FoxtrotUniform has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:
For a very long time, I've been annoyed with the "usual" methods of publishing web pages. (Have a look at my university page for an idea.) Even assembling HTML::Mason templates is a pain, especially the process of sshing into the web swerver, creating a new page, remembering to include the right templates, and linking to it. The result is that I don't update nearly as often as I ought to, and people give up on my site in disgust.
Well, the site got clobbered recently, and I'm assembling a new machine to host it, so I have the chance to do something less annoying. Specifically, I'm looking at content management systems (if that's the right term): groovy chunks of (Perl) code connected to a database backend, generating templated pages on the fly and allowing straightforward remote administration. (The ones I've looked at also include facilities for user accounts and suchlike; while I don't anticipate ever wanting those features, it's nice to know that they're there.)
So I've looked, briefly, at these systems:
- slash
- Bricolage
- OpenInteract
- And, of course, Everything
So, I ask:
- Is this the right class of tool for the job? (I want to develop a site that's easy to change, able to format and display data from many DBs, and not necessarily involving users, accounts, and other such transactions.)
- Are there any other systems that I've missed?
- What kinds of experiences have been had with these? Which one would be the most suitable?
- How do these rate for support and expandibility?
Thanks, all!
--:wq