Topic: The hunt for the perfect CMS (Page 1 of 1)

Ok, we all know how hard it is to find a CMS that suits our needs. I have been searching for quite some time for such a CMS for my own personal sites. I've been through Drupal, Mambo/Joomla, CMS Made Simple, and quite a few others (including popular "blogging" tools when dealing with clients. But while each of those had excellent features, each one was a little less than I was searching for in a CMS for myself.

One of the most important features I am after is XSLT/XML templating engine, something along the lines of Hannon Hill, only a little less convoluted and simplified, as well as free. I have recently been building a site using Hannon Hill at work, and I am in love with the extensibility of the system through the use of XML/XSLT/Data definitions. Hell of a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it...

In any case, I believe I have found one that is a perfect match for what I am after. It is called Symphony. I am wondering if there are any Asylumites who have ever had any experiences with it, and if so, what were your thoughts. Any info/comments would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I am open to other suggestions, but the XSLT/XML component is an absolute must.

Thanks all,
Ram

(Edited by Ramasax on 05-01-2007 04:53)

Symfony is nice if you like a really bloated framework.

I say make your own. MVC systems in PHP are almost too easy to make. The problem with these big framework systems, like Symfony, Cake, Qcodo, et al., is that they wish to be all things to all people, and thus end up with a giant system that can be outperformed by a first year CompSci student. They're fine if you just need to launch something for a client, but the performance of the system, in my opinion, is a huge drawback.

-steve

I've played around with many of the major CMS (the Nukes, Mambo, Joomla, etc.) and concluded they were ugly and, as twitch said, bloated to hell - largely because they are geared for communities, not for simple sites like myself. I settled for WP as a blog, PixelPost as a photoblog, and a few flash galleries. I have a forum also...but it does not have any visitors..it was more an experiment than anything else.

If i was going community, I would go Joomla only because it seems to have a solid development team...but I installed Joomla twice and both times I was unimpressed and promptly removed it.

Nature & Travel Photography
Visit the Sleeping Wolves

Thanks for your comments guys.

Making my own is always an option, but one I would like to avoid if possible, mainly because I have a small window of opportunity coming up and would much rather focus on designing and building a site rather than a CMS.

I think you may be confusing Symfony and Symphony.

If you've never heard of it, I'd suggest taking a look at the demo they have going. It is quite different from any other free CMS I have ever had exposure to. It is surprisingly simple, does not seem to be trying to be all things to everyone, but instead is a fairly compact tool for those who already have a good handle on xhtml/css/xslt/xml. And by the looks of the few sites I have seen using it, http://www.truthmove.org is one, I am very impressed by the looks of the flexibility it provides.

I think I may take a stab at it, and then, if all else fails, I will have to make my own. It would give me an opportunity to take my PHP knowledge to the next level.

Ram

quote:

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Ramasax said:

I think you may be confusing Symfony and Symphony.

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I had never heard of either one. The only Symphony I can think of is a product Lotus used to make years ago along with 1-2-3. I did check your link though and it does look clean and simple..let us know if it's worth investigating further.

Nature & Travel Photography
Visit the Sleeping Wolves

I've been using CodeIgniter at work when I need to knock out some quick surveys or promotional stuff. It's light, fast and fairly easy to get into. I've also been building a basic CMS for the marketing department to push out updates when I go on a bender and can't make it into work for a few days.

Installed a copy of Symphony locally and am digging it. It is a barebones system and is going to work out well I think. Worth keeping an eye on.

Dracusis, that is a nice toolkit. Played around with it some yesterday, and I must say, it is very easy to get into, even for a PHP novice such as myself. Thanks for sharing.

Ram

Dracusis: Bender preparation is the key to a successful working life in Australia.


Justice 4 Pat Richard

I've recently heard some good things about ExpressionEngine.

built my own, luv my own.