If you’ve been a long-time member of the community, it’s likely you’ve noticed some real big changes in the last couple of weeks. This is not just with the relationship between CodeIgniter and ExpressionEngine, but with the relationship between EllisLab and our community of users.
EllisLab has never been so forthcoming with information about a new release in the company’s history. We’re being more transparent about what we’re doing and how we’re doing it. We’re giving you more information about the direction we’re headed so you can make better decisions for your business, your clients, and your own web-ventures.
when 2.0 get’s released will the docs be released as a pdf? I’d love to print it up and read through it that way (much easier than reading everything on the computer).
There are times when I like having a book in my hands to study too, and there was a time when I would have wanted to be able to print off a full version of the docs, but I’ve actually switched my thinking on this in the last couple of years.
There are so many pages in the docs at this point, I wouldn’t want to deal with a printed book that big. I also like the fact that when I access the live docs on the EE site, I know that they are up to the build current; takes all the guess work out of things for me.
I like the hyperlinks that are all over the place now and the way the docs drill down to the info I need in the same way I navigate the CP. I also like contributions from experienced users and the RSS feed.
Also, the docs are with me wherever I go. If I’m in a meeting with a client at their office, or trying to answer a question during a presentation, I’ll use the live docs on the EE site, and because I’m use to using the live docs, I can find what I’m looking for pretty fast at this point.
We do offer a downloadable html version of the docs in the downloads area, but I honestly don’t expect that we’ll be preparing a .pdf version. If I hear differently at some point, I’ll update this post.
Improved transparency can only be a good thing, but it always pays to keep one or two things up your sleeve I’ve found - you never know when you might need to “pull a rabbit from your hat” so to speak!
Super article Kurt by the way, lots of useful tips.
@The Linguist - If you really wanted a PDF version of the docs I’m sure there’s probably a bit of software somewhere that would convert the HTML version. However it would quickly become out of date with new releases so you’d have to keep redoing it.
Yeah I realize it’ll be out of date after the first software upgrade, but I’ll print it and read it right away. I know that acrobat professional can spider a site and make a pdf, but it looks awful. Something formatted for print would be better.
Anyhow I’ve seen this request before and just wanted to add my voice to it. I really can’t read the docs online, it makes my eyes go buggy to read that much on a computer screen.
regardless, I’m looking forward to the new release.
I just joined the EE forums and my gripe with EE was that the backend was a bit lacking. However watching that video I can tell that EE 2.0 is going to be a real chest pounding product!
I am about half way through comparing and contrasting the advantages and disadvantages of other CMSs with EE. There is one thing I have picked up that was not in that video, has there been any thought as to this? Watch this screencast to see. http://screencast.com/t/A1wMueCt
I noted that Lisa was taking pretty good care of you over in sales today, so I won’t take up too much of your time here. We’re glad you’re giving EE a look.
A couple of places here in the community you might want to check out:
Site Introductions. This is where you’ll hear developers like yourself talking about what the EE experience is actually like, what they’re doing with EE, and find all sorts of cool sites and ideas from members of our community.
Also, I recently heard EE described as “think”, which in this case is a slang term meaning that its complex and multifaceted, (in a good way) like a great video-game. It can be difficult to find everything you think you’re looking for at first. In fact, EE has so much flexibility and functionality that I often forget where things are or what something is called. Typically about the time I think of something EE might be missing, someone reminds me that its been added in a resent build, or there’s a great plugin for it, or its been there from the start, only I forgot what it was called.
If you can’t find what you’re looking for in EE, start by explaining the functionality you’re seeking over in Technical Support. If our support team doesn’t have a solution for you, then they’ll recommend you add it to our Feature Requests. I’ve learned over the years that you should always check with the Technical Support Staff first before posting over there, because over half the time, they have a solution for me.
If Paul, Lisa and Derek had a dime for every time they showed me something I had somehow overlooked in the docs or the ControlPanel. . .. well they would be tanning on some private beach by now.
Hehe thank you for the warm welcome Kurt. It is not often that the admin will personally stop by to say hi.
Yes Lisa has taken good care of me! I don’t doubt that EE has extreme functionality but if even you don’t know where it is then it is not as good as if it was there when you needed it.
Here is a small story for you, I spent 2 days trying to get Google website optimizer to work with Joomla. I never got it working. However I installed EE and within 5minutes of having it uploaded, website optimizer was working! So I do believe that EE is very powerful if you know how to use it. I can’t wait for 2.0 as the learning curve doesn’t look that steep. And user experience has really been taking into account.
Thanks for that advice, I will head over there now!
well, while i’m with you and would agree that this isn’t necessarily a priority
i also think that this is an very important detail.
nice uri’s are wide spread and a de facto standard out there.
i’m sure a sophisticated cms like ee should be able to handle this
in a much more simple way then it does now.
in fact i think »index.php« shouldn’t be there by default ^^
i also think that this is an very important detail.
Well, if you are concerned about your URLs, it’s easy enough to remove index.php. The method is available and well documented, if unsupported. And that’s the point: It will work in many cases, almost all, really, but there’s no way to be sure. mod_rewrite is still a bit of server side voodoo, and sometimes it fails, sometimes because it’s not supported on a particular platform (think Windows server), sometimes without obvious reason.
Bottom line: A nightmare to support, and impossible to guarantee. Still, there’s a very good chance to get it to work, and if you ask nicely on the forums, people will be happy to assist. It’s just not a “standard”, “works OOTB” feature. Works for me.
i know it’s possible and it’s documented and all that.
but since it’s an reasonable requirement i think it should be way easier to accomplish.
see:
Ingmar - 28 March 2008 03:20 AM
… mod_rewrite is still a bit of server side voodoo, and sometimes it fails, sometimes because it’s not supported on a particular platform (think Windows server), sometimes without obvious reason …
you got to the heart of it.
i think of wordpress where you just tell the system your desired url structure and it takes care of the rest.
i’m talking usability. people just souldn’t be forced to digg into these things without need.
but please don’t get me wrong. i’m overall happy with ee (bought some copies for clients) and looking forward to version 2.
the work of the ellislab team is much appreciated.
but since it’s an reasonable requirement i think it should be way easier to accomplish.
I don’t see how, short of shipping EE with a pre-configured .htaccess. And I wouldn’t want that, because I probably have another one there already.
i think of wordpress where you just tell the system your desired url structure and it takes care of the rest.
WP has a different support model, if that’s the right expression. It, too, cannot gurantee that it will work, but it’s prepared to run the risk. If it does not work, you can seek support on their community forums, figure it out yourself, change servers or just give up, but, hey, it’s free software, right? EE is not. You get first class support, and Lisa & Co will go out of their way to get things running for you. Even so, removing index.php would not work in all cases. That is currently acceptable, but would not be for an offically supported and endorsed feature.
but please don’t get me wrong. i’m overall happy with ee (bought some copies for clients) and looking forward to version 2.
Oh, yes. I don’t think I do get you wrong, I’m just saying why I don’t expect the removal of index.php to become “official” any time too soon.
What EllisLab are saying, basically, is: “We’re not (officially) endorsing a technology that we cannot guarantee to work, even though your server is up to spec.” I call that corporate honesty.
It told you, it’s not as easy. You need a central file of sorts, one that handles all the requests and such. Granted, it doesn’t have to be named “index.php”, but actually renaming it to something is an officially supported solution, while removing it via mod_rewrite is not—even though it should work nine times out of ten.
exactly what i mean.
espacially with ellislab themselfs having the index.php removed
Actually, I meant more like a 3rd party add-on, and by that I meant put on your thinking cap and drum one up - then give it to the community, for free. I’m sure there are many who would appreciate it.
