Is Collections the new Articles?

I read that Articles is no longer being developed and that Collections (along with Tagger, getResources and Quip) is a suitable replacement.

Ok.

With v2.3 looming and several existing 2.2.14 sites already relying on Articles I'm wondering what the best way forward is: use Collections or (re)build the blogs manually http://bit.ly/1oeL0sk. In either case it seems prudent to move the blogs away from a dead add-on (Articles). Collections does seem like the path of least resistance but I'm reluctant to depend on another "blog" add-on that may languish like Articles did, nor am I sure it's compatible with v2.3.

So, is (re)building these blogs manually the safest long-term approach? Is anyone using Collections with v2.3?

Suggestions and insights welcome. [ed. note: todd.b last edited this post 9 years, 9 months ago.]

Collections doesn't work in 2.3, you get the "processor not found: update" when trying to update a Collection page.

Personally, I prefer using MIGXdb to create a grid for my child resources, and pdoTools with its many more efficient listing snippets such as pdoResources and pdoMenu. For commenting, I'm fond of ModxTalks for a commenting system. It doesn't show in the Package Manager for Revo 2.3, but downloading and installing it from local works just fine.

I had a talk with Jan Peca (aka theBoxer) about this problem this very morning. For simplicities sake, I'll just paste the whole chat into this post:

Hint: read the FULL conversation. There are some really important things you should know about.

[10:45:54] pepebe: Hi, long time no "see". Did you know about this: http://forums.modx.com/thread/91922/is-collections-the-new-articles#dis-post-502241
[10:47:24] pepebe: I can neither confirm nor deny this, because I don't have 2.3 running with collections. Thought you would like to know about it.
[10:47:45] Jan Peca: Hello
[10:47:59] Jan Peca: I know about that, in github is version 2.0.0 alpha which works with 2.3
[10:48:53] pepebe: Any chance to can get this into the repo before the anticipated/dreaded 2.3 arrives?
[10:50:24] Jan Peca: I can't submit it now, because I can't select minimum version 2.3
[10:50:33] Jan Peca: and 2.0.0 is not compatible with modx 2.2.x
[10:50:53] Jan Peca: due to change in modx 2.3 connectors
[10:53:07] pepebe: So, what happens if I upgrade from 2.2.x to 2.3? Will there be two versions of collections in the wild? I can imagine that a lot of people will be reluctant to upgrade immediatly.
[10:53:22] Jan Peca: no
[10:55:31] Jan Peca: you should see just the 2.0.0 version from modx 2.3 when it will be in repo
[10:55:52] Jan Peca: I am changing all collections releases in package repo to be supported only up to revo 2.2.
[10:58:08] pepebe: So there will be one version for each release available (<2.3 and =>2.3)?
[10:58:47] Jan Peca: yes
[11:00:10] pepebe: Great. Do you mind If I share this information on the forum, or do you want to write a few lines yourself. I guess this is important for a lot of people.
[11:00:25] Jan Peca: fell free to write it there
[11:00:47] Jan Peca: also here is the link for 2.0.0 if anyone want to try it with 2.3 now
[11:00:47] Jan Peca: https://github.com/modxcms/Collections/blob/develop/_packages/collections-2.0.0-alpha.transport.zip
[11:01:07] pepebe: For simplicity. Do you Mind if I just copy and paste our conversation?
[11:01:41] Jan Peca: do whatever you think will be the best
[11:02:48] Jan Peca: and keep in mind that it's just alpha it has just the support for 2.3 it might change within the pl

Cheers,

pepebe

Quote from: sottwell at Jul 04, 2014, 06:11 AM

Personally, I prefer using MIGXdb to create a grid for my child resources, and pdoTools with its many more efficient listing snippets such as pdoResources and pdoMenu. For commenting, I'm fond of ModxTalks for a commenting system. It doesn't show in the Package Manager for Revo 2.3, but downloading and installing it from local works just fine.

@sottwell Thanks for recommending modxtalks. Failed to notice that one.

Other question: Mind sharing your migxdb setup with us? Anything special you came up with?

Cheers,

pepebe

I use the tutorial from the rtfm, then modify it as necessary. See http://forums.modx.com/thread/91925/custom-resource-type#dis-post-502251

Thanks everyone, some interesting suggestions.

Apparently there are several methods for building a blog without Articles, and I'm sure they all have their merits and cons. I just wish that one of those options included an official (bundled) blog add-on, developed and supported by the core MODX team, that allowed us to implement a blog more easily rather than building it brick-by-brick, which is how some of these methods feel to me.

While I appreciate having the option to build a more customized blog when the project calls for it (though I often find the docs are a hurdle for me when attempting to use a non-Articles method) it's not always necessary, and sometimes a simpler approach is better. Collections looks interesting but it doesn't seem quite ready for primetime.

An interesting dialog on Twitter about Articles and the need for a simple blog solution, http://bit.ly/1oe7vwf.

Articles works, as long as you want to do what Articles does. If you want to do something just a little bit different, then you're out of luck using Articles.

Yeah, I'm beginning to see that. But given that it's no longer being supported I'm disinclined to keep using it for future projects.

I used Articles in some projects in the past and while it's quite rigid and limited to just blogging, it worked fine and I missed nothing important.

Blogging is such a unique (somewhat complex) and important feature that there should be a working and supported one-click-solution just like Articles. If only as a selling point.

»Yes there is a blogging component with comments, pagination and a nice listing in the manager. It only needs some customization, just as any WP blog. (It even imports your old wordpress site)«

sounds much better than

»I can use several separate packages that can be tweaked to emulate a nice blog, but it takes some effort to set it up and debug and still needs customisation«

And don't underestimate the value of a good working solution in learning how to organize stuff, how to use the various parts in the template, etc. I learned a lot by examining Articles's default (and somewhat faulty) templates, just as I learned most about MODX by dissection the example site back in 0.9-days.

So - like todd.b - I'm all for a nice updated and supported blogging package complete with an example template. I don't mind if it's only good for blogging. If the client needs something different, one can always offer a collections/tagger/quip-Solution.