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I have been thinking about this a lot too, and I ahve some ideas on this.
First of all, I make a presumption here that there are 3 layers to every system:
Presentation (user interface)
Application (logic, added value)
Data (storage, database)
This is a common and simple model used everywhere in IT. So this shouldn't be too strange to work with.
Now, I see the true CMS only active in the Application layer. It's the logic that puts the right data from the right sources, to the right people in the right format.
Lots of CMS's (and XOOPS is no exception to this) focus on presentation and are basically portal scripts. They merge the two top layers (I don't know of a CMS that uses it's own database).
A CMS should focus on what it is: a system to *manage content*. Ideally, a CMS would be independant of the presentation (internet site, intranet site, mobile devices, print, electronic documents), and data source (databases, documents, XML messages etc.) All it does is get the right data from the right source, routes this to the correct content manager, offers it for approval or editing, and then routes it to the presentation engine for processing. How the content is edited, is not dependant on how it is presented (meaning that it should not be restricted to a web browser if it is for a website).
I realise this is a very purist view on CMS's, but it helps to make a point in this discussion:
A real CMS should not deal with end-user features (as that is the presentation layer), or database and storage (data layer), but with content routing. So essentially, it's a workflow management system with a focus on content.
XOOPS is a portal script that is moving (slowly) towards some real content management features and uses some 3rd party database and storage technology. I think that if we want to earn the title of a CMS we have to get away from the end-user for a bit (the website visitor) and think of how a content manager manages his/her content. This means:
- Content routing;
- Metadata;
- Workflow management;
- XML input and output;
- Global knowledgemanagement features;
- Probably lots more.
I don't know if we would want to earn this CMS title, but I would like to see this concept working in XOOPS, one way or another.
Herko