Let's talk Content Management Systems

Straight to the point here... Content Management Systems. If you're a developer, it's almost a guarantee that you may have made some kind of Content Management System or CRUD at least twice in your career. If not then you're missing some key experience that you definitely need to succeed in the world of being a web developer. Doesn't matter the language you specialize in just that you have the ability to make a system where a client can manage their website them selves. Again, language choice doesn't matter. ColdFusion, PHP, C# or VB.NET, Python or even Rails. Just do it and you'll be very happy you have that knowledge under your belt.

Now that I got that out of my system I'm probably gonna bore with the idea for my next personal project. Yep!!! A Content Management System. I've built many before but always to the vision of others not my own. I figure that it's time for me to do it the way I think a Content Management System should be built. With lot's and lot's of functionality and cool features that makes use of the amazing technology us devs have at our finger tips today.

A while back I started a CMS called CMSLeo that I never got even close to completion (and can also be seen unfinished on my website :). But now is the time to get back into the game of developing this beast to completion and to my vision.

The question on mind was to which language to program it in. ColdFusion or PHP?

The ups for ColdFusion:

1. Easy and rapid development with very clean code management
2. Simple to upgrade and scale code
3. The best yet, an amazing community

Now the downs for ColdFusion:

1. Big price tag for whomever wanted to use my CMS
2. Um.......... that's it

PHP ups:

1. Very popular language
2. Open source language
3. Easy to get up and running
4. Huge community

PHP downs:

1. Code tends to get messy
2. Community a bit temperamental
3. Possible long development time
   

As of right now I'm pretty much set on coding my CMS in ColdFusion mainly because of a CFML Engine called Railo. Railo is an open source project that will run ColdFusion code (CFML) and again, it's open source. In fact, I am thinking about developing my CMS completely under Railo. Might be a bad idea might be a good one and I'm sure devs out there will put this idea down and of coarse some that will be all about the idea.

Finally, when I plan a project I try to put myself into the everyday user's point of view and think how I can make my project extremely simple to understand and just jump right into using what I created. That's exactly what CMSLeo will be. One of the most user friendly Content Management Systems available today.

- Pete