[opencms-dev] Comments on "Creating the Master Template"

[M Butcher]

I'll try to explain things a little more:

1) OpenCms used to be based solely on XML Templates, and XML language 
that the OpenCms developers devised. You still have to define an XML 
Template in the templates/ directory. Once you have done that, you must 
define a JSP template in the jsptemplates/ directory.

Oh, and rather than using 
/system/modules/com.alkacon.documentation.howto-template, you should 
create your own module. You do that by switching to the Administrator 
view and clicking on the Module Management icon. Click the magic wand to 
create a new module. There is a howto on creating a module that should 
walk you though the steps.

2) The XML Template should not contain any layout. The JSP template can 
contain as much as you like. If you create your own module, you can copy 
over the templates from the other module and experiment.

3) Style sheets are not required.

It does seem that many CMS systems are requiring coding for templates. I 
guess this is the main way to add functionality. If carefully used, 
though, JSP can be pretty easy for even the non-developer. Create tag 
libraries and such, and all they have to learn are a few extra tags.

It's still early in the morning for me, here... sorry if this is nearly 
incoherent.

Matt

Thomas Gagné wrote:
> I've started reading about templates, because without them (as far as I 
> know), CMSes are of little good.
> 
> The documentation goes pretty immediately into a lot of detail without 
> telling me what I'm trying to do:
> 
>   1. create a plain text file under
>      /system/modules/com.alkacon.documentation.howto-template/templates/,
>      which seems pretty deep and I'm unsure why a normal system
>      (without all the documentation) would have this directory/module
>      or whatever.
>   2. The example master template is well commented, but I don't know if
>      it's supposed to have a look of its own.
>   3. Are the stylesheets required?  What if I don't use stylesheets?
>       Can it be omitted?
> 
> I'm still going through it and will toss up more questions as I do. 
> One of my first observations has less to do with OpenCMS than with CMSes 
> in general.  That is, it appears that most CMS products require the 
> development of templates using JSPs.  Since programmers are required for 
> that and everyone's anxious to get rid of dependencies on programmers, 
> which CMS products don't require them?
> 
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