FrontEnd object Creation and manipulation

[Ash]

Hi All,

I have followed PW for some time now and used it to create a couple of straight forward websites. Great framework by the way, thank you.

Now, I have a relatively complex requirement and evaluating my options. I have done some basic research and it seems these should be possible but want to get feedback/guidance from pros.

1. A user registered through frontend should be able to create an object(e.g. a city or building if I take demo website example) and submit for approval in addition to being able to browse and filter content. I think form builder module along with front end edit should work but I am not sure about the approval workflow. Any suggestions? If its possible with some customizations, I can take up the research and do it.

2. Bulk loading of objects data: During initial data load or any further data load operations, is there a way to do bulk load from the backend? I didnt get much information here. There could be a lot of data, so bulk load is a must have. Again, if its possible out of the box with some customizations, happy to work on it.

If generic questions not allowed, feel free to remove the post. But I wanted to get a feel of the  project feasibility with PW before getting too far.

Regards,

Ashish

[bernhard]

Hi @Ash and welcome to the forum!

It sounds like ProcessWire should be a great fit for your requirements!

42 minutes ago, Ash said:

1. A user registered through frontend should be able to create an object(e.g. a city or building if I take demo website example) and submit for approval in addition to being able to browse and filter content. I think form builder module along with front end edit should work but I am not sure about the approval workflow. Any suggestions? If its possible with some customizations, I can take up the research and do it.

IMHO you have two options

1. Build a custom UI on the frontend
2. Use the PW backend

1 has the benefit that you can build it however you want with all the tools and workflows you already know. It has the drawback that you have to build everything that is necessary (user registration, all kinds of security mechanisms etc). Basically you are building a mini-CMS for your clients and we already have a great CMS at our hands ? 

2 has the benefit that it is a well established platform for content management, and what you are trying to do sounds like content management to me ? The drawback is that you have to first learn how the backend works and how you can customise it or how to develop your own modules with custom workflows.

Which way is preferable depends on you, your skills and your needs (and your clients). Is design and a good UI/UX very important? It might make sense to build a custom UI. Is it more important to be cost effective? Do you want to build on a solid foundation? Are you willing to learn PW and also benefit from the knowledge for future PW projects? Then diving into PW backend development might be very worth it.

I took the backend pill years ago and don't regret it ? 

50 minutes ago, Ash said:

2. Bulk loading of objects data: During initial data load or any further data load operations, is there a way to do bulk load from the backend? I didnt get much information here. There could be a lot of data, so bulk load is a must have. Again, if its possible out of the box with some customizations, happy to work on it.

I don't know what exactly you are asking, but the short answer is "yes". ProcessWire is great at working with data, either from the UI or also from the command line. And it has always been - see this ancient post from 2010, for example.

Nowadays we even have an API for reading CSV files line by line, so an import script could be as simple as this:

<?php
while($row = $files->getCSV('/path/to/foods.csv')) {
  $p = new Page();
  $p->template = 'food';
  $p->parent = 123; // page id of parent
  $p->title = $row[Food];
  $p->type = $row[Type];
  $p->color = $row[Color];
  $p->save();
}