Mini-review And Competition Of Textpattern Solutions: PHP-Based Content Management Made Easy book

In this book, you'll learn how to:

• develop websites quickly using Textpattern's intuitive templating language.
• use Textpattern to build e-commerce websites, including customer feedback and reviews.
• use Textpattern and web standards to create blogs and community sites with dynamically driven content.
• integrate your own style of coding and design with a content management system that catalyses, rather than hinders, your creativity.
• use PHP to create Textpattern plugins, adding custom functionality and features to uniquely suit the needs of your website.

Summary of Contents 

• PART ONE: GETTING STARTED
  • Chapter 1: Setting the Stage
  • Chapter 2: Installing Textpattern
• PART TWO: THE TEXTPATTERN INTERFACE
  • Chapter 3: Site Administration
  • Chapter 4: Basic Content Manipulation
  • Chapter 5: Presentation
• PART THREE: CUSTOMIZING TEXTPATTERN
  • Chapter 6: The Textpattern Model
  • Chapter 7: Creating the Content: Categories and Articles
  • Chapter 8: Customizing the Presentation: Sections, Pages, Forms, and Style
  • Chapter 9: Tying Content and Structure Together
  • Chapter 10: Comments
  • Chapter 11: Beyond the Basics
• PART FOUR: EXTENDING TEXTPATTERN
  • Chapter 12: Custom Fields
  • Chapter 13: Using Plugins
  • Chapter 14: Writing Plugins
• PART FIVE: TEXTPATTERN SITE EXAMPLES
  • Chapter 15: Multiauthor Weblog
  • Chapter 16: Case Study: PopularWeddingFavors.com
  • Chapter 17: Case Study: BoiseCityEats.com
• PART SIX: APPENDIXES
  • Appendix A: Tag Reference
  • Appendix B: Plugin Developer Resources

Who is this book for?

Textpattern (and this book) appeals to two main groups of people:

Firstly, the web designer who has mastered the fundamentals of XHTML and CSS and wants to create sites that have fresh and dynamically changing information, but is not familiar with server-side coding and databases. Never fear—Textpattern enables you to integrate your XHTML knowledge, inserting dynamic aspects into your already solid site design.

Secondly, PHP developers who are looking for a content management system upon which to build additional functionality and want a hand with the design aspects of their site. Again, Textpattern fills in those holes.

Conclusion

The book Textpattern Solutions: PHP-Based Content Management Made Easy is an attempt to cover the sheer wide range of possibilities you will have at your fingertips. It is a cohesive primer to getting started, working in, and managing the Textpattern CMS.

This book clearly explains the details associated with getting started, but goes beyond mere installation issues to include instructions for localhosting. It embraces the ins and outs of installation, navigating and accomplishing various tasks in the administrative interface, go through the process of building a complete site covering articles, forms and pages, and even learn how to build you're own plugins. There  is an outstanding tag reference. There are also 3 case studies that help to further demonstrate just how flexible TXP can be.

Not only is it the first book describing Textpattern in such detail, it is also quite likely that it will stay this way during 2007.

If you are a PHP beginner and are looking for a CMS solution, then this is a great start. If you are an advanced PHP developer, then this is an excellent choice for a CMS.

Competition

We've got a brand new mini-review and competition of the Textpattern Solutions: PHP-Based Content Management Made Easy book. The friendly people of friends of ED are giving away 5 books!

All you need to do, to enter the competition is, download the sample PDF and answer the following question:

"What is a conditional tag?"