PW: my reactions so far...

[PhotoWebMax]

I am sure some of you must have noticed my stumbling around in the dark while getting used to the ProcessWire system. Someday I hope to emerge as a user who brings more to the table than just silly newbie questions. I am sitting down with a mug of really good coffee so I thought I would offer my feelings and reactions to ProcessWire thus far…

 

Quick background: I am a photographer with a long history in photojournalism and commercial work. I have also enjoyed doing web work for years. I built quite a few static sites before searching for a CMS system that felt like home. I must have tested about a dozen or so before spending some real time with Wordpress and then MODx. I liked Wordpress but the template system was awkward for me to me customize. I then found MODx Evo. I stuck with Evo for years and found it very designer friendly. I am not a code developer at all but Evo allowed me the flexibility to design static test pages using clean HTML and then create my Evo template from that foundation. MODx uses a system of combining placeholder code using Chunks, programmed Snippets and Template Variables (TVs) for dynamic forks in the road. Forgive me: I have never been well versed in web tech jargon. 

 

One of the features (or liabilities) with MODx is that it uses its own template language. When you deploy a Snippet you need a Snippet “Call” to set parameters on how the Snippet will function. Usually you would need a special template for the Snippet as well. This process is not totally intuitive and has its own learning curve. 

 

Then along came the entirely new branch of MODx called Revolution, or Revo for short. Revo was more powerful but also more complex. The nice thing with Revo is that you could spend more time away from the root folder or using an FTP client to upload and install Snippets. The Package Management system is a powerful means of installing and updating the various Snippets and plugins. Updating these building blocks in Evo is more of a pain; manual copy and paste effort required. 

 

What I did not like with Revo is that much of the placeholder and template syntax changed from Evo. The changes were subtle but deadly if you confused the two. The main issue I have with Revo is how slow the Manager (admin) system is. The amount of stuff (very techie term here) in Revo is overwhelming. Some of my clients who used the Revo Manager sporadically would always forget how to do things. To be honest I would have the same issue on occasion. 

 

With MODx we had Evo, then Revo, then the whole cloud system and now MODx III. It sort of gets confusing. To counter this the forum now has a zillion sections that cater to all the MODx project branches. But I find doing a search on my issues or questions revealed some confusing links to information that focuses on a different branch or is outdated to the system I am working with. 

 

I guess this last year was a difficult year for MODx: growing pains and money, etc. The whole technology of Revo, the Cloud and the loss of some of its main core programmers (Shaun McCormick) has created some signal-to-noise-ratio issues. Last year was a terrible year for me personally as well. The joy of buying a new project house was crushed by the death of my father and my only sibling (in South Africa) in the space of just four months. Coming out of this fog I sought of stumbled on some interesting chatter about MODx users switching to ProcessWire. The rest of this quick moving journey has been interesting to say the least. 

 

My reaction to PW has been filled with both initial confusion and admiration. I thought my not knowing any PhP was going to be a deal breaker. I sort of had initial writer’s block with the blank page. The PW installation would go well, but then what? But after playing around with several local test installs I can see how liberating and powerful the PW API, the template system and Fields really are. I am slowly picking up some basic use of PhP statements. Doing so is more valuable and efficient than the MODx learning curve with it’s proprietary template syntax. I suspect my working knowledge of the PhP that will make using PW easier will only grow with time. That is my hope for sure. 

 

The thing I like about the PW Admin is the speed and the whole weight of the backend. Compare the jQuery Admin to the heavy, heavy MODx Revo Manager and there is no contest. It works better on the iPad as well. My clients have commented on how much “stuff” there is in the Revo Manager. I can’t wait to show them how fast and simple the PW Admin is by comparison. 

 

One of my issues is letting MODx go. The community has been great. I cant tell you all how much I admire and appreciate folks like Susan Ottwell, Bob Ray, Jay Gilmore and countless others. Susan has over 20,000 posts on the MODx forum. Just about all of them are consistently helpful and insightful. Being a heavy forum contributor can lead to one’s becoming impatient and suffering from burnout, but Susan’s helpful attitude has been amazing. 

 

But my heart tells me that I am better suited to learning ProcessWire rather than the awkward mix of MODx Evo and Revo that I have been using to this point. I think I am also trying to duplicate some MODx procedures when I work with my PW test projects. I think that time will be on my side as I become more comfortable doing things the “ProcessWire way”. 

 

Anyway, I am not sure where I am going with this, I just wanted to offer my $.02 and to say how grateful I am with all of you who have shown patience with my initial learning. 

 

Cheers,

 

Max

[diogo]

I'm on mobile and at my parents door waiting to finish this answer to ring. Just wanted to thank for your text and tell you that it told me a lot about mode, a system that I don't know, but respect. I'm sorry for your losses.

[teppo]

Thanks for sharing this and sorry for your losses. It's always interesting to read about initial reactions to ProcessWire -- it's a great system, but surely there's always room for improvement, and in this regard it's good to have folks with experience from others systems around too.

I've never used MODx myself, all I know about it is what I've read from this forum.. and when someone mentions "evolution" or "revolution", I instantly think of Harley engines

[bwakad]

Never really hear of MODx, except in this forum. But I have been playing with so many php scripts and cms over the last year, and I suddenly came upon Processwire. Sure, in the beginning it's a strange learning curve to dive into. Global naming conventions would be nice when learning some software package, but is really a utopia.

It took me around a month to learn about page vs pages, find vs get, and especially the API/cheatsheet and profiles. Thankfully on this forum there are many contributors that reach out and help. Meanwhile I get to learn PHP as well.

And yes, of course there are always things you miss or are not clear. But so far, I am building a great website with just basic knowledge of PW which I had never done using any other software. If someone mention about another software, I will read it being curious, but skip using it any way. PW for me is so complete and easy and I doubt if I ever turn to other software.

Also a good thing about PW is that it's solid. No errors (unless you make them yourself). Not if you update, use a profile, or a module (so far). There is really only you, building the way you want, making layout how you want. And certainly not a hundred or more coders uploading whatever profile/module the want. There's a great team behind it all.

[pwired]

Photowebmax:

I recognize a lot in what you write and I'm sure others will also.

Yes, first we are human and second we are a designer/coder.

Modx, well, loved evo but ran away from that frankenstein cms revo.

Yes I have to give the modx forum credit, especially to Susan Otwell.

She helped countless people on the forum and also helped modx a

long time ago when they were in trouble.

Thanks to pw I finally fell in the process of becoming a php coder.

Making websites has the advantage of making new contacts/friends

world wide.

[OrganizedFellow]

@pwired

There are several great quotes in your post above:

>> Yes, first we are human and second we are a designer/coder.

and

>> Thanks to pw I finally fell in the process of becoming a php coder.

I highly agree with them both. Very well said!

 

@Max

Welcome to the forums  

I am sorry to hear about losing your father and sibling  

[pwired]

 >> Thanks to pw I finally fell in the process of becoming a php coder.

Not my line, I borrowed it. Can't find anymore who posted that originally.

Was not so long ago, strange.

[PhotoWebMax]

I was going to start a new thread labeled "Blown Away", but decided I really should just add a new comment on this thread that I started several weeks ago...

My learning and time spent with Processwire has been an "on again - off again" process. 

I have had some serious "I will never learn this" moments, but I am pleased to say that I am currently thrilled and seduced by the potential that PW offers. "Blown Away" really does describe it. 

After reading many, many PW forum threads and following some of the tutorials it really is beginning to make sense. I have done some reading on PHP and even ordered a Quick Start book on PHP. This book, more than the websites, has really made me go back to the copy and paste template code that I have been using and figure out what is actually going on. Today I spent a couple of hours slowly rereading (with much greater comprehension) the PW API. I won't go into the details but lately I have been having those "aha" moments. I am also beginning to have fun and even welcome random PW thoughts that float into my brain at odd times. I am sure that many of you can relate to this feeling. 

I have fiddled with several CMS platforms over the years and know my way around html and css, but I have never felt so enthused about the learning curve ahead.

My hats off to the folks that have developed ProcessWire. I also want to thank all the forum members who have offered great help and suggestions along this journey...

[DaveP]

My hats off to the folks that have developed ProcessWire. I also want to thank all the forum members who have offered great help and suggestions along this journey...

...and thanks to you also, for your insights and for taking the time to share them.