Content management
Exponential stores content in a model that is the same for every site: classes describe types of content, objects hold the content, and nodes place objects in a tree. This page is the map of that model; each part has its own page below.
The model at a glance
| Term | Meaning | Page |
|---|---|---|
| Content class | A type of content, such as Article or Folder: a name, an identifier and a list of attributes. | The content class |
| Class attribute | One field of a class (Title, Body, Image), with a datatype and properties such as required or searchable. | Class attributes |
| Datatype | The kind of value an attribute holds and how it is edited, stored, searched and shown. | Datatypes |
| Content object | One piece of content, an instance of a class. It has versions and translations. | The content object |
| Node (location) | A place of an object in the content tree. An object can have several. | The content node |
| Content tree | All nodes, from the root down; it gives the site its structure and addresses. | The content node tree, Top level nodes |
| Visibility | Hiding a node and everything below it, without removing it. | Node visibility |
| Relations | Links between objects: chosen in a relation attribute, embedded or linked in rich text, or added by hand. | Object relations |
| Section | A group of objects for permissions and template choice, independent of the tree. | Sections |
| Language | Translations of an object, and which languages a siteaccess shows. | Multiple languages |
| Information collection | Forms and polls: what visitors send, stored apart from the content. | Information collection |
| Links | External addresses used in content, kept in one table and checked by a cronjob. | URL storage |
An example
A news site defines a class Article with the attributes Title (text line), Intro and Body (rich text) and Image (image). An editor creates an article: that is a content object of the class Article, in version 1, in English. When it is published, it gets a node below the folder News, at the address /news/my-article. Later the editor adds a German translation (version 2) and a second location below the folder Archive. Both nodes show the same object; the object is in the section Standard, so anonymous visitors may read it.
Where to work with it
- Classes: Setup > Classes in the administration (/class/grouplist).
- Content: Content structure (/content/view/full/2), the sub-items list of each node and the edit form.
- Sections: Setup > Sections; languages: Setup > Languages.
The content model and editing guide walks through creating a class and an object step by step.
In this section
- Datatypes The 35 datatypes of the Exponential kernel, how they store values, and how to add your own.
- The content class What a content class defines, the classes of a new installation, and what changing a class does.
- Class attributes The properties of a class attribute and how attributes are stored and shown in templates.
- The content object Content objects, their versions and statuses, the trash, and the tables they are stored in.
- Multiple languages Content languages, translations, the main language, always available, and the languages of a siteaccess.
- The content node Nodes (locations): one object in several places, the main location, and what a node has.
- The content node tree The content tree: its root and top level nodes, path strings, fetching lists and subtrees, and sorting.
- Top level nodes The five top level nodes of every installation, their node IDs, sections and settings.
- Node visibility Hidden and invisible nodes, who sees them, and how to hide content by hand or on a schedule.
- Object relations Attribute, embed, link and common relations between objects, reverse relations and relation fetches.
- Sections What a section is, the sections of a new installation, and sections in permissions and templates.
- URL storage How external links in content are stored once, managed in one list and checked by the link check cronjob.
- Information collection Forms and polls: collector attributes, the form template, collect.ini and reading what visitors sent.
Contributors
- Balazs Halasy
- Geir Arne Waaler
- Graham Brookins Updated Maintainer
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