[lstables]

Hi all,

I was wondering where I can get help/advice or maybe even a start on script(s) to start and build a CMS from scratch!!!

I know is going to be hard and involve alot of work but am a quick learner and want to learn more than just the standard XHTML CSS PHP etc....

I hope someone can point me in the right direction so I can gain this experiance..

Thanks
Lee

[Superdwayne]

lstables, on Aug 5 2008, 11:32, said:

Hi all,

I was wondering where I can get help/advice or maybe even a start on script(s) to start and build a CMS from scratch!!!

I know is going to be hard and involve alot of work but am a quick learner and want to learn more than just the standard XHTML CSS PHP etc....

I hope someone can point me in the right direction so I can gain this experiance..

Thanks
Lee

I have made one from scratch it was well hard I am not going to lie but Have a look on the w3 schools site they will explain most things to you

http://www.w3schools...php/default.asp

Enjoy

[Rachael]

Please don't edit the colour / font of your posts here - it makes them very hard to read.

Building a CMS from scratch is an insanely epic task. Good luck to you.

I wrote a blog entry about it once...

http://www.calmbanan...g-your-own-cms/

[jamest]

If you have to ask if you can create a CMS from scratch then you shouldn't be making a CMS from scratch. Stick to an Open Source CMS and forget about making your own for the time being.

[php_penguin]

jamest makes a good point, although it is unexplained.

A CMS allows a user to edit content on the site in an easy way - this involves putting the content in a database and making the database CRUDable by the user.

This means that there are two root security holes - the database requires only a username/password and a query entry interface (XSS) and the control panel needs to be secured properly.

If you aren't clued up on XSS and user authentication then you are likely to leave some large security holes in your application.

If you are going to use this CMS on a commercial project then you are giving yourself huge liabilities. For that reason, you are better off using a CMS of choice such as Expression Engine, Text Pattern, Drupal, Joomla - the list is pretty huge

[Mesa]

My brother (coder) single handed wrote the entire back end to the TJ Hughes ecommerce shop, which obviously was a full CMS. He's got crazy skills and working 9hr days it took around 3 months (concept to launch), and when I say crazy I mean it!

[lstables]

Thanks all for replies I'm going to be insane and try my luck.....

If it works i'll you guys know and how I did it

[Aaron Russell]

I think building your own CMS is a good thing and you shouldn't be put off from it. Ultimately, what penguin says is true - but I'm sure you aknowledge that your first stab at building a CMS will produce something that is a bit ropey and not quite ready for commercial use.

On the flip side though, you will learn tonnes as you build it. You will make mistakes and hpefully learn from them - so next time you build somthing like this you might be ready to use it with your clients. Go on do it!

Also, I don't think you have to consider it such a mammoth task. Building your own CMS you can make as simple or as complex as you like. And I think there's a lot to be said for creating a very simple but solid CMS.

[Jmz]

Make it in small modules so you dont confuse yourself. So make the login section/tables/files first. Then move onto the adding pages etc.

There is nothing complicated about making a CMS, it's really just taking form information and putting it into a database table. If you think like a coder and break everything down into small bits it's pretty straight forward.

Check out this guide: http://www.phpfreaks.com/blog/learning-to-...ke-a-programmer

Also remember, dont just copy what you've found in tutorials. Rewrite it yourself and read up about every function you use on the PHP.net website.

[lstables]

late last nite well about 3am this morning i came across this

http://movielibrary....Page.asp?ID=435

very helpful and step by step makes the PHP & MySQL look quite easy and in all honesty it aint has hard has it looks.

Now i can create the login area i need my client plus have the abilabty to create a CMS from scrtach

[Mesa]

Only thing I can't get my head around with sql (and I'm talking basic stuff here) is when you have one page (template) pulling different code from the database.

For example an ecommerce site has one php (template) page which is going to show products. Obviously the products have all the necessary info put in the sql database, and could be pulled out on their own individual php page...I can't get my head around how to pull them "form the same page" - where the URL changes.

I don't even know a terminology so I can search. All the php/sql tutorials I've come across are pretty basic ones, setting up, reading, editing etc.

[BenG]

Personally I would do it.

Download Xampp, get some books on PHP (for dummies is good, see peach press too) and get coding.

That way you can put your learning into something practical

[Gibbs]

The basics of a "CMS" are very simple and can take minutes. Once you have the foundations laid down you can expand. The difficulties come when you expand it into a larger project and include more features which require different connections.

It really depends on what features you want and how large the application is. The beauty of PHP is how easy it is and how much you can do. However if you try to build big applications with little knowledge, in languages such as PHP, it can become messy and inefficient and you would end up looking towards OOP to help (which is slightly more difficult).

It's worth a shot though. I can't think why you shouldn't at least give it a try. You will learn a lot from it!

[Peartree]

Whilst its all very good wanting to build your own CMS you need to think of features to offer which are unique.

For example our CMS has a functions such as 'Live Edit', Keyboard Shortcuts, Its own API & Framework... Else what will distinguish it from any other platform such as joomla?

[russellclow]

Making a CMS from an open source framework is always a lot easier, and quicker. If you've not had much CMS building experience before, I would suggest sticking to the framework and learning from that before getting deep into totally custom CMS's.