A Newby: my observations/challenges so far...

Absolutely. One of my advantages is that, compared to many here, I’m relatively new to MODx myself (I’m still missing some patches of hair ).

Let me know if you have any suggestions on the site I referred you to. There’s a bunch of new stuff there since you visited it and a little reorganization. It’s almost ready to go public.

Bob

Photowebmax: Great testimonial, thanks for putting your experience into words (sooo many words). My initial experience with MODx was similar, however I have some php experience. As you, I also read all the forum and wiki and documentation and still had a hard time getting some key concepts down. I found that it was best to un-learn what I thought I knew and re-learn it the MODx way. As soon as I stopped applying my preconceived ideas of how I thought it should work and focused on how it actually did work things got better for me.

The best thing is that it gets better everyday

My tips for getting ahead with understanding MODx is to 1) install a local version to use as a play ground (I install, test and workout problems on a local playground before making any production decisions), 2) get to know the available snippets, chances are someone has had the same problem as you and has provided the solution. And don’t be shy to look at the code, you will find that many snippets have great documentation right in the code.

BobRay’s site promises to be a great help, look forward to seeing it live.

Quote from: dev_cw at Dec 22, 2007, 01:01 PM

... install a local version to use as a play ground (I install, test and workout problems on a local playground before making any production decisions), 2) get to know the available snippets, chances are someone has had the same problem as you and has provided the solution. And don’t be shy to look at the code, you will find that many snippets have great documentation right in the code...

This is absolutely the most important part of learning MODx as a Newb--install it on a localhost with the sample data and such. It allows you to see a variety of common solutions, navigation using Wayfinder, User Login, simple Blog, and more.

While I have been using MODx for a year now, I am no PHP expert. I have written a few functions here and there and such but through persistence and need, I wrote my first actual snippet this week. I am now moving on to help on another promising snippet.

The more documentation that can be generated about MODx the better. It is better to have tonnes of documentation that has a short shelf life rather than waiting until the next release comes out. I am not saying that that should be left up to the dev team. As Ryan mentioned, they are busy with earning a living and developing for 0.9.7 and 1.0 and so I think that the wiki and sites like BobRay is developing are just what are needed until such time as the new codebase is stable enough to write about.

I love the fact that MODx is not for the YAPS users but I don’t agree that MODx is for developers only. I think that web designers who have enough wherewithal to set up a database and a localhost can build a basic site in MODx faster and easier than with a Blog App or with a Portal.

In the last few months (maybe since the award) I have noticed increased traffic at the forums, meaning increased user base. If one in ten each contributed a solution to a problem to the Wiki the devs could focus on development and innovation would spring forth in the user base. When an apps users take control of what they are doing devs can more easily direct the future and allow the users to self solve many of the problems that they face.

So, I say welcome newbs. Just be warned that their is still a minimum amount of knowledge required to build sites on MODx--just not as high as some would say.

All the best,

Jay

In my mind there is a clear distinction between someone who wants 14 modules/plugins/snippets they can plug together and it automatically does what they want (YAPS), and quite literally anyone from any background who’s at least a bit proficient with HTML/CSS and wants a site they call their own. One that looks and behaves exactly like they want and not exactly like 100s (or 1000s) of other similar sites.

If you fall in the later, are willing to be a bit patient while waiting for the "aha" moment when it all clicks (unlearning old habits), attempt to read parameters "burried" in the snippet code (often well documented in comments), and work through the demo sites, then that’s the perfect type of person for MODx too.

But you have to promise to first learn what a back-tick is.

Ryan,

Exactly! MODx is not plug and play but it is not a Hackers-Only app. It is as powerful or as simple as one might be able to make it.

Personally, I think that if people can get in a the ground level and have a modicum of success with it building the simplest of sites they will be energized (as I was) to push harder and learn more.

And yes, backticks are not single quotes!

Cheers,

Jay

Quote from: dev_cw at Dec 22, 2007, 01:01 PM

As you, I also read all the forum and wiki and documentation and still had a hard time getting some key concepts down. I found that it was best to un-learn what I thought I knew and re-learn it the MODx way. As soon as I stopped applying my preconceived ideas of how I thought it should work and focused on how it actually did work things got better for me.

That is a good statement there. And the MODx way is without-boundaries. The freedom to do your work the best and/or quickest way could mean different things at different times.

Nice post, I came from a similar background, mainly xhtml, css, design and layout - mixed together with a decent understanding of programming concepts... All I can say is that developing with MODX has pushed my knowledge of php by leaps and bounds and personally I couldn’t think of a better way to learn.

I think all the MODX Dev’s should give each other a `tick-on-the-back`

Darn MODx!

I got into this thinking it was the solution to my CMS needs but then realized how complicated it was. I had gone through a period of frustration and was ready to give up and try my hand at knitting...

But, MODx is sort of addictive. Its pretty amazing really: the more you read the more you want to unravel.

But the roadmap is confusing.

One idea I had: If I ever get there where I can build sites and implement a collection of relevant snippets I think I might try my hand at writing a tutorial on my own. I am a looooooooooooong way from being able to do that though.

My idea was to write a A to Z diary of how to create a site with MODx. Start with a rough pencil sketch of the site and list the dynamic needs etc. Then a quick review of how to create the design in Photoshop, setting the dimensions and slicing up the graphics. Then comes creating a basic HTML template and getting the CSS down (using the graphics.) Then comes the MODx part: quick review of the install (easiest part) and then creating the foundation MODx Template. After that comes creating a menu dynamically and a review of the Manager and how to edit pages. Then the critical part: adding the various Snippets to make the site function. This is the area where most new users get lost, confused and frustrated (like me). Include a review of the most common and useful MODx Snippets that included details on what they do, how to install them and how to get them to behave. A list of the most useful Snippet calls for each Snippet would be great as well. I think a menu of Snippets for the most common type of dynamic sites would be useful. So, you could say "if you are building a community site with multiple web user bloggers you need the following snippets..." or "if you are building a brochure site with e-commerce you need the following snippets..." and so on. Showing graphics that indicate how the all the options and snippet calls works would be great as well. This would be a major task but if you had someone who knew MODx well and new how to communicate to users in ENGLISH then I think such a diary/tutorial would be most welcome. Not sure if that person is me but the idea is buzzing around that empty space between my ears.

Videos are awesome as well. I was confused with all the geeky lingo on getting PHP and MySQL running on my Mac and then a I found an online video: the guy walked you through it SLOWLY and you could SEE every step he did. I watched it twice and after that it was easy...

Actually, that’s an apt comparison. It took me a few months to get good at knitting more than fifty years ago, and it took a few months to get good at MODx three years ago. Of course, knitting really doesn’t change, but the new MODx core is totally different. <sigh>

Well, after some days of working with MODx and some days of leaving it alone I am beginning to really get the hang of this system.

Creating a local test environment is key: installing multiple MODx packages each with its own database is very useful. I test each step in a basic page and then try it on a real custom page.

So far I have Wayfinder, DropMenu, WebLoginPE, Ditto, Jot, MaxiGallery, SPForm and WebUsers all playing nicely together.

Looking back on some of my early posts reveals a lot of my frustration, which is sort of embarrassing. I remember times when I was screaming at the screen, "why won’t you f-----g work?!!!" But some diligent reading and a quick walk often did the trick. Sometimes I would lie in bed at 3AM between being sleep and awake and would suddenly realize what I needed to do.

In short I am pretty happy with the way things are going. I was going to leave MODx at one stage, but now I am thinking I would like to attempt using MODx for almost all of my sites in the future. This is pretty positive. I am waiting for my new Mac Pro to arrive. Once it does I will dump all the other CMS systems I have fiddled with. It will also be great to have Windows running on my Mac for IE testing (this will be my first Intel Mac.)

I still wish it was easier to figure out how to use custom Snippet calls: I always have this feeling that there are so many cool options with Snippets that are hidden from me. Maybe the new documentation will expand on this area?

Cheers,

Max