[Web4lib] CMS + homegrown code (making the transition)

[Cary Gordon]

Drupal is the erector set of web content management systems. It has a
module called Content Construction Kit (CCK) that lets you create as
many content types with as many content fields as you need. There are
many types of fields available either in the CCK modules or as
sub-modules.

Drupal, which is really conceived as a content management framework,
definitely lets you have what you want. If you don't like the 4,900
contributed modules, its well-documented APIs and powerful "hook"
system make is straightforward to build your own.

Thanks,

Cary

On Mon, Oct 19, 2009 at 8:35 AM, Ken Irwin <kirwin at wittenberg.edu> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> Taking the CMS question in a slightly different direction: I currently have a library website that's all done in hand-coded html + php. I'm interested in moving toward a CMS, but I'm afraid of "losing control". So much of our current site is custom-built stuff with a lot of PHP running in the background (everything from database-driven dynamic content for things like our list of databases to a homegrown equivalent of the Serials Solutions A-Z search).
>
> Can I have both?  Do any or all of the CMS products allow for plenty of custom content too? If I move to a CMS, what happens to my database-of-databases? My myriad homemade tools? Can I still leverage the power of that system, or replicate it in an easier-to-use form? I want to join you all in the 21st century where I don't have to do everything with a hand-crank, but I'm afraid of being boxed in by the limitations of "what someone else wants me to have".
>
> Any advice, wisdom, guidance, or horror-stories?
>
> Thanks!
> Ken
>
>
>
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-- 
Cary Gordon
The Cherry Hill Company
http://chillco.com