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CMSSurveyReportBricolage
Review report of Bricolage
Person(s) reviewing it: Devin
More information about it: Main Website, Article on what Bricolage is and isn't, Bricolage recent updates as a part of Google Summer of Code
Software version(s): Bricolage 1.10.2
Status of the report: DRAFT
Test implementation: Author/Admin URL: Currently down.
What We Have
The original feature list is available at CMSWhatWeHave
| Feature | Score (0-3) | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| Anonymous open publishing | 3 | It seems possible to create a user "Anonymous" with password "Anonymous" - try it on the test install |
| easy mirroring capability | 3 | Seperation of content from presentation allows mirroring and much more -- same content database could output different sites based on location, or in different formats |
| syndication -out/in | 2 | Production of RSS can be accomplished as easily (or easier) than presentation as a HTML, but the implementation is not a part of the base package. An included SOAP implementation allows for importing data. |
| search | 1 | Search of articles is implemented, but Bricolage is only a backend publishing solution -- so front-end search for articles through the presentation interface would have to be created, as would all frontend end presentation aspects |
| The ability to create multiple instances | 1 | The Bricolage server runs mod_perl which is memory heavy |
| Multimedia handling | 1 | Seems to handle image uploads well, does not appear to have facilities for other media types |
| Categories | 3 | Concept of document categories is integral to Bricolage, but again this is the raw data being categorized |
| Good performance on affordable hardware | 1 | recommended install requires at least two machines, one for Bricolage and one for serving the actual files. The Bricolage server runs mod_perl which is memory heavy |
| Customizability | 3 | Separation of data from presentation is nearly complete, so applying multiple templates to the same data is easy |
| internationalization | 1 | Deals in UTF-8. Unsure how to publish in different languages, though this may be possible. Needs more research |
| translation | 0 | |
| comments | 0 | |
| anti-abuse measures | ||
| easy moderation | 2 | The backend editing is designed around a newspaper publishing paradigm. Create -> copy edit -> legal -> publish are steps an content can go through. First impression is that it is feature-rich but not "easy" |
| calendar | 0 | |
| features | 1 | Ability to tag content as features should be easy; building the public presentation template to present article as feature is not a part of this package |
| documentation | 3 | |
| user moderation - open editing | 0 |
Legend: 0, feature not present at all - 1, the feature exists but is poor and doesn't suit to our goals - 2, the feature isn't as complete as we want but we can use it - 3, the feature is fully functional
What We Want
The original feature list is available at CMSWhatWeWant
| Feature | Score (0-3) | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| User Logins | ||
| User Logins (network wide) | ||
| Access Controls | 2 | Backend content creation and management implements full user permission system, but frontend presentation to users through published pages would need to be created |
| Notify Moderator Button | ||
| User Moderation - Open Editing | ||
| User Profiles | ||
| Podcasting/Vodcasting | ||
| Redundancy (DB content storage) | ||
| Version Control | ||
| User Notifications | ||
| Customizable skins by users | 2 | Not implemented per se, but see above under customisability |
| Accessibility | ||
| GIS | ||
| Photo Galleries | 0 | |
| Licencing Options | 0 | |
| Image Manipulation | ||
| P2P Integration | ||
| Social Networking - Filtering systems | ||
| WYSIWYG Editor | 3 | |
| Tagging | ||
| Anti-bot Systems | ||
| Easy installation | 1 | This is an industrial-strength solution which can scale execellently, but setting it up is non-trivial. |
| Cross Site Search | 2 | If the multiple site all share a common Bricolage back-end, cross site search can be implemented |
| Documented APIs | 3 | |
| Software modularity | 3 | |
| Healthy community behind | 3 | I haven't been a part of the community, as this is a new app to me, but the user and developer lists seem quite active |
Legend: 0, feature not present at all - 1, the feature exists but is poor and doesn't suit to our goals - 2, the feature isn't as complete as we want but we can use it - 3, the feature is fully functional
What We Could Also Have
Other interesting things this software provides and we can use.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Security by separating access to content from presentation | (from article referenced above) "Bricolage does not serve content to your final audience — it generally runs as a back-office application and often behind a secure firewall — your content library remains safe in Bricolage even if the security of your front-end servers becomes compromised." |