[opencms-dev] form based content management

[Stephen Scholtz]

Hi Ravi,

>    I went through the documentation for opencms and found out it can
do form based content management.
> I have installed an instance of opencms and I have not been able to
figure out how to get form based
> content management working with opencms yet.

I've been looking for the same kind of functionality as you are, but
it's not as cut and dried as I had hoped.  (for those who have been on
this list longer, please correct my explanation below as you see fit)

Creating this kind of functionality involves the creation of custom
Content Definitions, which are a collection of jsp templates and java
classes that access custom tables of data/content - these tables can be
in the same DB as OpenCMS or elsewhere I guess, doesn't seem to matter,
but usually in the same DB.  These java classes you create contain
certain methods that OpenCMS will invoke to do things, like edit,
delete, move, select content.  What happens inside those methods all
depends on where you have this extra data stored.

Then you have the Back Office Module, which is another collection JSP
templates (and maybe classes?) which basically provide you with an
interface in OpenCMS for editing that content - the "form-based content
management".

Unfortunately, documentation on both those items (Content Definitions
and Back Office modules) is sparse (or at least I haven't been able to
find it), but there is an example floating around called the "News
Module" (you can download a version of it here -
http://www.al-arenal.de) which shows you how CD's and Back Office
Modules work.

Right now, I guess we're just waiting for these two features to be
documented.

Cheers
  Stephen Scholtz
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