So now we are really close! I hope to have an alpha release soon… You can always discuss at the SnowCMS Dev Forum.

Today I got quite a bit of plugin management done, so they can now be activated, deactivated and deleted, though updating them is not yet supported. I would like to get adding plugins done tomorrow as well.

All I can say is I am getting really close and I can’t wait until it’s time to release SnowCMS to the world!

So keep an eye out, but as always, you can check out the dev forum, but also Google Code, where you can check out the source if you are interested.

Why will it only be a dev release? Anyone will be able to download it, of course, however, the plugin manager won’t work. You can still develop and install plugins, but it has to be done via phpMyAdmin (or whatever you use). Why? Because the SnowCMS site will provide plugin services, and as of yet, I don’t know how it will be setup until I make it.

As long as I have the time, there could be a dev release coming next week! However, here is what still needs doing:
- Installer
- Admin account approval (it can be done, however, the members don’t receive emails saying they can now log in)
- Maybe get most of the filed issues done or at least started.

Just incase you were wondering, it is more than likely updates will be available via the update system, as long as it works (as I said, I tested it, such as making new files, new folders, editing files and even executing a PHP file for anything else that needs doing, but you never know! There could be issues!).

Anyways, I myself am getting pretty excited, as SnowCMS finally becomes a reality

So I began thinking, hold on… If any plugins in the default SnowCMS package have any vulnerabilities, an entirely new version of SnowCMS would have to be released because that installation package would need updating (I don’t want to update it without a version change…), but all existing installations would merely get the plugins update through the plugin manager, and their SnowCMS version would be different, and a fake update would need to be sent out to change it.

To me, that is quite pointless. So the idea of distributing SnowCMS with plugins is out. The plugins folder will be completely empty when you download the installation package . Plus, this allows other plugins which aren’t first party to have just as much chance to be picked as ours.

But of course! When you setup SnowCMS the very last step will mention the fact that SnowCMS, by default, comes with very little functionality, and there will likely be a list of plugins (such as link managers, page managers, stuff most people would intend to use SnowCMS for) with the most popular ones.

Just thought I would let you know

If you are wondering what’s currently going on, right now I am working on member management, which will require a new tool (the Table class, but more on that later), once the new tool and member management are done, I will start on an error log viewer (completely slipped my mind!!!). After that, work on the SnowCMS site will begin! So soon enough, SnowCMS.com will actually be powered by SnowCMS Why you may ask..? Because! Until the site is setup, I won’t know exactly how the plugin site will be setup, which is quite important to do before plugin management can be done

Till next time, cya!

So I found another little project called the Jaws Project, from which I got my inspiration (and admittedly, a lot of it). Here you can see the home page of the control panel.

As displayed in the settings screenshot, the form you see there is generated with the Form class, just thought I would mention it .

The rest of the control panel (which would be most of it ), is currently not operational, though tomorrow I hope to get started on the Members section. Cyall!

For those of you that care (which most probably won’t ), I am going to submit SnowCMS in my nomination for the Oregon Student Technologist of the Year Award, and I would like to have a finished (or almost finished) product by May 7th. So be sure to pay close attention, as I should be working hard, especially with Spring Break starting Thursday!

Also, I have been pondering about changing SnowCMS a bit. I would like to start thinking of SnowCMS more as an operating system (which is why most things will be plugins), my thoughts started with the update part of SnowCMS. Usually CMS’s wait a bit to fix bugs, or at least to send out the update, same with security issues (well, except when it is major, it gets shoved out ASAP). However, with an operating system, updates come when they come, and separate (like with Windows, you know, Patch Tuesday ), so why not with SnowCMS? Why not release a fix to a bug when it is fixed? Why not release a fix to a security issue when it is fixed (even if it is small, when it comes to large sites, a small issue can be made huge)? And of course, major security issues ASAP.

That is my idea… Updates will be dispatched on a once-its-fixed basis. Also, with versions, once a patch is released, the version is incremented, like with SnowCMS v1.0, the first patch would be v1.0.1, which isn’t so with operating systems. It is more like MAJOR.MINOR PATCH# or REV#, and that’s how SnowCMS will be as well, but if you choose to show the version in the footer, you will only see v1.0 or v1.1 (.1 would be like a service pack, by the way). When it is time to check for updates (either manually, or automatically), each system file will be checked for a version number (or a checksum, but if someone manually edited a file, that could lead to issues, though its probably not a good idea to edit it, but hey, it’s yours), if it doesn’t match what it should be, well, there is an update required! It is more than likely all patches will be distributed in unified diff format).

That is my idea at least. I would like to do that, but if it gets to be troublesome (or someone points out a major issue), I will reconsider.

Anyways, till next time, cya!

I personally can’t wait! I have put a lot of work into SnowCMS over the past couple years, and I have finally figured out what SnowCMS should be and what SnowCMS will be, and everybody will be able to use this great system I have developed, and eventually, what everybody has developed as a community to extend this platform.

Well, I am quite tired from a long day at school. Till next time, cya!

I recently completed a new tool for SnowCMS, the Form class. The Form class allows you to create forms (if you didn’t notice) that can then be hooked into via the API and changed, without you needing to do any extra effort, you simply make the Form how you want to, and then display it. Right before the form is displayed (or processed), the API runs a hook which allows the modification of the form, from adding, changing and removing fields. In fact, currently the registration form uses this Form class, and the very first SnowCMS plugin hooks into the form and adds a CAPTCHA verification image. It’s very simple to do!

For the time being, I need to get some sleep (it is 12:15AM at the time of this post), but I hope to soon create a more in depth guide to the creation of forms using the Form class.

Cya soon!

Right now I am looking for others to become actively involved with SnowCMS, such as people who are interested in themes (we need people to tell the developers how to allow the maximum amount of customization for theme creators, along with making themes easier to create), plugins (for this, we need people who are interested in creating plugins for SnowCMS, that way they can tell us if the system needs more extensibility, such as more hooks and filters, and where), but also development of SnowCMS itself. Though if you want to be a developer at the core level of SnowCMS, you will need to start out at the lower ranks and rise up, as we need to be able to tell whether or not you are fit to have such access.

So if you are interested in any way, go to the SnowCMS Dev Forum, register an account, and introduce yourself!

Hope to see you there!