MODx 2.0 Web Development

03/28/2011 · No Responses

MODx is a content management system and PHP web application framework rolled into one. With the ease of a CMS and the extendibility of a framework, MODx allows you to develop professional-looking, intricate websites with its easy-to-use interface and flexible architecture. MODx provides reusable code fragments called snippets, most of which are so generic that, without any modification, they can serve multiple functionalities. The generic nature of the snippets makes it possible to get the perfect customization that is so hard in other CMS.

This book will get web developers up-and-running with MODx. With step-by-step examples and illustrative screenshots, you will be guided through installation, configuration, and customization. By the end of the book, you will have created a powerful, dynamic website by using the individual elements of MODx, without the need for programming know-how.

Starting with a walk-through of how to install MODx, you will quickly learn how to develop your site without having to use any programming language. Logical, step-by-step instructions will show you how to create your own unique site by adding and editing documents using the inbuilt TinyMCE editor. You will change the look and feel of your site by creating your own templates using HTML, CSS, and widgets. By following the example of a blog site, you will learn how to extend your templates to allow rich user interactions through comments, posts, and forms. The book teaches a few code snippets such as Ditto and Wayfinder in detail. These powerful and flexible snippets will enable you to add multiple functionalities to your site. The book will also introduce you to many more snippets that will help you build some of the commonly required web functionalities such as forums and image galleries. You will manage your users with authentication and authorization and make your site user-friendly with user groups, forums, and the use of PHx notations to embed logic in templates.

Through following this easy-to-use, step-by-step guide you will, by the end of the book, have a fully functional, feature-rich MODx site with professional-looking, dynamic web pages that are totally customizable.

A step-by-step logical guide to building a complete dynamic website using MODx

What you will learn from this book :

Set up a working platform for developing websites with MODx
Edit resources on your website, place them within containers, and change their properties using MODx Manager Interface
Create, edit, and manipulate resources on your website, and manage their configurations using the TinyMCE editor
Edit and modify resources without having to know HTML using the HTML editor (WYSIWYG editor)
Build your site to include user registrations, logins, and user types, and set rules on who can do what
Modify the NewsEditor snippet to allow posts from only the authenticated users
Create aggregation and feeds and learn how to create feeds for separate categories using a snippet called Ditto
Create lists of all the resources dynamically in MODx and learn how to present them as menus using the Wayfinder snippet
Install and use snippets, and learn to navigate their custom functionalities
Learn the powerful templating language PHx to extend logic to templates
Learn to create your own snippet for unique functionalities

Approach
This book is an example-driven tutorial, which will take you from the installation of MODx through to configuration, customization, and deployment. Step-by-step instructions will enable you to build a fully-functional, feature-rich website quickly and without the knowledge of any programming language.

Who this book is written for
This book is ideal for newcomers to MODx. Both beginners and experienced web developers will benefit from this comprehensive guide to MODx. No knowledge of PHP programming or any templating language is needed, but the more advanced chapters towards the end of the book will allow more confident developers to extend their applications even further by creating their own snippets.