MODX vs joomla cms

I’m working through three test sites at the moment, once I’ve got the ’beast by the horns’ I’ll happily spread the word.

I see davids already popped into sitepoint, I’ll review modX there it’ll be better coming from a third party who’s been around for a long time

I would disagree with some folks on here. I found Modx to be one of the easier systems to use. The major reason is the use of Chunks. Here’s a way to insert a snippet of html code and reuse it time and time again, something most basic users can handle. For those of us with little or no php/javascript skills, it’s a very convenient method of breaking down a web site and managing individual parts more easily then you can the whole thing at once. Snippets and Modules are nice additions, but my lack of scripting knowledge makes it impossible for me to create custom ones of those. Chunks allows me the ability to use my current base of HTML and CSS knowledge very fluidly, even as I begin the process of migrating into scripting languages.

I’ve spent about a week testing a half dozen different CMS systems. Most seemed to make it very difficult for me to use an already developed web site code (xhtml and css compliant), but Modx was easy as pie. I realize a week isn’t a long time, but if after a couple of hours I couldn’t figure out even that most basic of task, I would move on to the next program. I’m sure many average to beginner users probably do the same. I had my own code inserted, tested and functioning in about 15 minutes once Modx was installed. Create a new template, copy my html code into it, copy the style sheet to the proper place on the server, and I’m almost done. Just insert the other modules where they should go, which was a pretty straightforward process I figured out easily enough from looking at the default template code.

Programs I actually installed and tested: Joomla, MDPro, e107, PHP-Fusion, CMS Made Simple (which I almost stuck with, it came close to what I was looking for), and MODx. I tried pretty much all the demo’s for the top 30 or so on the list and installed those I felt I wanted to look at more closely.

Really, it’s all subjective. Maybe in 6 months when I know more scripting I’ll revisit my choices and move on to something else. But for now, MODx does what I want with a easy to understand interface and in a manner I as a person with little scripting knowledge can handle. So I’d say for entry level work, this is a great place to start. But then... maybe since I already know a ton of HTML and some css, that makes me less a novice and more of an advanced user.

Actually MODx is a great platform to learn PHP coding on. You can dissect little snippets to see how they work, mash-up bits from different snippets to create new functionality and in general get a feel for what makes PHP tick.

Later, you’ll get into the event model with plugins and @bindings and realize that under a relatively simple first impression there’s a LOT of depth and ability hidden beneath the surface. There’ll be more examples available of bridges to other applications like SMF and Gallery2 to use as a pattern for creating your own code.

In the end, I’m 99.9% sure you won’t be switching when that 6 months time is up.

tollbreath,

My opinion, you won’t change CMS in the next 6 months. The only reason people don’t want to use MODx, because it’s for advance user that want flexible framework, in which they can code something on top of it. The other CMS out there, allowing you to do almos the same thing, but they don’t have a greater flexibility compare to MODx, because they are trying to satisfied the end users as well, which causing the system to be bogged down, and more complicated to be extended. Believe me, the more you learn MODx, the more you realize that this is the easiest Content Management Framework out there. Remember the keyword, CMF

Trollbreath, I believe it’s one of MODx apparent paradox : it’s simple, for all the reason you mention and chunk is one of them. TVs too are great tools to build custom websites on the fly with great ease compared to other solutions... MODx logic gives granular control and flexibility.

But actually, what makes it flexible apparently makes it hard to grasp for many people (at least, at first...). The logic behind MODx gives you degrees of freedom (those with scientific background will get what I mean here) and it can get mind boggling at first. But as you get deeper and depper into it, you seize the logic and it’s quite powerful !

I agree with Ryan about MODx being a learning tool. I am no coder, but I learn a great deal from snippets (as much as those PHP books I struggle with). And experiencing with @bindings is hard a first but you quickly manage to understand what you can do with them.

And one thing I think will make me in time take the leap to finally code something is the API and dbAPI. The promess I see in a framework is the ability to build something without having to code from scratch. With the documentation building up, it’ll become clearer and people like me will hopefully be able to start to take advantage of this powerful aspect of MODx... kind of the Ruby On Rails promise : use lego bricks of code to build web micro-applications which all fit into one application.

Like you, I have tested many CMS. Many share the same logic and to sum it up : it’s linear thinking. Why I love MODx and CMS Made Simple and Textpattern is the non-linear kind of systemic underlying logic... Complex system are built upon simple elements interacting freely together. Complicated ones are cluttered with predefined use and features.

And the thing is, the end users need is hardly standard : context, content, users => the Information Architecture tryptic is pretty helpful to build efficient websites. Building those require adaptation to context, granular control over content and interface built with users in mind...

But hey it’s late, I had a rough week and I start rambling again. I hope I make sense here

What is it’s main drawback ?

It’s almost laughable to ask, not only do we struggle to find enough words to describe it - new words are being invented.

... and it does this, and if you go there - you can do this, this . . . (echo)

MODX vs joomla isn’t a valid expression, like Firefox vs IE - forget about it

But, what are it’s "evils"?

Say, has it ever dawned on anyone to pack the installation with more templates ? More examples of how snippets and chunks are used ? It did take a wee bit of an imagination to get enough of a vision of it’s capabilities to want to read some of the tutorials and skim through the forums.

I first learn’t Mambo way back when by pulling it apart . . . I started that habit when I was ’two’ and pulled a tapedeck to pieces, at ’five’ I’d graduated to remote control devices - manuals are more interesting when your ready to put something back together again, but I don’t think I’m the exception.

Just a thought, I typically thumb as far as I can because I have demanding client’s and not a lot of time ~ like, I didn’t even have enough time to read my birthday cards , reading tutorials is like taking a vacation . . . I’m sure others might make a faster determination of modX based on how much they accomplished with the installation files, which isn’t a lot unless your able to scratch around for a few days and learn from these forums and tutorials - which itself, you gotta admit - isn’t fantastically cohesive.

Here’s an example, after I completed the installation - I found items called ’chunk’ and ’snippet’. I searched modXcms for ’chunk’ - and got this

Syntax @CHUNK chunk_name

Binds the variable to a document. Where chunk_name is the name of the chunk. The returned value is a string containing the content of the chunk.

This binding is very similar to the @DOCUMENT binding with the exception that it will bind the TV to a chunk (or htmlsnippet).

Example:
@CHUNK MycontactForm

Yes, chunk made a lot more sense to me after reading that

Perhaps a newbie search tool - search for "chunk" and the results give a quick definition, and here’s an example of a chunk, and here’s an example of how you insert a chunk - and here’s a page that uses the chunk.

Honestly, if I’d had quick access to the above for chunk and snippets my learning time would have been a fraction of the time I spent navigating all the search results and forums to get the bigger picture, so, how many newbies throw their hands up in the air and move onto the next cms option ?

Now, back to it’s "evils" - and honestly, if it doesn’t have any, then you can add ’difficult to locate, navigate and understand the educational literature’ which I’m sure given your collective experience with modX really shouldn’t be that hard to address

Hi Starbuck,

Since MODx is not currently targeted at end users and the core team has put thousands and thousands of hours so that you can have something to build custom web applications (oh, and plain old marketing or community sites too) in, here’s a chance for you to give a bit back.

Why don’t yo write up a great tutorial from the outsiders’ perspective? We sometimes can’t see the forest for the trees, and are very busy working on multi-language sites support, recursive parsing, and optimizing the code base.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

Yes, the beginners guide from a beginners perspective with all the missing pieces that I would have liked to have had quick access to, I’d be happy to make that contribution. It’s just a matter of dictating as I learn, and I’ll be doing more of that over the next 7 days - then centralizing all the files I needed as I progressed, and publishing the results . . .

So, yes - 10 days, give or take interruptions

I just added "Adding Chunks" to the Designer’s guide. Hopefully it will help clear up some of the confusion.

http://www.modxcms.com/adding-chunks.html

Ryan, our current strategy and focus might not be clear to newcomers (now that I have finished my three ongoing project, I’ll be able to get back to that... at last). Neither will a quick tour of a MODx install. You have to dig to find out (or have an eye for those things ) that this very strategy is what makes MODx an incredibly stable and powerful piece of code considering its age.

The fact that we’re not aiming (at least at this early stage) at providing a "all-in-one" package to end users will puzzle many (where’s the template installer ? Where is the module/plugin/snippet installer ?). I know that from my days @textpattern’s where we encounter many puzzled users. At first the reaction was : "how the hell does this work ? I don’t get the logic !" but then it was "How did I manage to build websites without this before, I can’t believe"... About the doc : to this day, txp doesn’t have a comprehensive documentation, and mainly help is through very efficient forums (just like here ). Even the doc is not "all in one" and rather answer to context dependent questions via forums.

This doesn’t mean Starbuck has not a valid point. One thing I was recently pushing for again is organizing contributions. People should have a clear view of how they can contribute. Once this is set up, with the growth of the forums, and the growing number of highly skilled people, I believe we will manage to make quick progress on documentation.

One thing that should also be considered is how to capitalize on knowledge that flows on the forums. Many posts could be great starting points to write documentation.