TXP vs EE

davidm · 2006-07-18 06:40:18

Actually I had posted a comparison a while back, having been both a Textpattern user since 2004 and an EE user since 2005.

Here is how the comparison looks, for me :

<blockquote> BETTER THAN TXP

multiple weblogs is very easy to set up (as good if not better than b2evolution or WordPress Mu in this respect)
conditionnal global variables (detail here)
custom variables is more powerful than txp (can choose type, and associate custom field group individually to weblogs)
integrated gallery is nice (but only available in paid version)
revisionning (utility of this might be discussed though)
rights management and user management (both backend and frontend, pretty granular control over permissions)
Built-in Private Messenging (can be useful for collaborative writing, as Jeremie often pointed out => Jeremie correct me if I am wrong) and mailing list

AS GOOD AS TXP

template groups are akin to sections (but same “problem”, categories cannot be hierachically placed under template groups)
sub-templates akin to forms
tags are easy and readable, templating is as good as textpattern, so is standard compliance.
plugins are called via tags : e.g can be placed in template and you can pass parameters in a very similar way

NOT AS GOOD AS TXP

not opensource (but now, free core)
urls are not as flexible and search engine friendly as txp (based on path info. To EE users : yeah I know, can be tweaked with rewrite rules, but more complicated)
admin is ugly and way too heavy (though better laid out than before)
fewer plugins (under 90, most of them adding limited features…)
modules are very late and scarce (forum and galery were long overdue… and feeling lonely !)
</blockquote>

zem · 2006-07-18 07:04:39

+ Trackbacks

I’m a bit puzzled as to why people keep counting this as a pro (and its absence from Textpattern as a negative).

Trackback is 98% pure spam. And there’s no way to fix it.

It’s always been the case that Trackback support could be added to Textpattern with a plugin fairly easily. That no one has bothered, speaks volumes.

Ace of Dubs · 2006-07-18 12:02:10

Now this is more like it!

@david m

The full post in that thread is probably one of the best comparisons of CMS I have seen to date. Thx!

running with scissors wrote:

+ search and replace

Is this a global search/replace for multiple files?

zem wrote:

Trackback is 98% pure spam.

Holy crap on a stick! I had no idea the problem was that bad. Looking at it this way, no trackbacks is more of a feature than an omission.

hcgtv wrote:

Muahahahhhh!

Eeeeeexcellent! (said in Mr. Burns fashion)

I am still interested in hearing more comparisons, but from my own limited experience with both packages I can honestly say that if there is one feature of EE that simply MUST be implemented in TXP, it is their handling of custom fields. I never liked that TXP fields are always visible, even when not relevant to the content and I’m sorry but for anything other than a basic blog, ten of them is just not enough. Coming in at a close second would have to be the advanced conditional tags (the ability to nest more than three levels deep), particularly some elseif would be awesome, and probably not too difficult to make as a plugin…

The custom field issue is huge, and not as easily solved. I am curious how (or if) Team TXP is planning to address this shortcoming…

running with scissors · 2006-07-18 14:25:36

Is this a global search/replace for multiple files?

you have the ability search and replace specified blocks of info throughout your site in various ways: by section entry titles, section fields (body, extended, etc.), and templates/template groups. has come in very useful at times.

Trackback is 98% pure spam.

easy to turn on or off as you see fit.

hcgtv · 2006-07-18 14:59:24

Very good comparisons, nice thread.

One thing that has struck me as odd about EE is the ever increasing complexity of the admin section. I remember trying out a 1.0 version and the admin area was a thing of beauty, heck I kept linking to it from the project I was involved with. Then over time it’s gotten so busy that it’s gone away from it’s roots of being a simple CMS application.

I know EE has a lot of features but Rick and Paul really need to take a step back and make the admin area feel less complicated, bring it back to the simplistic look of the pMachine days for 90% of what users deal with on a daily basis. It’s just way too complicated to add an article, I can imagine the training of new clients these days.

As Textpattern revamps it’s admin area, I hope it stays simple, no matter how many features are added.

Sencer · 2006-07-18 15:20:09

(edit: removed)

Last edited by Sencer (2006-07-18 15:48:58)

running with scissors · 2006-07-18 16:17:00

hcgtv wrote:

I know EE has a lot of features but Rick and Paul really need to take a step back and make the admin area feel less complicated, bring it back to the simplistic look of the pMachine days for 90% of what users deal with on a daily basis. It’s just way too complicated to add an article, I can imagine the training of new clients these days.

all though there are certain aspects that are overly complicated such as adding a category or new section, i’m not sure i would classify adding an article as such. that is really fairly straight forward and not really any different than textpattern.

as far as the control panel goes, i agree, ee’s approach with all elements visible and accessible is complicated and may need to be reorganized and possibly streamlined a bit. this is something that i always wrestle with when deciding if ee, or any other off-the-shelf system is appropriate for the end user, as most of the sites i build will ultimately be maintained by a client that has little to no web publishing experience. i always try to put myself in my clients shoes and see what will work for them. the good thing about ee, in my opinion, is that through user prefs you can hide much of the site that they need not ever touch. this simplifies the situation for them immensely. i can’t recall if this even is possible in txp. don’t get me wrong, i like the way txp is organized by separating it basically into: content, structure, and admin. very simple and clean, but it still can be very confusing to the lay person.

i think the problem lies that ee definitely give you a lot of granular control over many aspects of a site. this allows for added power and flexibility. unfortunately, flexibility comes at the price of added complexity.

Last edited by running with scissors (2006-07-18 16:21:35)

Destry · 2006-07-18 17:12:47

Where’s there’s a CMS comparison, you’re sure to find davidm. And he does know his stuff.

Hi David.

running with scissors · 2006-07-18 20:43:54

For those interested in hearing more from the ee camp, i posted a link back to this topic on the pmachine forums that has garnered a few additional responses. Those can be found here: linky pinky

Last edited by running with scissors (2006-07-18 20:45:08)

squaredeye · 2006-07-18 21:25:07

Ace of Dubs,
A big part of the comparison for me comes in how the community handles teaching. This may not matter to some folks who pick this stuff up like its free change, but getting my mind around TXP took time, and thanks to people like Mary, Els (DoggieZ), Stuart (theBombSite), and whole hosts of others around here, I am finally feeling pretty dang good about it.

I have tried EE, and their forums, and the product seemed very flexible and interesting, powerful and great for some projects that seemed like they needed a bigger engine with more muscle, BUT, I found the learning curve their as steep or steeper than the TXP curve, while the community was not quite as helpful, or maybe they were helpful but not as dedicated to helping. I personally find the TXP forum community the MAIN selling point of this product, followed shortly by its simplicity, etc.

That criteria may only be important to someone like me though. Here this summer, I am trying to soak my head in some ee and a little modx to see what happens, but at the end of the day, I rest my head here.

Hope that helps. (not as technical as some, but hopefully another perspective?)

aarplane · 2006-07-19 02:28:29

I personally believe that EE and TXP should work closely. Kind of an intermix between developers.

Think about it: we both have systems with easy templating using markup, a clean admin interface, and the power to run a fully fledged website without jumping through hoops.

I’d be glad if we could collaborate more between EE. They’re commercial and we’re open source, but that’s not the be all and end all.

Once again, I believe that it would be great if both communities collaborated more towards technical aspects. We can both learn from eachother.

Myself, personally, I use both systems. I use TXP for my personal blog, unirrelevant.be and I use EE for the site that I am the admin for, linuxteens.com.

Both are equally deserving of the role of best blogging CMS there is.

It’s not a question of who’s better, because like Leslie has said, we both have our purposes and duties. There is clearly not a winner here, and there never will be, as long as both are developed.

Textpattern CMS

Textpattern CMS support forum

#25 2006-07-18 06:40:18

Re: TXP vs EE

#26 2006-07-18 07:04:39

Re: TXP vs EE

#27 2006-07-18 12:02:10

Re: TXP vs EE

#28 2006-07-18 14:25:36

Re: TXP vs EE

#29 2006-07-18 14:59:24

Re: TXP vs EE

#30 2006-07-18 15:20:09

Re: TXP vs EE

#31 2006-07-18 16:17:00

Re: TXP vs EE

#32 2006-07-18 17:12:47

Re: TXP vs EE

#33 2006-07-18 20:43:54

Re: TXP vs EE

#34 2006-07-18 21:25:07

Re: TXP vs EE

#35 2006-07-19 02:28:29

Re: TXP vs EE

Board footer