Is a small project walkthrough available?

[Nichod]

Cheers everyone! Processwire looks very interesting and amazingly flexible. Right now I'm looking for any walkthrough training that demonstrates creating a simple project (ie. blog, simple website, portfolio, *insert your own here* etc). One how-to I'd like to see is linking something like a comment form to a blog post. Well I'm off to read up more on the API and I look forward to an exciting journey of discovery with Processwire. Thanks for any information you can share! And I will share whatever information I discover as well.  ;D

[slkwrm]

Hi, Nichod and welcome to forums!

This links can be helpful to start with.

http://processwire.com/talk/index.php/topic,49.0.html

http://processwire.com/talk/index.php/topic,76.msg405.html#msg405

http://processwire.com/talk/index.php/topic,307.0.html

http://processwire.com/talk/index.php/topic,472.0.html

http://processwire.com/talk/index.php/topic,80.0.html

Also try to search forum. It contains lots of useful guidelines and snippets.

Cheers

[Nichod]

Useful links! And I have tried some basic searches and of course will dig deeper. Thanks for the welcome!

[martinluff]

Hi Nichod, great to see you on the forums 

If you're looking through the API docs then you probably already came across the one on templates http://processwire.com/api/templates/; but if not, this gives some very good examples that will give you a lot of the info to create a basic site.

I know Mary over at The Coding Pad http://codingpad.maryspad.com/ has been doing some work with ProcessWire and the subject of tutorials did come up in an exchange we had last week so I'm guessing might be something on the way from there if not on the new ProcessWire site...

[Biscuit]

Yeah. A getting started/tutorial is REALLY needed. I'm well versed in HTML/XHTML/CSS/PHP/Javascript/Perl, etc (nearing 10 years of experience)...but this involves more than simply writing the code.

Yes, I can edit pages through the GUI, but beyond that, I have NFI idea how to begin to do what I want to do. I've installed modules. OK, great...now how do I get them to show up? In the Page? In the sidebar?

I'll continue slogging through the forums looking for clues, hopefully I wouldn't give up before I find enough to get started. Just some simple code examples would be enough. It's like there's documentation on steps 1 and 2, then steps 7, 8 and 9....but steps 3, 4, 5 and 6 aren't referenced anywhere.

TIA to Ryan, Martin, and Apesia. I've already gotten a lot of good tips from your posts.

[Biscuit]

I know Mary over at The Coding Pad http://codingpad.maryspad.com/ has been doing some work with ProcessWire and the subject of tutorials did come up in an exchange we had last week so I'm guessing might be something on the way from there if not on the new ProcessWire site...

A search of "Processwire" on the http://codingpad.maryspad.com/ site comes back empty. Would it be under something else/another name?

[apeisa]

Hi Biscuit and welcome to the forums.

Yeah. A getting started/tutorial is REALLY needed.

I agree. Hope someone finds time and writes simple tutorial from start to the end. I might have time at Christmas time, but I cannot promise. I consider this as a very important thing.

Yes, I can edit pages through the GUI, but beyond that, I have NFI idea how to begin to do what I want to do. I've installed modules. OK, great...now how do I get them to show up? In the Page? In the sidebar?

This is actually the place where PW differs most from many other CMS out there. In short: most of the modules aren't something that you install and tell where to show up. You don't install "image gallery" module and after that go to edit something in admin page and tell where to put image galleries.

In pw you create template (or probably two) called "gallery". Then you add there the fields you want - ie. title, summary, images. After that you create corresponding template file, called gallery.php (goes into /site/template/ folder) and there you code how you want your fields to show up.

TIA to Ryan, Martin, and Apesia. I've already gotten a lot of good tips from your posts.

Thanks. Always feel free to ask anything here!

[ryan]

Yes, I can edit pages through the GUI, but beyond that, I have NFI idea how to begin to do what I want to do. I've installed modules. OK, great...now how do I get them to show up? In the Page? In the sidebar?

Hold off on doing anything with modules. Get to know the template system first. Add-on modules are not something that one needs to get a site going. Most modules provide additional capabilities to the API rather than create something literal, so delve into modules later. Once you understand the templates and API, then modules will make sense without even thinking about it.

I think that most of the answers you are looking for you'll find in the files under /site/templates/. Start with viewing your homepage, and then take a look in the file /site/templates/home.php. Then take a look at the files it includes (head.inc and foot.inc). If anything there doesn't make sense, post questions here. There is no such thing as a dumb question here -- all questions are welcome.

If anyone wants the skyscrapers profile and doesn't mind installing an old version of PW to make it work, please email me at ryan at this domain, and I'll email you a link and instructions. However, the Skyscrapers profile is a more complex example, and I still think the basic profile that PW comes with is the best example to get started with. Only about 10 people have even played with the skyscrapers profile and I think most in this forum haven't seen it, so I don't think many have used that to learn from. The basic profile is heavily commented and kept intentionally simple to guide you through the different template files. Once that example makes sense, then the Skyscrapers profile is a good one to check next. Though once you understand the basic profile, you may realize how simple it all is and want to start using it rather than look at more examples... I think everyone is different in this regard. I like to look at lots of examples... others like to start experimenting rather than look at examples, and I think we can accommodate either way.

I think that often people think PW is a lot more complex than it is, perhaps because it's approach is so different from something like Drupal or WordPress. In reality, when you know PW, things like Drupal and WordPress will seem needlessly complex (my opinion at least).

I'm hoping to also start adding new profiles to download once 2.2 is out. A blog profile will probably be the first. I still think the basic profile will be the best starting point, but I know people are more likely to learn best from something consistent with their needs at the time. If they are building sites that are a lot different from the basic profile, it may not be as good of a starting point. Having more profiles increases the possibility that we'll be covering the type of examples that someone needs at a given time. I know Pete is also working on something that compiles all the examples into a more friendly starting point than a forum. I'm excited because I think this will be a great tutorial resource.

[diogo]

I think that often people think PW is a lot more complex than it is, perhaps because it's approach is so different from something like Drupal or WordPress. In reality, when you know PW, things like Drupal and WordPress will seem needlessly complex (my opinion at least)

Ya, this is how I feel exactly. The good thing about PW is that you don't need to learn lots of things. As soon as you learn the very basics, you can start building things by logic. The API is intuitive and works in a very semantical way. The grammar, on the other hand, is extremely simple

[martinluff]

A search of "Processwire" on the http://codingpad.maryspad.com/ site comes back empty. Would it be under something else/another name?

Sorry, I think I gave the wrong impression there, Mary and I only just talked about possibility of doing some PW basics tutorials the other week in passing; we have to think about how to approach that and one or other (or both of us) create them (good tutorials take a bit of time to put together); plus we're both pretty busy right now with client work so definitely we'd like to do them but it might be a little while before they're available. Of course someone else might also be working on this already...

Thanks for the comments Ryan. I found the Skyscraper demo to be very useful, BUT it does have a pretty hefty include to abstract out a lot of the logic from the individual templates so not as straight forward to follow as the default simple site installation. More site profiles would be great and I think this has huge promise for streamlining and speeding up development on live projects for users - especially if you have a number of similar projects that you're building out; but a few 'how to convert this site into a PW site' or 'how to convert this template into a PW data-driven site' step-by-step tutorials would be very useful as well. This also helps address different learning styles since I appreciate that well commented code can still be difficult to translate into a new 'from scratch' build for some without some other way to see worked examples.

Partly I want to think carefully about how best to put together a tutorial since ProcessWire is very flexible and doesn't dictate a particular way of working so I wouldn't want any method used in a tutorial to become the de-facto way of doing things just because the tutorial approached it in that way.

When I started using ExpressionEngine I really appreciated this tutorial http://www.train-ee.com/courseware/free-tutorials/category/building-a-small-business-site/ by Mike Boyink on building out a simple small business showcase site. Do you think this might be a good model to work from? Be interested in your thoughts Ryan, Adam and Antti (or anyone else here for that matter).

[Biscuit]

Hi Biscuit and welcome to the forums.

Thank you!

In pw you create template (or probably two) called "gallery". Then you add there the fields you want - ie. title, summary, images. After that you create corresponding template file, called gallery.php (goes into /site/template/ folder) and there you code how you want your fields to show up.

That's the part I'm stumped over. That and the fields (how they work, etc). I've looked at the HelloWorld.module and tried to decipher/deconstruct it to see how it's working, and see that the placement is hard-coded into the module itself.

I can't speak for others, but I don't even need a step-by-step tutorial. Just a working example would be fine. Something that shows how to make what I want show up where I want it.

[Biscuit]

Hold off on doing anything with modules. Get to know the template system first. Add-on modules are not something that one needs to get a site going. Most modules provide additional capabilities to the API rather than create something literal, so delve into modules later. Once you understand the templates and API, then modules will make sense without even thinking about it.

I think that most of the answers you are looking for you'll find in the files under /site/templates/. Start with viewing your homepage, and then take a look in the file /site/templates/home.php. Then take a look at the files it includes (head.inc and foot.inc).

I had done what you suggested, several times in fact. I went back once more (just to be thorough) and took a looooonger look at header.php (head.inc renamed), and see a lot more than I did over the past few days. I swear that sidebar code wasn't there before! lol I think I was expecting only "header" info to be there. My bad for that.

I have read the templates section of the API, but it didn't really "click" for me. I think the part that's confusing me is the fields/fieldtypes.  How they are used/called. I was able to find some http://processwire.com/videos/page-fieldtype/ documentation under videos, and if those are the other docs available then I'll watch next week. I'm not always in a place/location where I can watch videos. I personally do much better with written code examples. Yeah, sorry...I'm old sk00l.

I do still want to know how to call a module (say the Twitter feed) into a specific area (say the sidebar). I respectfully disagree, this functionality *is* something one needs to get a site going. Or any other module. Your choice.

If anything there doesn't make sense, post questions here. There is no such thing as a dumb question here -- all questions are welcome.

Thanks. Time will tell if that holds true.

The basic profile is heavily commented and kept intentionally simple to guide you through the different template files. Once that example makes sense, then the Skyscrapers profile is a good one to check next. Though once you understand the basic profile, you may realize how simple it all is and want to start using it rather than look at more examples... I think everyone is different in this regard. I like to look at lots of examples... others like to start experimenting rather than look at examples, and I think we can accommodate either way.

It's heavily commented, to a point. That's the point where at least *I* am left asking the question "OK, now what? Now what do I do?" I go through this myself when I write tutorials on things I have done for years (and could do in my sleep). What needs to be done (and the knowledge behind it) is so ingrained in me, that I don't realize not everyone knows the inbetween parts.

I think that often people think PW is a lot more complex than it is, perhaps because it's approach is so different from something like Drupal or WordPress. In reality, when you know PW, things like Drupal and WordPress will seem needlessly complex (my opinion at least).

I happen to share that opinion of those two (and more). I've tried many CMSes (CMSi? lol) and never careful for them because they are more of a hindrance than a help. That's why I was hoping that PW would be a good solution, since from what I see it "stays out of my way" more so than your average CMS. I'm used to coding by hand, using includes.

I just need to get past this "learning bump" to see if PW is a good fit. I realize I probably come across as impatient, but I don't have 2 weeks to ramp up on something unless I can be sure it will do what I need it to do, and the time is being well-spent. It's never taken me more than a day to judge one way or the other whether an app would fit my needs. What I've seen of PW thus far, it has some amazing features! Now if I only knew how to use them....

I know Pete is also working on something that compiles all the examples into a more friendly starting point than a forum. I'm excited because I think this will be a great tutorial resource.

That would be awesome! SMFs' search feature leaves a lot to be desired.

I *do* appreciate your reply and your efforts, thank you!

[Biscuit]

Sorry, I think I gave the wrong impression there,

No worries...just wanted to make sure I didn't miss it.

Partly I want to think carefully about how best to put together a tutorial since ProcessWire is very flexible and doesn't dictate a particular way of working so I wouldn't want any method used in a tutorial to become the de-facto way of doing things just because the tutorial approached it in that way.

Even showing one way, a starting point, is a good thing. Getting started with something new is almost always the hardest part. Having gotten their feet wet, it's easier to for people to find their own way.

[formmailer]

I do still want to know how to call a module (say the Twitter feed) into a specific area (say the sidebar). I respectfully disagree, this functionality *is* something one needs to get a site going. Or any other module. Your choice.

As for the Twitter module. Did you take a look at the screencast in this topic: http://processwire.com/talk/index.php/topic,281.0.html ?

If you want the module to show in your sidebar, you can call the module using the following code into the sidebar section of the tempate. (in the default example section, this is in the head.inc file.):

$page->renderTweets("/url/to/page/you/just/created/");

/Jasper