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5h-3LL 1.0

DIR: /srv/http/vyvoj.adent.cz/egroupware/pfi/sitemgr/modules/sitemgr_module_guestbook
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Current File : /srv/http/vyvoj.adent.cz/egroupware/pfi/sitemgr/modules/sitemgr_module_guestbook/README

This module is the result of a test. I wanted to know what it takes to
implement this classical examples of textbooks about dynamic webpages
with sitemgr. I think the result shows that the idea behind sitemgr, a
framwork for modules inside an application that is itself inside
another framwork (eGroupWare), is not very efficient, at least the
way sitemgr implements it. And the poor reponse from users to sitemgr
since I proposed this modularized architecture probably shows the same
thing. These are the problems I encountered, and could not solve in a
satisfactory way:

- I did not find a way how a module could define its own database
tables, and those be installed in a simple way like phpgw's setup
does, but without blessing the module into an independent
application (what I did, since I did not know how to do better).

- In sitemgr's architecture there are two interfaces for a model: One
for contributors defining a block for which the module is a producer,
one for administrators defining properties that limit the options
contributors have or the way a module behaves. It works, but it seems
to restrictive, since you have to play tricks if you want to use it
for simple tasks like defining guestbooks.

- Sitemgr and maybe egroupware in general lack a simple model for
security and ACL. Sure egroupware has its ACL class, but it is not
easy to use it in a simple way, so that you can apply it to different
objects in a coherent manner. Or it might be my failure to grasp how I
should egroupware's ACL better. Sitemgr has its ACL for categories,
but I did not find a simple way how to extend this to the objects that
may appear on the website.

Anyway, here is what I have come up with, and if you stumble about
this, and are curious and courageous, try it for yourself (read
INSTALL in order to know how). If you want to make something actually
usable from it, tell me about it!