Today we are going to start a multi-part series on getting set up with SilverStripe, a CMS that is pretty much like WordPress on steroids. Much of the functionality that requires plug-ins in WordPress is already built-in. We are going to go over the basics of the installation process today and some of the key things that you need to know about the CMS, so you can take some time to learn a new skill over your holiday weekend.
This is my new favorite content management system and I am really excited to start working with it. There are a few things about this CMS that make it truly different. First being that it runs on its own PHP framework called Sapphire. The framework is based on object oriented programming, while the CMS is based on the Model-View-Controller method. This means that all programming logic is separate from the markup and the display is separate from the other two.
Getting this CMS installed is almost easier than WordPress’ “famous 5-minute installation”. I can get this one installed in 3 minutes, max.
It requires the following to be enabled on your server:
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PHP 5.2.0+ recommended
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gd2, mysql, hash, mbstring modules
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Set the maximum memory to at least 48 mb.
- Apache 1.3+/2.0+/2.2+ with mod_rewrite, and the ability to set rewriting rules in .htaccess files via “Allow Override”.
- lighttpd 1.4+ with access to the server configuration
Most of these things are included in the hosting packages that developers chose, but might not be in your client’s set-up. Please verify with the hosting company that these specs are in place before either telling your client that it will work, or that they need a better hosting company.
Getting SilverStripe installed is a very painless process that includes giving it access to create a database, or providing it with access to an empty one that you have created. The longest part is actually uploading all the files to your webserver.
After you get the CMS installed, the rest is up to you. Every time you want to create a new page type, you can tell the software what fields and options need to appear for the page. You can handle meta-information on a page by page basis.
SilverStripe uses a custom file extension .ss and it can throw your IDE for a loop. I suggest using Aptana and doing the following: Opening the eclipse preferences. Under “General” select “Editors” > “File Associations” . There you add a new File Association for “*.ss” and set the associated Editor to “Aptana HTML Editor”.
Now, why the custom file extension? It is basically your template HTML file. There are different ones based on the different page types. Each page type will have a .ss file that tells the CMS how the page should look and a PHP file that tell the CMS what content should appear on the page and what fields should appear in the editor. Pretty nifty, eh?
One of the easiest things to do with SilverStripe is to change its look, since the look is separate from the code. You can upload one of the themes from here (there are some decent ones in the mix) to get you familiar with this process. Simply upload the theme to the themes directory. Next edit the _config.php file in the mysite folder to contain the following :
[/code]Hopefully you are intrigued with the robust yet still simple to use CMS. As they are posted, I will add links to the additional SilverStripe basics series here.
