Xaraya

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Xaraya is a web application framework and content management system, written in PHP and released as free software under the GNU General Public License. It was originally a fork of the original 0.8 development branch of Postnuke, but has been re-written from the ground up since then.

High-Level Features of Xaraya

According to an official press release blurb by the Xaraya developers, the main advantages of Xaraya are the following:

• A modular architecture, which prevents developers from having to modify the core system directly in order to achieve a certain functionality.

• A lot of re-usable code, such as a globally usable comments system, or a global categories system.

• Presentation is controlled entirely by templates and themes; no part of the layout is hardcoded.

• With Xaraya's Dynamic Data Model, you are able to redesign the data structure of modules. Need to capture different user data? Dynamic Data can do that for you, and you can export the data structure to other websites in need.

• Support for different article types (such as News, Documents, Links, Reviews, FAQ, etc.), and the possibility to easily add new article types from the administration area.

• Modular authentication, allowing Xaraya to support authentication methods such as LDAP, PAM. A working LDAP module is shipped by default with Xaraya, and new plugin systems are being developed.

• A unique administration system, which is meant to allow for quick navigation to make administration tasks as efficient for the user as possible.

• An installer which simplifies the process of setting up Xaraya.

• An advanced permissions system.

• Built in short URL support in many modules.

• Template and output caching.

Criticism of Xaraya

• While in the past it has been suggested that Xaraya's results in performance tests have often been comparatively poor, this is no longer the case. The performance has been demonstrated to be on par with other frameworks, particularly with the ability to turn on template, module, and block caching in Xaraya.
• There is a steep learning curve, in becoming familiar with Xaraya due to its flexibility. It is difficult for the new user to establish how to do what they want, not because it is hard to accomplish within Xaraya, but because Xaraya can do so much. Fortunately, once the user has become familiar with Xaraya, most people agree that is is very easy to use.

Praise of Xaraya

• Xaraya has one of the most straightforward templating systems available. Templates are designed using standard HTML and CSS, and templates are organized into the structure discussed in ^[1].
• Flexibility and reuse of code are an important part of Xaraya. Thus allowing the site developer to create a site that matches their own specifications, and to do it easily.

External links

• Official Website
• Official Download page
• Made with Xaraya, a showcase of xaraya-ized websites
• Xaraya Chat and Support: IRC - irc.xaraya.com
• Xaraya support forum

References

1. ^ http://www.xaraya.com/documentation/rfcs/rfc0010.html#rfc.section.1 RFC-0010: Block Layout (Xaraya Theme System)

See also

• List of content management systems