Is MODx suitable for my project?

I’m a long time user of MODx (and Etomite) and I’m a huge fan. The software has made my job as a web developer SO much easier, and I’m able to offer more features to my clients. However most of the stuff I’ve done has been relatively straightforward.

I have an idea for a new project, and it’s a lot more complicated than I’ve tried with MODx before, and I was wondering if a combination of MODx and modules would be up to the job. I’m not quite ready to say exactly what I’m planning yet, but in form and function it will be very similar to geocaching.com. For those who are not familiar with geocaching, it’s a modern day cross between treasure hunting and orienteering, using GPS receivers. Users create and hide "geocaches", then upload all the relevent data to the web site, and other users can look up hidden geocaches from the site then go and find them in the real world with the help of their GPS.

The features I would like to use on my new site include:

• User account management with varying access
• The ability for users to add an item to the database, which will include various information, such as name, gps location (either by directly entering coords, or finding it on a map), features of the site, photos etc - almost exacly like geocaching.com. Example: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=4502e362-42ba-4952-9c5b-afa290735ab0
• Search items via any field (same as all the data entry fields)
• Display all entered data, including inline google map of one or more entered gps coordinates, slide show of photos associated with item etc
• Ability for users to add photos or make moderated corrections to an item.
• User comments on an item, displayed on the item page itself (which can be optionally hidden) and mirrored in the site’s forum.

I’m sure I’ll have lots of ideas as I develop the site, but the key parts to making it work are allowing users to add items with photos and gps data and allow others to search and add to items.

So, is this beyond the scope of MODx? Will I be facing a mishmash of a dozen different mods and probably some custom coding to hold them together? (I’m no coder! Just HTML. Add in variables and you’ve lost me ) Are there better tools out there that would suit this project well, or is MODx a match made in heaven?

Any input or suggestions would be warmly welcomed!

I say it depends on the amount of traffic you anticipate having and number of "waypoints" you’ll create honestly. You could certainly do most of this with MODx components:

[*] user access - create roles and web users and maybe tweak the webuser signup ... or look at the eForm Registration code
[*] NewsPublisher or it’s like could handle the front-end creation of the "waypoints" ... I think there’s a version that works with TVs too, which would be required
[*] AjaxSearch would handle the search
[*] MaxiGallery and GoogleMapMarker snippets could be fed off your TVs when users create a new entry
[*] Adding photos and moderation might be the part requiring the most work ... sounds like a derivative of Jot
[*] Mirroring comments in a forum would mean you need a forum that supports an API. I’d look at IPB or SMF for this

That’s encouraging! Thanks for the informative post.

The thing that intimidates me most is the "database", that is, defining all my custom variables, storing them, and searching by them, then retrieving them. It’s beyond my experience as a web designer/HTML coder. How does MODx handle this kind of custom database? Please note, I’ve probably used the wrong terminology for this post, so don’t assume I know what I’m talking about

That completely depends on whether you do it with a custom table, or if you use TVs (which the standard AjaxSearch would just work). Again, it gets back to the number of Waypoints you anticipate, the amount of traffic and the number of categories those are in.

I’ve done pretty much what you are looking to do (waypoints, google maps, etc.) for a site related to geocaching. In my opinion MODx is a great choice. But expect to do quite a bit of custom coding and database work.

Andy

Thanks for the input folks.

I honestly have no idea how much traffic the site will attract. I’d love it to become a huge community with hundreds of members and thousands of waypoints, but realistically it would probably take many years to get to that point, if ever. I guess on a related issue, if the site DOES outgrow MODx, would the content be in a form that would be easily portable?

Essentially the site will be a tool for hobbyists to find and share locations of interest, somewhat like a "cool spots to visit" tourist site, that’s maintained and grown by the community. The only reason I’m being cagey about it is because I want to have something a bit more concrete worked out, and be ready to go with it, just in case someone else thinks it’s a good idea too and beats me to it

Andy, would I be able to have a look at your site?

It’s not likely to outgrow MODx ... MODx 096 perhaps, but when scaling becomes an issue the new core in 097 and beyond will be here to serve you dutifully.