C5 only for web sites?

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I'm creating a new web-based application. I'd like to have:
1. CMS capabilities (for fairly simple pages like FAQ)
2. A forum (SSO to another forum software is fine)
3. an eCommerce "membership" model
4. the actual application "stuff"

I'm struggling in a couple of areas when deciding on what I can use off the shelf vs what I need to write. I'm not sure how well C5 does for creating an *application* versus just *website*.

For example, I would consider Fuelly and Twitter as "applications" and concrete5.org itself (not the product) to be a "website". The key difference is what people do when they visit and the functionality offered by creating an account or paying for a membership.

So - is Concrete5 a framework that can be used to create an "application" or do I need to consider rolling my own and just cohabitating with C5 for my CMS needs?

Just looking for input - thanks :)

jtrelfa
 
Cahueya replied on at Permalink Reply
Well, I'd say, this depends only about how your "app" works or what it is designed to do. There are some add-ons in the marketplace that have more of "app" functionality if you consider twitter being an "app".

Plus, concrete5 is very customizable and if you're into php and JS, you can do a lot. I just asked a friend of mine (who knows more about that stuff than me) to look into c5 and try to write a block for a e-learning system. It was done in less than a week and would probably be faster if he worked on it full-time.

So what will this app be about, how much can you tell?
mnakalay replied on at Permalink Reply
mnakalay
I created a tool for a C5 website recently that I would really qualify as an application.
It takes advantage of some of C5 helpers and a few add-ons. Frankly I am not sure I would have been able to build that thing hadn't it been on top of C5.
One obvious example that comes to mind is that as long as I follow a few basics, using C5 database model I don't need to worry too much about security.
Also since applications are usually built for registered users, C5 makes that very easy.

So in my opinion, C5 really provided all the server-side back-end and I dealt with the front-end coding.
RadiantWeb replied on at Permalink Best Answer Reply
RadiantWeb
ProBlog really is an application and has a native mobile app for both iOS and Android.

To answer your question, absolutely.

You would look at building a custom object type.

User Herent has a custom object demo package. But it's missing quite a few things like ajax searching and object specific blocks.

but it would be a great head start to an application.

http://www.concrete5.org/marketplace/addons/custom-objects-demo/...

You might also consider learning from more robust full custom object applications that extend Concrete5 such as ProForms or eCommerce addons.

While it's not acceptable to reuse any code from the marketplace and sell it, it certainly is acceptable to learn from them or build on top of them.

In fact, whatever your app, you may be able to simply extend something like ProForms. We have developed some Hefty applications such as an online credit app and a full scale booking and reservation system on top of it.

If you're a 'see it do it learn it' type, buying these is very much worth the $$.

http://www.concrete5.org/marketplace/addons/proforms/...

http://www.concrete5.org/marketplace/addons/ecommerce/...

ChadStrat
mhawke replied on at Permalink Reply
mhawke
Does this pique your interest:

http://www.concrete5.org/marketplace/themes/mobile-app/...

Access this URL on your phone and see how it works:

http://c5extras.com/theme/mobile-app/mobile-demo/...

Here's another site that uses it:

http://www.lifejacketwearit.com.au/mobile...
hereNT replied on at Permalink Reply
hereNT
Thanks, for mentioning my tutorial package, Chad.

There is actually ajax searching in the dashboard for it, just not on the front end. It would be pretty trivial to port that functionality to a block or a page type for the front end if you needed it. It was just beyond the scope of what I was trying to do there, since it's kind of a skeleton/learning package, and not really commercial.

I think you can make derivative packages from marketplace code, too:

2. Augmenting Code. Customer may modify, supplement, adapt, translate or create derivative works based upon the System. Any modifications are fully owned by customer, and do not effect the license limitations for further use. Customer shall have no right to copy the System without DEVELOPMENT PARTNER’s prior written consent, which may be withheld for any reason.

You can't copy it wholesale and sell it, but you could take portions of it and build it into something else...
jtrelfa replied on at Permalink Reply
jtrelfa
I originally wrote this site (NSFW - Gambling) using CodeIgniter with some (sloppy) integration with SMF. I'm re-writing a chunk of the code to create a membership system that provides certain perks over what "free" accounts offer. Also doing to some visual cleanup and trying to have a more integrated feel to the forums and user management (I have 2 different admin panels at the moment)

cashoutsports.com

The look and feel is over 3 years old and needs a makeover. There are a number of data integration points happening in the background:
1. pulling in the odds/betting lines for all of the sports from 3 external providers via SOAP
2. pulling in the scores/results from each betting line from 2 external providers via SOAP
3. paying out bets (virtual money) for people that won
4. a bunch of other stuff that I don't want to go too far into

There is also an admin section for adjusting profiles, editing balances (we have "contests" where we have increased payouts for certain games, etc) and a whole bunch of reports

There are a few things I want to address:
- Content on the site is edited through physical view files (not a CMS)
- There are "settings" that need to change on occasion that require me to upload a config file
- We have a long term goal to create a mobile-only version of the site


Hope this helps clarify the nature of my question