied. Maybe I should follow the links where there are a variety of sites built on this engine. However, one of my friends said that the tree structure always has a fairly high level of user occurrence. I hope it will be easier for you.
The article is very brief and can only be considered as an introductory. A very large number of questions are not considered here. Maybe if there is interest in this topic, then other materials will follow, in which the work with Drupal will be discussed in more detail.
Links to various interesting sites built on Drupal:
www.fearlessliving.org
pronline.ru
creativebits.org/critique
www.artalyst.com
www.evolt.org
designcollector.ru
(c) akeeper Korshunov Alexey.
The first published in the electronic supplement to the journal "System Administrator" called OSA .
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/5398/
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