OpenCms

OpenCms
	; The OpenCms sitemap editor
Basic data
developer	Alkacon software
Current version	11.0.2 ; (2020-08-18 [±] )
operating system	platform independent
programming language	Java
category	Content management system
License	LGPL ( Free Software )
German speaking	Yes
	www.opencms.org

OpenCms is a content management system (CMS) implemented in Java and XML for designing and editing websites. The system, made up of open source components, can be operated in a variety of different infrastructures. It is published as Free Software under the LGPL . Since the first publication in February 2000, there has been continuous further development by Alkacon Software GmbH and the OpenCms community.

use

OpenCms is used by a large number of companies from different industries for the management of websites and / or intranets. A large number of service providers also offer commercial support and support contracts for OpenCms.

service

OpenCms is operated using any web browser. The editor works in OpenCms directly on the displayed website, any necessary dialogs are displayed dynamically above it. Content on a page can be modified with drag and drop . OpenCms also offers the option of editing texts directly on the website using inline editing. A seamless change to a form-based editor for the same content is possible at any time. As a rule, editors can edit content independently after a brief introduction to OpenCms.

The structure of an OpenCms website is managed via the sitemap editor, which can be used to create new pages or to rearrange existing pages in the navigation. Content is stored in galleries and can be reused on different pages or websites. Furthermore, OpenCms offers a special backend mode (workplace) for administrative tasks such as B. the user administration. From version 9.5, OpenCms also enables the creation of page templates without programming.

Editing a website in OpenCms 10

construction

OpenCms runs on the Java platform as a servlet . It is based on a number of open source components, many of which come from the Apache Foundation . The user interface was developed with Vaadin and the Google Web Toolkit . Contents are stored in OpenCms in a database-based repository , whereby MariaDB , MySQL , PostgreSQL , HSQLDB , Oracle , MSSQL and DB2 are directly supported. It is accessed via CMIS , WebDAV , an SMB network share , as well as its own web interface. Text content in OpenCms is defined using an XML schema . The user interface for editors creates XML files from these schemas, which are stored in the repository. A template mechanism based on JavaServer Pages then creates websites based on the XML.

Extensions

OpenCms can be expanded with additional functions using so-called modules. Modules for special templates, dynamic functions and the like are available. Most of the modules are available free of charge. Thanks to the modules, OpenCms can be used universally and so technical extensions that serve the development on various platforms or technologies, such as Maven , IntelliJ or NetBeans, are available as well as the possibility of expanding the content via gallery or shop plugins.

Versions

OpenCms has been continuously developed since 2000. So far, a new major version has been published every 18 to 24 months and a bug fix release approximately every 3 to 4 months. The version management of the source code of OpenCms has been done using Git on GitHub since July 2011 , previously in CVS .

Below is an overview of the major versions published so far:

version	publication	Main new features
Older version; no longer supported: 4.0	02/24/2000	Online / offline workflow , WYSIWYG editor for websites, explorer, user management
Older version; no longer supported: 5.0	05/05/2002	Page templates in JSP with their own <cms:> tag library , extended caching and static export of websites
Older version; no longer supported: 5.3	12/11/2003	Integrated full text search with Lucene , direct editing of displayed websites
Older version; no longer supported: 6.0	06/30/2005	New workplace user interface, creation of XML content based on XSD , management of multiple websites
Older version; no longer supported: 6.2	03/31/2006	Integrated image scaling , comparison of document versions
Older version; no longer supported: 7.0	07/04/2007	WebDAV support, automatic link management, assignment of categories for any content
Older version; no longer supported: 7.5	06/15/2009	Content galleries, access to content in JSP using Expression Language
Older version; still supported: 8.0	05/08/2011	Extended user interface with drag and drop of elements in the page editor and sitemap editor, support for mobile devices
Older version; still supported: 8.5	09/24/2012	"Inline" editor for websites, integration of the Solr search engine, CMIS support, search engine optimization functions
Older version; still supported: 9.0	11/08/2013	Support for different end devices, access to OpenCms repository via an SMB / CIFS network drive, site management tool, first demo template based on Bootstrap
Older version; still supported: 9.5	03/11/2014	Template and layout creation by drag & drop with nested containers, user-generated content, PDF generation, extended roles for editors, integrated spell check in the WYSIWYG editor, management of galleries, categories and templates in the sitemap editor
Older version; still supported: 10.0	03/23/2016	Revised administration interface, new Apollo template, new file explorer, identicons for users, direct commit of changed templates to Git , drag & drop of images, simplified Solr based content search
Older version; still supported: 10.5	02/15/2017	Localization tools for direct comparison of translated sites side-by-side, asset connection allows the native integration of external data in the editor, use of font icons in the user interface
Current version: 11.0	04/30/2019	Revised user interface, "Meta Mappings" for SEO, new Mercury template, simplified creation of content lists through predefined Solr queries, bookmarks in Explorer, new apps for managing resource types and sessions.
Legend: Older version; no longer supported Older version; still supported Current version Current preliminary version Future version

literature

Dan Liliedahl, Opencms 7 Development , Packt Publishing, ISBN 978-1847191052
Matt Butcher, Managing and Customizing Opencms 6 Websites: Java / JSP XML Content Management , Packt Publishing, ISBN 978-1904811763
Matt Butcher, Building Websites with OpenCms , ISBN 978-1904811046 (refers to the deprecated version 5)

Web links

Commons : OpenCms - collection of images, videos and audio files

contents

use