Project name: Nyes
Small description: A(nother) Content Management System.
Pronounced: Nice (not N-eyes)
Stands for: Nice / Newanz dYnamic Easy System. But we like "Nice" more.
Goal
The words we live by: Making a dynamic, easy to use Content Management System which uses all the latest technologies and harbors a lot of features.
It's always fun to create a big community, but that's not our aim. We need our own CMS and if we can share it with other that's good!
The name
Don't worry, as far as I am concerned Nyes will only be the project name when it's in development. I was out of idea's for names so I picked this, but I will pick another one when I have the time.
In the code, however, the letter "N" is frequently used to define framework and default sections. So the name will probably start with the letter N.
Description
Dynamic Content Management System which uses PHP, MySQL, HTML and JavaScript through JQuery (with UI) to show its content. The database connection will be handled using PHP's PDO class. JQuery UI is chosen to make the interface more easy for some more basic users.
History
The project comes from the need to build a new CMS for the Newanz website. When putting the project on paper it was decided to make available for other people as well. The first features for the system are of course made specially for Newanz, but some features that we ourselves might never use will also be included later on.
Planning
Something we are hesitant on doing is releasing it very quickly after a Alpha or Beta version is done and then finding out it doesn't work in some cases. The code has to be easy, simple, clean and working.
NewsOffice is the perfect example of how it should not work. A whole lot more testing should be done on this system than is currently happening. We have an advantage here that the Newanz website itself will be the very first test case. Sometimes we are able mistreat EPT4 (our current CMS) quite a lot, so... When we and our visitors are happy with the way it works plans will be made to implement an updater, etc. to allow users to use it as well.
When will it be done? It's been almost a year and we're four attempts further. Things aren't going as smoothly as they should. The front page should contain better updates about its progress. This page itself is not that regularly updated.
Licensing and others
It's going to be free, that's for sure, but we are not out of the licensing thing yet. Not sure to release it under our own license or some other open source license. Commercial parties will be free to use the product.
Costs - read the whole section!
The goal is to make money over time. That's also for sure. To make money and keep it free? Yes, not fully thought this through, but some (not all) additions will cost money. No large amounts! Amounts to keep Newanz running, nothing more.
Features
Features in the framework of Nyes. Also read the plugins sections as they control the actual content of the website.
- Multiple website support, in the project from the beginning.
- So few "Administration Panel" pages as possible. You control your pages through on-page-editing.
- Pages version system. Return to a earlier version at any time or update the page, but don't publish it yet.
- Integrated file manager.
- Everything is made as a plugin for the Nyes framework. Which means new additions (by Newanz or third party) are easily created.
Coding
PHP's PDO class will manage the database connection, but our own database class will create the actions. The first database will be build on MySQL, but we will look at possibilities support other PDO drivers as well. Drivers like: postgreSQL and SQLlite.
JQuery and JQuery UI latest versions will be shipped with a custom Nyes theme under the MIT License.
"Standalone":
Nyes is a standalone type of system. It's not loaded in another site which gives us more flexibility when writing the code.
Integrations
We have noticed that in a lot of communities of other Content Management Systems or just about any internet application people want to integrate this with some other system like phpBB or a SimpleMachines forum. In development we're not taking in account any off these features. If this looks a possible thing to do we might help you with it when we can, but Nyes will be very complete on it's own. There isn't really a need to use other tools unless they have a very specific function.
Version system
This is for the versions of the CMS itself and not the page version system.
Version numbers
1.2.3.4
C.N.M.S
C: Complete new version (new features, new build up).
N: New features and options are added.
M: Minor changes in the system and it's workings.
S: (Small) bugs and language fixes.
Version types
- Black Edition
--- Versions used on the development servers of Newanz. In these versions code is written. A lot of garbage, random signs and content is used to test basic features of the system. Error messages are also turned on.
- Alpha
--- Test cases for a closed group of testers. Here the most obvious bugs are found and experimental features are tested.
- Beta
--- Test cases for the public. Everyone is able to download these versions and test them.
Release Candidate(s)
--- The few latest versions for a release, no major changes are made in these versions unless some bugs have to be fixed.
- Final
--- Final versions. Should be done and not contain any bugs.
