SilverStripe

Infobox Software
name = SilverStripe



caption = The SilverStripe administration panel
developer = SilverStripe
genre = Content management system
latest_release_version = [http://www.silverstripe.com/silverstripe-web-application-framework/ 2.2.2]
latest_release_date = release date|2008|05|22
operating_system = Cross-platform
license = BSD Licence
website = [http://silverstripe.com http://silverstripe.com]

SilverStripe is a free and open source programming framework and content management system (CMS) for creating and maintaining websites. The CMS provides an intuitive web-based administration panel, allowing any person to maintain their website without knowledge of markup or programming languages.

SilverStripe offers a flexible MVC development framework known as Sapphire. Much like Ruby on Rails, but for PHP, it ensures developers are capable of extending and enhancing the functionality of the CMS and the website. More importantly, SilverStripe provides developers with complete control of the generated markup; allowing for higher, semantic standards of XHTML.

SilverStripe is released under the terms of the BSD Licence. An abundance of documentation is available from the [http://help.silverstripe.com/ SilverStripe help website] and [http://doc.silverstripe.com/doku.php wiki] . An online demonstration of the CMS is located at the [http://demo.silverstripe.com SilverStripe demo website] .

History

Prior to SilverStripe 2.x, the CMS was commercially available under a proprietary license. Development efforts for SilverStripe 2.X started in late 2005, as a complete overhaul to take advantage of object orientation and new features in PHP5. On 3 February 2007, SilverStripe 2.0.0 was released publicly as free and open source software [cite web |date=2007-02-03 |title=SilverStripe 2.0.0 released - no more betas! |url=http://www.silverstripe.com/silverstripe-2-0-0-released-no-more-betas/ |accessdate=2007-12-09 ] .

Motivations and reasoning for moving towards an open source development model were the anticipated results of greater exposure, higher quality code and community contributions [cite web |date=2007-10-25 |title=How to build a business in Hobbit Land - the Silverstripe example |url=http://blogs.cnet.com/8301-13505_1-9804647-16.html |accessdate=2007-12-09 ] [cite web |date=2007-05-01 |title=Close Up Open Source challenge |url=http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/413551/1092939 |accessdate=2007-12-09 ] .

In March 2007, SilverStripe was selected for the Google Summer of Code programme [cite web |date=2007-03-23 |title=Kiwi firm Silverstripe joins Google's Summer of Code (GSoC) |url=http://m-net.net.nz/1531/online-development/case-studies/kiwi-firm-silverstripe-joins-google-s-summer-of.php
accessdate=2007-12-09 ] . The contributions of the students who participated in the programme ultimately resulted in the 2.2 release of SilverStripe [cite web |date=2007-11-02 |title=SilverStripe 2.2 released! Redesigned interface and double the features... |url=http://silverstripe.com/silverstripe-2-2-released-redesigned-interface-and-double-the-features/
accessdate=2007-12-09 ] .

On 29 November 2007, SilverStripe announced they would be participating in the [http://code.google.com/opensource/ghop/2007-8/ Google Highly Open Participation] (GHOP) contest [cite web |date=2007-11-29 |title=Highschoolers! Add Google to your CV! |url=http://silverstripe.com/highschoolers-add-google-to-your-cv/
accessdate=2007-12-09 ] . This let to a proliferation of themes, translations and widgets that broadened the system.

Features and Add-ons

Notable features include multiple methods of organising navigation through folksonomy, a flexible data object model, multiple templates per page, a separate "Draft site" and "Published site" through staging content, asset management, image resizing, versioning control, search engine friendly URLS with meta-data, automatic sitemap generation, full text search and RSS feeds. SilverStripe supports UTF-8 and the internationalisation of character sets; the CMS is currently available in English, French, German, Spanish, Chinese, Croatian, Dutch, Polish and Portuguese.

Modules

The highly modular nature of SilverStripe has resulted in the creation of numerous pre-build modules that extend the core functionality of the CMS. A list of available [http://www.silverstripe.com/modules modules] is viewable below:

* Blog
* E-commerce
* Embargo/expiry
* External Authentication (LDAP, AD, etc)
* Flickr Gallery
* Forum
* Gallery
* Maps
* Technorati
* Youtube Gallery

Widgets

[http://silverstripe.com/widgets/ Widgets] are small pieces of useful functionality that can be instantly dragged and dropped into a website. A list of available modules is viewable below:

* Built-in widgets for the blog module
* Countdown
* Del.icio.us
* Digg
* Featured Video
* Feedburner
* Feedburner Email Subscription
* Google Adsense
* Google Custom Search
* IMStatus
* LanguageChooser
* last.fm
* Links
* NASA image of the day
* New Users
* Ohloh contribution
* PayPal donation
* Popular Blog Posts
* Recent Page Comments
* Time
* TwitterStatus
* WoW Character

Themes

The SilverStripe [http://www.silverstripe.com/themes themes directory] provides a number of community-contributed, freely available themes; providing developers and website owners with the capability to instantly modify the aesthetics of their SilverStripe website.

Software Requirements

SilverStripe is a web application, requiring a compatible HTTP server and SQL database. As of version 2.2.0 (28 November, 2007), the requirements for SilverStripe are as follows [cite web |date=2007-12-05 |title=SilverStripe server requirements |url=http://doc.silverstripe.com/doku.php?id=server-requirements |accessdate=2007-12-08 ] :

* Apache v1.3.19+ or Lighttpd with mod_rewrite support
* MySQL v4.1.X+
* PHP 5.2+ with MySQL, GD2 and Zlib support

Prominent Websites running SilverStripe

Thousands of websites ranging from blogs through to corporate and government websites are built using SilverStripe, including:
* [http://www.demconvention.com US Democratic National Convention]
* [http://www.thelowdown.co.nz Official New Zealand Government Youth Depression Website]

Press and the Media

SilverStripe has received considerable attention of the press since its debut in 2007. A consolidated lists of reviews, articles and awards have been formulated below.

Reviews and Articles

* Interview on New Zealand Television Show, April 2008, " [http://www.silverstripe.com/silverstripe-on-business-breakfast-show/ SilverStripe powers Democratic National Convention] "
* PHP Magazin (German), 12th March 2008, " [http://www.silverstripe.com/assets/papers/PM%203.08%20Silverstripe.pdf SilverStripe: PHP-Alternativ zu Ruby on Rails] " (Main feature of Magazine). [http://www.silverstripe.com/silverstripe-main-feature-of-german-php-magazin/ (English overview)]
* ReadWriteWeb, 14th September 2007, " [http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/silverstripe_open_source_cms_google_summer_of_code.php SilverStripe - Open Source CMS Has Support From Google] "
* Inteview on New Zealand Television Show, 1 May 2007, (Video) " [http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/497100/1090817 Close Up, Democratic Technology] "
* m-Net, 19th April 2007, " [http://m-net.net.nz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1593 Silverstripe names Google Summer of Code students] "
* Hiveminds Magazine, 15 March 2007, " [http://www.hiveminds.co.uk/node/3236 SilverStripe CMS is proof that open-source works] "

Awards

* [http://www.packtpub.com/article/2007-open-source-cms-award-finalists Most promising finalists] in the 2007 Open Source CMS Awards
* [http://www.nzosa.org.nz/winners Finalists] in the New Zealand Open Source Awards for October 2007

References

External links

SilverStripe related:
* [http://silverstripe.com Official website]
* [http://demo.silverstripe.com Online demonstration website]
* [http://help.silverstripe.com/ Official help documentation]
* [http://silverstripe.com/silverstripe-forum/ Community forums]
* [http://doc.silverstripe.com/doku.php Developer documentation wiki]