concrete5 Cookbook

Over 140 recipes to help you develop websites using the concrete5 content management system

Overview

• Recipes for developing websites with concrete5, a popular open source content management system
• A useful guide for concrete5 novices and experts alike
• Contains blueprints of selected projects explained extensively with a top-to-bottom approach

In Detail

concrete5 is an increasingly popular open source content management system because of its incredible and easy-to-use interface. But, it also comes complete with a robust PHP framework, allowing web developers to create custom websites and applications with ease.

“concrete5 Cookbook” is a practical collection of solutions to tasks that both novice and experienced concrete5 developers face on a regular basis. Readers will learn multiple subjects, including full blueprints for developing an event calendar add-on and an image gallery block. Developers new to concrete5 will quickly learn how to customize concrete5 to their needs, and seasoned pros will find it an excellent quick reference for performing specific tasks.

“concrete5 Cookbook” will transform ordinary PHP developers into concrete5 experts capable of bending concrete5 to their will and unleashing the true power of this up-and-coming content management system. Throughout the course of over 140 recipes and 3 bonus project blueprint chapters, PHP developers will learn how to create custom blocks and dashboard interfaces as well as programmatically work with pages, files, users, permissions, and more. Discover the built-in Active Record support that makes working with databases simple and maintainable. Readers will also learn how to take advantage of the numerous helper classes included in concrete5, and will dive deep into the concrete5 MVC framework to create powerful custom websites and applications. Tie together all of the concepts learned in the recipes with 3 bonus chapters featuring complete blueprints to create a calendar add-on, an image gallery block type, and tips on how to sell your themes and add-ons for money!

“concrete5 Cookbook” is a complete collection of recipes to solve the most common (and some not-so-common) tasks that concrete5 developers will face on a regular basis.

What you will learn from this book

• Manage pages and the sitemap
• Connect to and query the database
• Code real data models with Active Record
• Produce custom dashboard interfaces
• Make a custom theme
• Hooke into system events
• Create an image gallery add-on
• Sell add-ons in the concrete5 marketplace and earn money

Approach

The Cookbook-style recipes allow you to go both directly to your topic of interest or follow topics throughout a chapter to gain in-depth knowledge. This practical Cookbook will cater to the needs of both intermediate and advanced concrete5 developers.

Who this book is written for

This book is geared towards intermediate to advanced PHP developers who would like to learn more about the concrete5 content management system. Developers already familiar with concrete5 will learn new time-saving tricks and will find the book to be a great reference tool.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Pages and Page Types
Chapter 2: Working with Blocks
Chapter 3: Files and File Sets
Chapter 4: Using the Core Helpers
Chapter 5: Working with Databases and Models
Chapter 6: Creating CRUD Interfaces
Chapter 7: Working with Users and Permissions
Chapter 8: Working with Themes and Add-ons
Chapter 9: System Events and Advanced Configuration
Appendix A: Blueprint – Creating an Image Gallery Add-on
Appendix B: Blueprint – Creating an Events Calendar Add-on
Appendix C: Submitting an Add-on Package to the concrete5 Marketplace