Familiarity with MODX

nowadays variety of content management systems (CMS) is so great that involuntarily lost. Moreover, the system does not depend on whether paid or not, and the decision is then permanently binds you to the selected CMS.
I bring to your attention translation of the article English web developer Mark Jenkins discovered MODX after many years of development in various systems.
First is the translation of the article, then some comments on the text.



I just finished my second project on the platform MODX, and I think it's time to Express your thoughts. I have the impression that in the web-industry MODX mostly not widely known, partly for that reason, to educate, I write this article.

the

What is MODX?


MODX is a content management system with open source. It is built based on PHP and MYSQL, so it works on almost any server. As in WordPress there are two versions: MODX Revolution (wordpress.org, version for download and installation on your server) and MODX Cloud (wordpress.com).
MODX is unassuming: it does not matter where the templates are, how they are organized or where the content is hosted. It is a flexible system, allowing to work as you wish.

the

Where it is possible to use MODX?


Selection of content management system (CMS) is quite wide. I used to use WordPress, Perch, Expression Engine and Kirby as well as Shopify and Magento to online stores. I use WordPress and Perch on a regular basis and both systems have proven their reliability and ease of use.
This begs the question: "Why do I have to look into MODX?"
I think it's only fair if I say that I'm quite familiar with WordPress, because doing this system almost everything: blogs, 5-page websites, multi - regional sites with hundreds of pages. Developing WordPress on large sites, I encountered many difficulties, such as permalinks structure and taxonomy may be limited. Although in recent years CMS has significantly improved, but still felt that this is not the right tool for the job with a huge and complex site.
It is here MODX appears in all its glory. While WordPress is collecting structure (and custom post types, taxonomy, topic) MODX offers empty shell, ready to meet all your needs.
With what ease working with MODX templates, impressive. No need to create templates with the given file name or to place them in a specific folder, and the syntax for MODX ensures the purity and accessibility of the code.

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I go with WordPress. It will be difficult to re-learn?


MODX is easy to master.
the first MODX uses a different terminology:
the
    the
  • Resources – web page (resources can be documents, links, etc.)
  • the
  • Templates
  • the
  • template Variables – the equivalent of custom fields in WordPress
  • the
  • of the Chunks is repeated on different pages of HTML markup (e.g. header, footer, sidebar, etc.)
  • Snippets are dynamic pieces of PHP code.



the second, MODX uses its syntax. At first, I thought, why do the developers bother MODX the syntax, but try to practice, became clear. It allows you to keep the template code clean and understandable (at least better than those horrible inconsistent WordPress functions).

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Compatibility with Git


My team did not experience any difficulties with the latest project. We used this .gitignore file to exclude everything but the folders assets and core.

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is There any disadvantages of MODX?


As I mentioned in this article, learn MODX easy. Will take some time getting used to the terminology and methods of implementation of those or other things.
The documentation is reasonably good, although in search of answers to some questions you have to try. The chances of finding an answer on the problem in WordPress is probably several times higher, because the size of the MODX community is smaller.
However, I have found a community on Twitter, which proved to be very useful. Sending a few questions #MODX, every time I got at least one answer, which pointed me in the right direction.
The process of installing MODX is more complex than WordPress. For example, to install the system locally, I cloned our repository, then copied the files to MODX, set up the configuration files, run the installation, corrected some file permissions, and again started the installation. Compared to WordPress, lifting and running MODX a little colorific.

the

Conclusion


While I'm still new to MODX and have a lot to learn, in the end, I think I found a good and reliable CMS that offers the flexibility that I need.
I can definitely recommend it for businesses with large web sites on hundreds of pages. And already looking forward to immersion in the next MODX project...

the

Comments from the translator


    the author of the article allocates two versions of MODX: Revolution and Modxcloud, while the official separation takes place on Revolution and Evolution.
    Version MODX Revolution is recommended for all users, including beginners, is a modern, reliable system. Completely new database API based on xPDO provides an efficient and simple way to read, write, and edit all MODX objects. With one simple query, you can manipulate data of several MODX tables.
    Version MODX Evolution is also quite reliable and stable, is constantly updated, but is already outdated, and is suitable for sites that are already working on it or for those web hosts with limited memory 8M or 16M, because Revolution requires a minimum 32M.
    As for Modxcloud, it is an extra service from a team of MODX-based virtual hosting has already built the most recent version of MODX Revolution. Hosting is designed for serious projects with a high load on the server, although it is possible to choose a free hosting option (very good for getting experience with MODX). Placing a website on MODXcloud, the upgrade process in the future is a click, we can say that the issue of ensuring the security of the site here out of competition. the

  1. When the author speaks of good documentation, it is, of course, talking about the English version.
    However, Russian-speaking sites for the MODX system is now quite a lot, so that developers will not be alone.
  2. the Author describes the difficulties of installing MODX on your local server but actually everything is much simpler: the server is running PHP and cgi is not plagued by access issues and the process of installation lasts 3-5 minutes.
    In General, MODX developers recommend you to use advanced distribution installation (advanced instead of traditional), which increases the security of your system: you the system kernel to install to a folder that is not accessible from the web, and folders, back-end Manager and connectors to rename it as you want.

Article based on information from habrahabr.ru

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