Bob came to MODX from a background in C++ programming. He took one look at MODX and fell in love. He has been a relentless gadfly with respect to MODX terminology and how to connect users to the underlying architecture of MODX via the Manager user interface. His motto is “developers are users too.”About the Book
MODX is an advanced Open Source Content Management System (CMS) that runs on virtually any modern web server. If you are not familiar with the term CMS, think of a word processor for web sites, but on steroids. A CMS usually provides a graphical view of your web site, a database that stores the site’s content, and one or more editors for creating web pages and populating them with links, images, videos, and formatted text. Using a CMS makes your web site easier to maintain and opens the door to count- less dynamic improvements.
MODX is also a powerful Content Management Framework for experienced web developers. This means that the building blocks of MODX can actually be used to create any number of different CMS platforms. One guiding principle of MODX is to impose as few restrictions on the web developer as possible. MODX places no limits on the CSS or HTML code you use to build your site and you can easily add PHP or JavaScript code to meet any need. One illustration of this flexibility is that you can take virtually any existing web site and make a MODX web site out of it that looks exactly the same to a front-end visitor. Trying that with many other CMS platforms will leave you cursing and tearing your hair out.
By the time you’ve finished reading this book, you should be able to use MODX to create new web sites or to port existing web sites to MODX. The goal of this book is to provide all the information you need to use the basic building blocks of MODX to meet your needs as a web designer/developer. Although the book focuses on MODX Revolution, many of the concepts explained apply to MODX Evolution as well, and there is a section at the end of each chapter containing notes for MODX Evolution.
MODX: The Official Guide - Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
About This Book
About MODX
Chapter 1
How MODX Works
The MODX Database
MODX vs. Third-Party Components
The Back End vs. the Front End
Basic MODX Building Blocks
How MODX Delivers a Web Page
Transport Packages
Other MODX Concepts
Summary
MODX Evolution Notes
Chapter 2
Installing MODX
Installing the Current Stable Release
Installing Add-on Components
Friendly URLs, Friendly Aliases
Installing MODX on Your Local Machine
Porting an Existing Site to MODX
Summary
MODX Evolution Notes
Chapter 3
The MODX Manager
The Resource, Element, and File Trees
The Top Menu
Summary
MODX Evolution Notes
Chapter 4
Resources
Documents
Weblinks
Symlinks
Static Resources
Template Variables and Access Permissions
Other Resource Operations
Summary
MODX Evolution Notes
Chapter 5
Templates and Template Variables
Templates
Creating a Template
An Example Template
Example Template: A Closer Look
Deciding What to Put in a Template
Using Tags in a Template
Template Variables
Summary
MODX Evolution Notes
Chapter 6
Chunks and Properties
Introducing Chunks
Creating a Simple Chunk
Using Chunks with Other Tags
Other Uses for Chunks
Introducing Properties
Sending Properties in the Chunk Tag
Default Properties Versus Property Sets
Working with Default Properties
How Default Properties are Used
Property Sets
Summary
MODX Evolution Notes
Chapter 7
Snippets and Plugins
Working with Snippets
Working with Plugins
Summary
MODX Evolution Notes
Chapter 8
Advanced Snippet Operations
MODX get*() Methods
Object Methods
Working with Resources, Elements, and Users
Summary
MODX Evolution Notes
Chapter 9
Site Organization and Contexts
Site Organization
Contexts
Summary
MODX Evolution Notes
Chapter 10
MODX Security
Security System Overview
Security Elements
Working with MODX Security
Controlling Access in the Front End
Summary
MODX Evolution Notes
Chapter 11
Customizing the MODX Manager
Altering the Top Menu
Form Customization
Custom Manager Pages
Summary
MODX Evolution Notes
Chapter 12
Using Common MODX Components
Installing Components and Creating Property Sets for Them
Creating an FAQ Page with EZfaq
Creating a Contact Page with SPForm
Using Breadcrumbs to Show the Current Path
Using Wayfinder to Create a Menu
Using getResources to Aggregate Content
Using FormIt to Create and Process Forms
Summary
MODX Evolution Notes
Chapter 13
Creating Transport Packages
Transport Package Overview
A Simple Transport Package
Summary
MODX Evolution Notes
Appendix
MODX API
PHP Primer
MODX Objects Reference
Using SMTP to Send Mail in MODX
MODX System Events
Book Index
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