Geeklog v2

Geeklog, a popular CMS, is currently in the process of getting a huge upgrade. Currently at version 1.3.9sr1, v2 promises a new OO programming model, improved plugin design (thanks in part to OO), and a whole new authentication layer complete with support for virtually any type of authentication scheme from LDAP, to database, to XML-SOAP, etc. An alpha version is due very soon.

These changes will no doubt make writing plugins easier and also address some of the shortcomings in the product. For now, however, 1.3.9.sr1 is still a great system for those looking for a convenient solution to the content problem. As blogging software like WordPress and MoveableType becomes increasingly more complex, the delineation between blogs and CMSs has blurred considerably. Still, each can have its own respective use. Geeklog has a rich set of functionality built in that allows one to make use of its templating system and SQL calls. This allowed me, for example, to rapidly develop web-based mini-applications wrapped within Geeklog for deployment on my company’s Intranet. To make things simple as possible, Geeklog was the Intranet, in this case. With most of the mundane out of the way (SQL functions, display, etc.), I was free to develop. Over the course of just three years, the Intranet grew and grew as I deployed more and more code to expand upon the Microsoft Great Plains accounting application (without the use of Microsoft’s proprietary web solutions).

Currently, there is a call for comments on the first plugin to be written for Geeklog v2, the article plugin. My suggestions entailed allowing for multipage articles, trackback support, user-selectable templates on topic-level or article level, use of meta html languages like Textile or UBBCode, custom fields, and Google-friendly links. The latter is possible in the current version of Geeklog with mod-rewrite.

It will be interesting to see how the first plugin turns out. I should note that all the previous functionality of Geeklog will be incorporated as true plugins (calendar events, polls, link repository, articles, stats). This really make Geeklog v2 simply an infrastructure on which to build a whole new level of web application. If you’re in doubt, try it out, because it literally only takes a few minutes to actually get installed and start playing around. You’ll definitely want to check out the Geeklog CSS themes from Axonz, as he is the first to really wrap Geeklog in CSS completely—as in not table-based.