I'm with Larry on this one - your best best is to not focus on any
particular CMS or framework to start with. First some fundamentals
about the underlying technologies these things are built on. Get a
cheap hosting account somewhere, install a simple (but well wriiten)
application that uses a database and study the code to figure out how
things work. Drupal, Joomla, and Wordpress are complex web
applications with all sorts of features - it's going to be difficult
to really learn any basics if you choose to start with one of those.
Install a simple PHP photo gallery or poll script and tear it apart -
figure out how all the pieces interact. Familiarize yourself with some
basic application development concepts (like MVC
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model-view-controller>), find tutorials
online and do them, read a lot, dissect, build things, break things,
practice. Too many "web developers" jump right into Wordpress, Django,
Joomla because they are easy to install, but I guarantee you they
really don't know how these things work. It won't be glamorous to
start with, but if you're really interested in web application
development, start with the basics. Trust me, it will pay off in long run.
-- Rob
On Thu, Jan 14, 2010 at 11:25 AM, Diana Montalion Dupuis
<[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
I agree with Matt. Right now, I'm writing code for three Drupal
installs that manage paper submissions and reviews, handle code
package distribution, and track Wikpedia donations. Very little
of what I've done in the last year or so has been about content
management.
That said, you'll get the most experience if you choose two
different paths simultaneously. For example, Mediawiki
development is very different from Drupal development (which is
different than CiviCRM customization.) It's painful though,
stretching back and forth, but you'll be more flexible. If I had
to choose one, I would absolutely choose Drupal.
Diana
Terry Brown wrote:
I respectfully disagree 100% with your assessment of Drupal.
It allows you
to do literally anything you want and you don't have to start
from ground
zero. You can take an existing module and do anything you
want with it
within the boundaries / limitations of PHP / CSS / MySQL.
Drupal is MUCH more than a "CMS" framework.
Matt
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>
[mailto:[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>] On Behalf Of Brandtley
Sent: Thursday, January 14, 2010 10:49 AM
To: Refresh Austin
Subject: [Refresh Austin: 4840] Re: CMS vs Frameworks: Which
one is
recommended to learn with?
Hey Jamil,
I'm not very experienced in many frameworks but have done some in-
depth work with a couple CMS' that you listed. Drupal and
Joomla to be
specific. And although they offer great capabilities for web
developers and designers, they just don't have the same level of
access and complexity when it comes to implementing
functionality. You
can create your own modules of course, but like you said, they're
fairly limited access wise and are requierd to comply with the
structure of the CMS.
However, with an application framework such as CakePHP, or Code
Ignitor, you have much more flexibility to create whatever app you
choose. Frameworks are designed for rapid application development,
where you take out the mundane rewriting of your source code and
develop on top of what is already there. Most of the well known
frameworks are designed to be stable and reliable, and have
usually
been around long enough to offer a large user base and
community where
you can get help from. Really there is no limit to what can be
done
with an application framework, however the learning curve for
most is
a little daunting at first.
So to racap, CMS' are designed to manage content with some
functionality implementation, and Frameworks are bare-bone code
structures to develop your app on top of.
Hope that clears some things up for you.
On Jan 14, 10:34 am, Jamil Lawrence <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
Good morning Refresh,
I'm an aspiring web applications developer and I'm curious
as to
everyone's
thoughts on which technology would help me to learn all
aspects of web
applications. I lean towards back-end stuff, but
considering I've got very
little experience in any area, I consider it important to
get a solid
foundation in all areas.
By CMS, I'm referring to technologies such as Drupal,
Joomla, Wordpress,
etc. By Frameworks, I am referring to CakePHP, Symphony,
etc. I know each
has it promoters and detractors. I have heard the opinion
that CMS
technologies obscure much of the coding - you simply input
content,
classify
it an article or whatever, add a few modules, and that's
it. The end
result
may be the same with both technologies; you get a working
web application.
However if you have to modify your app's functionality, a
CMS may limit
you
on what you can do, or even worse, limit your imagination
about what's
possible because your so used to working within the
confines of the CMS.
The
counter argument to this is that if you know exactly what
you're looking
for, it will faster and simpler to implement your app with
a CMS than a
Framework.
Again, these are opinions that I have heard and can
neither confirm nor
deny. I would guess the best method to answer each
question is through
personal experience, but I believe Refreshers probably
have experience
with
both. So I ask, which do recommend learning with?
Thanks,
-Jamil
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