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PHP or other CMS

Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 12:58 pm
by Brik
Hello - I need a VERY basic content management system for a very small site.

My goal is to allow for content editing of specified areas if a limited number of pages. I do not want to allow editing of menus, look and feel, etc.

I have a few limitations as I'm using a very limited service provider. Also, I am not a programmer so I am looking for something that is well documented. Ideally I can do all the work locally and then just FTP up to the site and be done.

My constraints are as follows.
NO MySQL
OS=Linux
Kernel=2.4.21-47.0.1.ELsmp
Apache version 1.3.36 (Unix)
PERL version 5.8.0
Path to PERL /usr/bin/perl
Path to sendmail /usr/sbin/sendmail
PHP version 4.3.10
And, of course, the normal compliment of Perl modules.

Am I dreaming? Is something like this available? I only need to allow editing on up to 5 pages or so. The rest are static html. The folks doing the page editing can share a password. They have ZERO programing or html experience. wysiwyg editing preferred.

THANKS in advance

Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 3:30 pm
by feyd
Joomla, Drupal, and others in their league have been recommended before.

Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 3:38 pm
by Kieran Huggins
"NO MySQL" will make this a pretty tiny group...

Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 3:44 pm
by Brik
feyd wrote:Joomla, Drupal, and others in their league have been recommended before.
Both require MySQL it seems.

Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 3:46 pm
by Brik
Kieran Huggins wrote:"NO MySQL" will make this a pretty tiny group...
YES, I know. I DID find CMSimple. It works pretty well. BUT, when I asked my ISP if I could use it I recieved this back.

"CMSimple - all versions including the current so-called "fix" - is an insecure script which will get your account shut down pronto if you use it. Please look up any scripts you intend to use in Google and at security websites such as http://www.securityfocus.com/vulnerabilities to research security vulnerabilities before considering their use."

Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 4:01 pm
by Kieran Huggins
have you thought about a new host? maybe one with MySQL?

Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 4:11 pm
by Brik
Kieran Huggins wrote:have you thought about a new host? maybe one with MySQL?
yep, sure did. This particular host is free for non-profits so that's why I'm trying to make a go of it. If I pay then I can do mysql and they have preinstalled
* E107
* Geeklog
* Mambo
* PostNuke
* Xoops
* phpWiki

Unfortunately they all require MySQL which is not available in my 'Free' account.

I do have another provider I am paying for for my personal space. I can move everything over there for little additional cost and can have MySQL DBs. Moving will be a pain as I'm not the contact on the DNS record and then I'm also responsible for paying for this site if bandwidth drives up my costs further.

So, I would ideally like to stay where I am, use something like CMSimple but that's not on the list at http://www.securityfocus.com/vulnerabilities . I'm still looking.

Thanks for all the responses so far!

Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 4:19 pm
by Kieran Huggins
You can set up a MySQL server on your paid account and access it from your free host - no domain moving needed. You will likely have to add the other domain as an "access host" in the paid host's control panel though

Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 4:25 pm
by Luke
hosting is pretty cheap... I think the amount of headaches it would save you is worth the $5-$10 per month.

Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 4:34 pm
by Brik
The Ninja Space Goat wrote:hosting is pretty cheap... I think the amount of headaches it would save you is worth the $5-$10 per month.
maybe - That app I tried that has the security issue was a simple copy to the server and all worked. Surely someone else has something similar that doesnt' have a security vulnerability. I'm still looking.

Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 5:05 pm
by RobertGonzalez
I'd be willing to bet your host will find a vulnerability in any application you want to use. There are precious few applications out there that use file system for data management. I would guess because it as not as fast or secure as a database. I would seriously recommend setting up a GoDaddy hosting account for $30 a year and call it done.

Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 6:23 pm
by Brik
Everah wrote:I'd be willing to bet your host will find a vulnerability in any application you want to use. There are precious few applications out there that use file system for data management. I would guess because it as not as fast or secure as a database. I would seriously recommend setting up a GoDaddy hosting account for $30 a year and call it done.
If I go to a paid hosting account I will likely go with http://www.1and1.com/ where I have my personal site. They are running a sale right now for $1.50 per month
* 10 GB web space
* 600 e-mail accounts
* 300 GB monthly transfer volume
* Virus Scanner & Spam Filter
* Includes 1 domain name
* 10 MySQL databases
* WebMail
* FTP access[/syntax]

Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 6:46 pm
by Kieran Huggins
Great - problem solved.

Out of curiosity: Do any CMS solutions out there support sqlite? Do many hosts?

Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 6:55 pm
by Brik
Kieran Huggins wrote:Great - problem solved.

Out of curiosity: Do any CMS solutions out there support sqlite? Do many hosts?
Not so fast - I haven't given up yet.

And, in my 1/2 day of browsing I haven't recalled any references to sqlite.

Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 7:02 pm
by Kieran Huggins
How much are your 1/2 days worth? Less than $18 US/yr?