Using Content Type Effectively with Plone Intranet
Building a successful intranet is not an easy job. When we are asked to build an intranet there is always an implicit requirement that doesn't show in any requirement list. This requirement is easy in concept, but hard to achieve: the intranet must be a success in terms of usability and use. The last thing we will want is that it ends up being one of those web services that people barely use. In this article, by Víctor Fernández de Alba, author of Plone 3 Intranets, we will cover the key factors for the success of an intranet and the effective use of the content types.
We will cover the following topics:
- Navigation and taxonomy
- Collections
- Table of contents
- Next/previous folder
- Presentation mode
- Best practices for third-party content types
We can make building an intranet an easy task if we want to do so. As we already know, a content type is not only an information container; it also defines the way the information is shown to the consumer via the content view. We will learn to use the right content type and its right view for the right job. Another crucial factor is to extend wisely our default content type set via third-party add-on products. We will learn how to choose and use them correctly.
Read Using Content Type Effectively with Plone Intranet in fullUsing ChronoForms to add More Features to your Joomla! Form
Joomla! is a fantastic way to create a dynamic CMS. Now, you want to go to the next step and interact with your users. Forms are the way you ask questions and get replies. ChronoForms is the extension that lets you do that and this article tells you how.
In the previous article we covered:
- Adding a validated checkbox
- Adding an "other" box to a drop-down
- Sending an SMS message on submission
- Signing up to a newsletter service
- Adding a conversion-tracking script
In this article by Bob Janes, author of the book ChronoForms 3.1 for Joomla! site Cookbook , we will cover the following features:
- Showing a YouTube video
- Adding a bar-code to a for m e-mail
- Adding a character counter to a textarea
- Creating a "double drop-down"
Using Business Rules to Define Decision Points in Oracle SOA Suite: Part 2
In the previous part of the article we looked at how we can use the Oracle Business Rules engine to implement business rules, and how we can invoke these from within BPEL as a decision service.
In this part by Matt Wright, we will have a look at how to create a Decision Service.
Read Using Business Rules to Define Decision Points in Oracle SOA Suite: Part 2 in fullUsing Business Rules to Define Decision Points in Oracle SOA Suite: Part 1
In this two part article by Matt Wright, we will look at how we can use the Business Rules engine to externalize rules from a BPEL process into a separate decision service. Once we've done this, we will know how to invoke the rule from a BPEL process. At run time there may be many potential paths through a BPEL process, controlled by conditional statements such as switch or while activities. Typically the business rules that govern which path to take at any given point are written as XPath expressions embedded within the appropriate activity.
Although this is an acceptable approach, we often find that while the process itself may be relatively static, the business rules embedded within the activities may change on a more frequent basis. This will require us to update the BPEL process and redeploy it even though the process flow itself hasn't changed. In addition, by embedding the rule directly within the decision point, we often end up having to re-implement the same rule every time it is used, either within the same process or across multiple processes. Apart from being inefficient, this can lead to inconsistent implementations of the rules as well as requiring us to update the rule in multiple places every time it changes.
Read Using Business Rules to Define Decision Points in Oracle SOA Suite: Part 1 in fullUsing Business Rules to Define Decision Points in Oracle SOA Suite 11g R1- An Introduction
In this article by Antony Reynolds and Matt Wright, authors of Oracle SOA Suite 11g R1 Developer's Guide, we will discuss the new Rules Editor in 11gR1, including Decision Tables and how we can incorporate rules as decision points within a BPEL Process.
Read Using Business Rules to Define Decision Points in Oracle SOA Suite 11g R1- An Introduction in fullUsing Bean Validation (JSR 303) annotations with Apache MyFaces 1.2
This article by Bart Kummel, author of Apache MyFaces 1.2 Web Application Development, shows how we can use Bean Validation (JSR 303) annotations to declaratively define validation rules in our Java EE application. In this article, Apache MyFaces Extensions Validator (ExtVal) is used to generate the JSF validators, based on Bean Validation annotations. While JSF 2.0 has native support for Bean Validation, ExtVal can also be used with JSF 1.2. And ExtVal offers some possibilities that cannot be achieved with the default JSF 2.0 Bean Validation support.
This article is the third in a series of ExtVal articles. Other articles in this series:
- Apache MyFaces Extensions Validator is the first article in the series and introduces ExtVal.
- Customizing and extending Apache MyFaces ExtVal shows the flexibility of ExtVal and how we can customize and extend it.
Using Asterisk as a PSTN Gateway for OpenSER
PSTN or Public Switched Telephone Network is the collection of all the telephone networks, which are interconnected in the world. If we want to be able to route calls from and to the PSTN using OpenSER, we need to be connected to a PSTN. To send calls to the PSTN, we need a device called PSTN gateway. There are several manufacturers such as Cisco, Nortel, and others who manufacture this kind of equipment. You can also use an Asterisk PBX box for this task. Asterisk makes an affordable PSTN gateway that is very competitive with the big players mentioned above. In this article by Flavio E. Goncalves, we will see how to use asterisk as a PSTN gateway for OpenSER.
Read Using Asterisk as a PSTN Gateway for OpenSER in fullUsing ASP.NET Master Pages in your MCMS Applications
In the previous article by Spencer Harbar, Lim Mei Ying, and Stefan Gobner, authors of Enhancing Microsoft Content Management Server with ASP.NET 2.0, we reviewed the basics of the new Visual Studio 2005 MCMS development environment, configured the 'CMS' Virtual Directory, and created our own custom Visual Studio 2005 templates for MCMS.
This article, which is the fourth article in the article series, provides an overview of the benefits of using master pages and a step-by-step guide for implementing them in your MCMS applications, where they become master templates!
Read Using ASP.NET Master Pages in your MCMS Applications in fullUsing ASP.NET Controls in SharePoint
As SharePoint and the underlying .NET Framework developed over the years, more readymade controls have become available for us to use in our applications. Such controls allow us to drop common, and often complex, features into our site. For example, if we would like to add user registration and login features (often referred to as personalization and membership) to our site, it is a chore to build everything we require (registration form with validation, login box, password reminder, change password, etc.) each time we build a site. Microsoft has built these controls for us so that we can easily add them to our site. In this article by Mike Poole, we will examine the use of these controls.
Very occasionally, we find that we are not able to do what we would like to do with the SharePoint configuration that comes "out of the box". A common example of this is using forms authentication in our site. Later on in the article, we will also make some configuration changes to SharePoint and associated products, such as Internet Information Services (IIS), SQL Server, and Visual Studio, to demonstrate how forms authentication can be enabled.
Read Using ASP.NET Controls in SharePoint in fullUsing Animated Pieces in a Board-based Game with XNA 4.0
This article by Kurt Jaegers, author of XNA 4.0 Game Development by Example: Beginner's Guide, enhances a board-based puzzle game called Flood Control in XNA 4.0 using animation. In this article, we will cover:
- Animating the rotation of pieces when manipulated by the player
- Gradually fading out pieces of completed scoring chains
- Animating the falling of pieces into place on the board
All of these enhancements will give the player a better game experience, as well as give us the opportunity to learn more about how the SpriteBatch class can be used for animation.
Read Using Animated Pieces in a Board-based Game with XNA 4.0 in fullUsing An Object Oriented Approach for Implementing PHP Classes to Interact with Oracle
This article by Yuli Vasiliev examines the object-oriented approach for developing PHP/Oracle applications, as an efficient means to reduce the development time and complexity, and increase the maintainability and flexibility of your applications.
In the following sections, you will learn how to create a simple PHP class to interact with Oracle and then how that class can be modified and reused in different scripts.
Read Using An Object Oriented Approach for Implementing PHP Classes to Interact with Oracle in fullUsing Additional Solr Functionalities
There are many features of Solr that we don't use every day. Highlighting, sorting results, or ignoring words may not be in everyday use, but they can come in handy in many situations. In this article Rafal Kuc, author of Apache Solr 3.1 Cookbook, the author will try to show you how to overcome some typical problems that can be fixed by using some of the Solr functionalities.
Specifically, we will cover:
- Getting more documents similar to those returned in the results list
- Presenting search results in a fast and easy way
- Highlighting matched words
- How to highlight long text fields and get good performance
- Sorting results by a function value
- Searching words by how they sound
- Ignoring defined words
Users, Roles, and Pages in DotNetNuke 5- An Extension
In this article series by Michael Washington and Ian Lackey, we will discuss:
- Creating and modifying user accounts
- How user accounts tie into the security of your site
- What DotNetNuke pages are and how to create and administer them
- How to structure your site using pages
- The new Membership Provider Model
Read Users, Roles, and Pages in DotNetNuke 5 here.
Read Users, Roles, and Pages in DotNetNuke 5- An Extension in fullUsers, Roles, and Pages in DotNetNuke 5
In this article by Michael Washington and Ian Lackey, we will discuss:
- Creating and modifying user accounts
- How user accounts tie into the security of your site
- What DotNetNuke pages are and how to create and administer them
- How to structure your site using pages
- The new Membership Provider Model
Users, Profiles, and Connections in Elgg
Ever been to a night club on a Monday morning? There's you, there are chairs, and the potential to host a party on the weekend. There are lots of buttons, lots of potential, but no one there except you. Unlike a night club, you don't have to wait for the weekend to host your friends on Elgg. Invite them as soon as you're done setting up the software. Elgg is designed to make it easier for you to invite people. If you've ever setup a blog or rolled out your own website, how long did it take before you could invite your friends over? You had to put up all sorts of content to indulge them, and also fiddle around decorating the portal so that it doesn't look dull.
That's where a social network is different from a regular website. Websites follow a two-way, one-to-many style of interaction, where the owner of the website, or blog, talks to all his visitors who respond with their comments, either on the website, or via e-mail. In this article by Mayank Sharma, we discuss about social networking software that follows a many-to-many style of interaction. Members interact with each other, and create their own content, which is then shared with all. This is then discussed and commented on by everyone. The owner of the site is like the perfect host. They mingle, discuss with everyone, but don't stamp their authority, unless you're naughty. They're like every other member, except for the fact that they own the place. Sounds familiar? So, you don't have to worry about content before inviting your friends. Your friends bring their own content.
Read Users, Profiles, and Connections in Elgg in fullUsers and Permissions with CMS Made Simple 1.6: Part 2
Read Part One of Users and Permissions with CMS Made Simple 1.6 here.
Read Users and Permissions with CMS Made Simple 1.6: Part 2 in fullUsers and Permissions with CMS Made Simple 1.6: Part 1
In this two-part article by Sofia Hauschildt, author of CMS Made Simple 1.6: Beginner's Guide, we shall look into:
- Roles, users, and groups
- Permissions on content
- Special designer permissions
- Archiving and restoring different versions
- Overview of all default permissions
- User notifications
User Security and Access Control in JBoss portals
Every asset in the constraint declaration is restricted to a certain role, and every role ties back to a user or an entity. In this article by Ramanujam Rao, we will discuss the ways in which authentication and authorization is facilitated in JBoss portal. We will also discuss other aspects related to authentication and user management such as single sign-on.
Read User Security and Access Control in JBoss portals in fullUser Management in Zenoss
We should set up a user name for each person who will be using Zenoss, and all the users should log in using their user account, not as the admin user. Individual users can be granted the same privileges as the admin account. The security of the user accounts is important. Various roles and groups can be assigned to a user. In this article by Michael Badger, the following is discussed:
- How to add new users and edit the properties of their user accounts
- The various available roles and their privileges
- Administered objects such as devices and systems
- Creating and editing custom event views
- Attaching alerts to users or groups of users
- Creating alert escalations
- Customizing alert messages
- Setting a schedule for each alerting rule
- Adding and editing groups and assigning users to groups
User Management in Joomla! 1.5: Part 2
Read User Management in Joomla! 1.5: Part 1 here.
Read User Management in Joomla! 1.5: Part 2 in full

