The topics that this book covers are: Chapter 1, A Publishing Style Web CMS, explains the Alfresco's Web Content Management architecture and key features of the software.. Chapter 3, Ge
Trang 1Your feedback is very valuable to us You can contribute by reporting any errors you find in the book, making suggestions for new content that you'd like to see in future updates, commenting, and blogging about it
What this book covers
Written in an easy-to-read and encouraged-to-try style, this book will take you from the basics of publishing style CMS—such as web forms, page templates, and staging—to the skills that will make you an Alfresco developer, covering advanced topics such as workflow, web services integration, and more
The topics that this book covers are:
Chapter 1, A Publishing Style Web CMS, explains the Alfresco's Web Content
Management architecture and key features of the software
Chapter 2, Installation and Configuration, includes tips to choose the right installation
for you, and also installation of the software and start using it
Chapter 3, Getting Started with Alfresco WCM, introduces the basic concepts of Alfresco
Web Content Management from a user perspective It demonstrates how to set up and configure Alfresco Explorer for managing a web project and showcases a sample web publishing scenario
Chapter 4, Web Content Production with Web Forms, includes advanced concepts of
separating the web content from presentation You do this by storing the web content
in XML using Alfresco web forms and presenting its various formats such as HTML and text using Presentation Templates
Chapter 5, WCM Workflows, explains the entire process of creating web content,
getting it approved, and publishing it to a staging environment You will learn and have extensive hands-on experience with the examples to create a flexible workflow
Chapter 6, Dynamic Deployment and Customizations, explains the dynamic
customization of workflow without requiring a restart of the Alfresco server
Chapter 7, Content Delivery and Deployment, introduces you to the content delivery and
deployment features of Alfresco You will understand the concepts behind delivering static content as well as dynamic content to the external production servers
Trang 2Chapter 8, Managing Multiple Websites Using WCM, covers information about
managing multiple web projects using one installation of Alfresco WCM
Chapter 9, Alfresco Surf and Web Editor, introduces Surf, which is an application
framework for developing and delivering dynamic websites Alfresco web editor is
an application developed using Surf and provides in-context editing capabilities for Alfresco repository content
Chapter 10, Integrating WCM Using Web Scripts, teaches you the web scripts and the
integration of Alfresco WCM with the external systems using web scripts
Chapter 11, Leveraging Alfresco Framework for WCM, provides information to leverage
Alfresco's Document Management features in WCM
Chapter 12, WCM Administration, provides a high-level overview of administering
and maintaining your Alfresco implementation
What you need for this book
The default installation of Alfresco requires installing software downloaded from the SourceForge project location (http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles php?group_id=143373) Now Alfresco is hosting its own enterprise download area You can also download this from http://www.alfresco.com/products/ecm/ enttrial/ Select the download package And you will be asked for the user name and password of the Alfresco content community
To install and run Alfresco, you need at least 1 GB disk space and at least 1 GB RAM
on the desktop or server
Who this book is for
If you are a web developer or content manager and wish to build a website using Alfresco, and customize it as per your client's needs, then this book is for you It will also help business users to migrate from the existing proprietary web development tools to standards based open source web content management Although no
knowledge of Alfresco is presumed, exposure to HTML, XML, JavaScript, Java, and related web technologies will help you to get the most from this book
Trang 3In this book, you will find a number of styles of text that distinguish between
different kinds of information Here are some examples of these styles, and an explanation of their meaning
Code words in text are shown as follows: "We can include other contexts through the use of the include directive."
A block of code is set as follows:
<cm:person view:childName="cm:person">
<cm:userName>fredb</cm:userName>
<cm:firstName>Fred</cm:firstName>
<cm:lastName>Bloggs</cm:lastName>
<cm:email>fredb@alfresco.org</cm:email>
When we wish to draw your attention to a particular part of a code block, the
relevant lines or items are set in bold:
</property>
<property name="stores">
<list>
<value>workspace://SpacesStore</value>
</list>
</property>
<property name="queryTemplate">
<value>PATH:"/app:company_home"</value>
</property>
<property name="cronExpression">
<value>0 0/15 * * * ?</value>
</property>
<property name="jobName">
<value>jobD</value>
</property>
<property name="jobGroup">
<value>jobGroup</value>
</property>
Any command-line input or output is written as follows:
> chmod a+x /alfresco-<version>-linux-community.bin
Trang 4New terms and important words are shown in bold Words that you see on the
screen, in menus or dialog boxes for example, appear in the text like this: "Go to a
space and add a file by clicking on the Add Content line."
Warnings or important notes appear in a box like this
Tips and tricks appear like this
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Trang 5Although we have taken every care to ensure the accuracy of our content, mistakes
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Trang 6A Publishing Style Web CMS
The Alfresco Web Content Management is a next generation tool that allows
organizations to rapidly create and more effectively maintain dynamic Internet, intranet, and extranet sites, enabling a shortened web development cycle, providing high returns on investment, and low cost of ownership WCM manages the content and structure of websites, including the framework and navigation, as well as the creation, editing, approval, and publication processes By using Alfresco you can implement web content management solutions with a scalable content repository: Web 2.0 AJAX-based user interface, flexible workflow, multi-language support, and
a robust search engine
This chapter provides an introduction to Alfresco WCM, outlining the benefits
of using it for your enterprise's web content management requirements It also introduces the new features of the Alfresco WCM
In this chapter, you will learn about:
• Alfresco WCM architecture
• The Alfresco WCM model
• Features of Alfresco WCM
• Benefits
Good web content management pays big dividends
When an organization's management team is reviewing budgetary proposals, the price tag associated with a new computing solution often elicits one question: "Can't
Trang 7Here are some factors to consider:
High labor costs and the shortage of qualified personnel
Finding and holding on to qualified employees can be a challenge All the more a reason to make the most of each individual's skill set A web content management solution that empowers content providers to post directly to a live site increases their productivity By the same token, IT personnel who are not ensnared in the posting process are free to apply their skills and knowledge to more challenging tasks Providing state-of-the-art tools helps promote positive attitudes while improving productivity, which can go a long way in retaining skilled personnel
How long it currently takes to implement site changes
Does it take hours or even days to post new content on your websites? That's often far too long to leave outdated or incorrect information on a site After all, the beauty
of the Internet is providing target audiences with 24x7 access to all of the latest and greatest information When a site becomes stale, users become disenchanted and are less likely to return Recapturing a user's interest is far more difficult than maintaining it with fresh, personalized content
Potential problems caused by erroneous or out-of-date postings
When new information doesn't get posted quickly, what does it cost your
organization? In case of a publicly-traded company, incorrect financial postings can have serious consequences Providing only accurate, timely product information can prevent misunderstandings that lead to customer dissatisfaction Giving distributors and suppliers incorrect, out-of-date, or partial information can have a negative effect
on your bottom line The right web content management solution, one that is easy to use and maintain, will help ensure that your organization provides site visitors with reliable content
Trang 8Revenue losses attributable to an inability to respond
A website that cannot be scaled to meet a business' emerging needs is just as
serious a problem as an inability to hire more people, move to a larger facility, or acquire additional suppliers Revenue can be lost and the future of the organization diminished Why take such chances, especially when websites are becoming central
to doing business?
Competitive issues related to a lack of
planning
Hiring an experienced webmaster allows an organization to use that individual's skills beyond day-to-day site maintenance A knowledgeable individual can help review site architecture, assess future site requirements, and implement upgrades These are valuable activities for growing organizations that want to remain
competitive in today's rapidly changing economic environment However, when the webmaster must operate as a "web page processor", the time and skills of this valuable resource cannot be fully utilized
The right web content management solution can allow your organization to:
• Make effective use of all internal resources
• Slash the time required to implement site content changes or redesign a site
• Ensure the availability of timely, accurate information
• Scale its website to keep pace with organizational growth
• Plan to accommodate new business initiatives and technological advances
Various WCM systems in the market
The worldwide Web Content Management market has been growing exponentially The market maturity has homogenized much of the competition Therefore,
procurement decisions should be increasingly based upon vendor viability and the vendor's long-term product strategy Maintaining your web assets is both a cost of doing business and a competitive differentiator There are proprietary and open source WCMs available today for organizations to choose from Alfresco is one of the leading choices when organizations look at the open source options available
Trang 9The Alfresco WCM engages customers through next-generation sites, enabling mass contributions from internal and external users, simple configuration via reusable web scripts, and low-cost massive scalability that uses commodity software and hardware
Cutting edge technology, rich interface experiences, user participation, and effective costing are all factors that organizations seek to consider while selecting the best suited WCM solution for their organization
From a high-level perspective, WCM solutions in the market today can be classified into two types:
• Wiki style
• Publishing style
The following table shows the differences between the two types:
Features Wiki Style Web CMS Publishing Style Web CMS
Authoring and delivery Single system for authoring and
delivery Authoring and delivery are separated Content and
presentation Little separation of content and presentation
Content = Page or page fragment
Separate content and presentation
Content ≠ Page or page fragment
Validation Little or no validation / QA
process Configurable editorial and approval process Editing In place editing of live web
pages Editing of separate editorial copy of content Apt for Smaller sites or those managed
by smaller teams Larger sites or those managed by larger teams Examples Wikis
Joomla!
Drupal PHP Nuke Portal Server CM portlets
Alfresco Interwoven Vignette Day
Trang 10The Alfresco WCM model
Content Production and Content Delivery are separated in Alfresco Web Content Management, as shown in the following diagram:
It is important to understand the concepts that form the basis of the Alfresco
WCM model
Web projects
Web projects are the production-side representation of a site This is what manages the content consumed by the site Here the access rules and roles for content
producers are defined Every Alfresco server can have multiple web projects Within
a web project the user can:
• View content based on the state of their User and/or Staging Sandboxes
• Preview content based on the state of a sandbox with workflows
• Upload file-based content
• Create web forms and manage content
• Submit content to staging and deploy content to a live environment
These actions can be controlled and managed through the use of workflows
Sandboxes
Alfresco provides a sandboxed development model Content producers make use of the sandboxes to make changes to a site in isolation from one another The default configuration is as follows: