Summary

In this introductory chapter, we have reviewed:

  • Why the idea of a content management system has become important for web building, and how its definition has become more flexible to meet broadening needs.
  • The essential and desirable features that will be needed for a CMS, and therefore should be included in a CMS framework.
  • Basic ideas for managing a CMS-driven website, including the security considerations that affect the choice of a distinctly separate administrator login.
  • A brief justification for using object-oriented design techniques and exploiting the greatly improved OO features of PHP5. The object patterns that are most relevant to a CMS framework. Some questions about how best to make use of PHP.
  • The ways in which we can create XHTML for delivery to a browser, taking advantage of the features PHP offers for the purpose.
  • How environmental factors, especially security, shape the design of a CMS framework, which needs to be designed from the outset to be as robust as possible in the face of cracker attacks.

The next chapter starts to look at some fundamental topics required for building any advanced PHP system, starting with how to manage the numerous code modules of a large system.