gistfile1.txt

As I've worked on CMSMS 2.0, I've run into a few recurring issues 
that I didn't quite have an answer or reason for yet...

1. I wrote a lot of very generic pieces of code in order to make 2.0 
easier to develop in the long run.  I think I might've gone overboard 
a bit.  I wasn't ever sure why.
2. As a professional developer, I kept running into issues where I wanted 
to use some of that code for other stuff.  And it was too difficult to just 
pull out the piece I needed and didn't do it.

When talking to my friend, Greg (who, incidentally, helped push me to 
launch CMSMS as a project), I was telling him about some of the things 
that 2.0 could do.  I said something along the lines of, "Really, except 
for some routing and a few other little things, 2.0 could be a full 
development framework for other applications."  And, in my typical 
way, I thought about this for a few days...  and didn't do much else.

So, I've decided to use my week off from work to put together the basics 
of a PHP5 based web application framework.  This framework will then 
become the base of CMSMS 2.0 (it's less work than it sounds -- trust me) 
as well as any other application you might want to develop.  It's a generic 
framework that builds on some of the key ideas we've had in CMSMS all 
along -- it just makes those tools easier to setup for whatever you'd like 
to develop.

Let's finish out this post in typical FAQ style:

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<strong>Who is this aimed towards?</strong>

Professional PHP5 developers, plain and simple.  If you know what a 
framework is and why you'd need one, then you're probably the correct 
candidate for this project.  If this just flies over your head, then 
it's probably safe to skip to the next post in your news reader.  :)

<strong>What's the name mean?</strong>

It's smooth.  It's strong.  It's a nice foundational material...  
Really?  It's a short name that fits well when you put it in every 
class name.  It'll also make for a nice logo someday.

<strong>What are the requirements?</strong>

PHP 5.2+ on any compatible web server.  A database of some sorts -- MySQL 
will be tested heavily.  PostgreSQL and SQLite should also work fine.  
Development will only really happen on a unix based system...  Windows 
users might have to do a little bit of investigative work to develop with 
the system.

<strong>What do I get?</strong>
<ul>
	<li>ADODB5 - The standard in database abstraction.  Silk uses it 
		throughout.</li>
	<li>The Silk ORM - Built on top of ADODB and uses the ActiveRecord 
		pattern.  Cuts down lines of code and makes basic database access very 
		simple and OO.</li>
	<li>Smarty - Uses the power of smarty throughout.  Smarty templates 
		are used for all templates and layouts, as well as smarty plugins created 
		for all form elements.</li>
	<li>Magic MVC - Using file naming conventions, new actions, controllers 
		and views can be added with very minimal work.  Everything is customizable 
		afterwards.</li>
	<li>jQuery - We've standardized on the jQuery javascript framework.  
		Used throughout, we've included some javascript helpers to make Ajax simple 
		to use.</li>
	<li>Events system - Stateless event handling system based on the one 
		from CMSMS 1.x -- without the database.  (coming soon)</li>
	<li>Unit testing - Ability to have unit tests on models, views and 
		controllers.  (coming soon)</li>
	<li>Users, groups, permissions - Have a basic system for handling 
		these 3 things that fall into almost every web application.  CMSMS 2.0 will 
		use the same system, so applications will be able to share login information 
		directly with CMSMS.</li>
	<li>OpenID - Logins will support the OpenID protocol and standard 
		using the php-openid library.</li>
</ul>

<strong>License?</strong>

Silk is licensed using the MIT open source license.  It's both GPL compatible 
(for release with CMSMS) and also able to be used in commercial/proprietary 
applications without question.  This will allow people to use Silk for practically 
anything.

<strong>How do I get involved?</strong>

Silk isn't really "there" yet.  It's still in the early phases of development, 
though, it's been moving pretty fast and working out above expectations.  The 
source code is hosting on github: 
<a href="http://github.com/tedkulp/silk">http://github.com/tedkulp/silk</a>.  If 
you'd like to make contributions or play with the code, fork a copy and play 
away.  If you feel that something is patch worthy, send me a pull request and I'll 
take a look.

In the near future, I will post some HOWTO's and API docs to silkframework.com.  
After I feel that things are stabilized a bit, I'll write up a HOWTO on how to 
write a simple application using Silk that hints the major points and gets people 
on their way.

<strong>How does this affect 2.0?</strong>

Only a bit.  The admin will be rewritten to use the new MVC system, events will 
have to be changed a bit, and well as a few other changes.  But we're still moving 
forward without having to throw away a lot of code.  This is still a positive step 
forward with only a few small steps back.