TXP vs EE

hcgtv · 2006-07-17 19:19:56

Rick alluded to Open Sourcing pMachine but it never materialized. His point was that the code was not all that good and wouldn’t be worth releasing it to developers.

Should Textpattern be dropped tomorrow by Dean and friends, it will get picked up, I have no doubts about it. It’s such a small code base that it doesn’t take that long to wrap your head around it, I can probably list at least 15 to 20 people on this forum who are familiar with the inner workings of Textpattern.

As far as a fork goes, that’s the nature of Open Source and no it doesn’t weaken a project at all. As a matter of fact if you follow the evolution of PHP-Nuke to PostNuke, Xaraya and all the other derivatives, it’s only had the effect of strengthening the Nuke community.

running with scissors · 2006-07-17 20:01:34

it’s all matter of perspective, hcgtv.

hcgtv · 2006-07-17 20:32:40

Textpattern has a much more lively community that shares:

327 plugins at Textpattern.org

87 plugins at plugins.pmachine.com

EE is for web developers, like yourself, buy a copy of EE for your client, tweak it and hand it over to them. Any templates, plugins, additions to the code base you create never see the light of day, it’s your advantage over other design houses, gotta keep ahead of Moxie ;)

Textpattern is community based, we share cause we feel like it’s the right thing to do. The software is free, why not give back something to the community?

That’s my perspective.

Ace of Dubs · 2006-07-17 20:50:41

This debate will rage forever and ultimately is a matter of preference. I am more interested in hearing the practical pros and cons of what each of these packages has to offer.

Personally, the open source and warm community vibe is what wins me over with TXP hands down, and I will be using it for the bulk of my work. But this doesnt mean that one day I wont use EE for a more complicated project that is out of TXP’s grasp. (Or maybe I am just infiltrating EE so I can rob all their good ideas and have our gang whip up some plugins..Muahahahhhh!)

Thats how I see it anyway

NyteOwl · 2006-07-17 21:06:45

There are a few features on the EE list that ould look good in TXP :)

hcgtv · 2006-07-17 21:08:12

Ace of Dubs wrote:

(Or maybe I am just infiltrating EE so I can rob all their good ideas and have our gang whip up some plugins..Muahahahhhh!)

Muahahahhhh!

running with scissors · 2006-07-17 21:31:04

i don’t know why you are trying to turn this into a pissing contest but i agree, txp has a bigger and more involved developer community. i’ve stated as such many times in the past. it is definitely one of its greatest strengths. however, your numbers don’t take in consideration that txp has been around since what, 2001? i think ee is going on 3 now. you will also need to factor in ee modules and extensions as well plugins as ways of extending the system. in fact most of the plugins listed on the pmachine site are developed by the community at large with links to additional plugins, modules, and extensions within the forums. plenty of sharing going on. i would say it is quite different from how you painted it. but i guess you have a perspective that needs to be maintained.

as far holding my own with other design firms/houses, i think we are doing just fine without having to worry about some imaged technological advantage;) sibley peteet design

hcgtv · 2006-07-17 22:13:56

Don, I presume.

This isn’t a pissing contest, sorry if you feel like it is, we’re just debating two different mindsets.

I’ve followed pMachine for many years, as I do many other projects, you can say I’m a connoisseur of Dynamic Web Apps. I actually ran a pMachine site for about 6 months, did a 14 day EE eval before it was launched. I decided to switch to an Open Source solution because I didn’t want to pay the price of admission for every domain I was planning on launching.

EE is a great application, I like the synergy of the CMS, Forum, Gallery and Wiki modules. I just feel I can do the same with Open Source apps.

Mary · 2006-07-17 22:34:53

i don’t know why you are trying to turn this into a pissing contest…

Hardly. Bert prefers to stick with open source software, you’re indifferent. No biggie. We all use what works for us for a given project.

I am more interested in hearing the practical pros and cons of what each of these packages has to offer.

How about trying it out yourself? :) That’s the quickest way to know what it can do.

I like it’s custom fields stuff, and parts of how the templating system works.
The tags are indeed “yucky” – ala Smarty: {exp:weblog:entries orderby="date" sort="desc" limit="100"}
Prefs are somewhat confusing in their layout.

I’ve tried to use it on more than one occasion, then gave up when I kept hitting roadblocks in what I wanted to acheive in different areas.

running with scissors · 2006-07-17 22:47:46

are you kidding? don has no idea how any of this stuff works. but that is funny:)

i think we travelled down the same road only to get to deferent destinations. i too have been looking at various dynamic apps, always looking for the holy grail of cms/publishing solutions and never truly finding it. pmachine, expressionsengine, textpattern, modx, symphony, mt, wordpress, jetbox, etc and not mention several custom solutions. of those txp and ee certainly distinguished themselves above the rest. and though ee is becoming my primary engine of choice, i still keep my big toe in the textpattern waters incase things change.

ee is far from perfect and i certainly have my gripes, but there is one thing that it has – accountability.

my apologies if this has somewhat derailed the discussion.

Last edited by running with scissors (2006-07-17 22:53:04)

Ace of Dubs · 2006-07-17 23:02:57

I actually have EE installed and am building a basic blog. So far I am loving some of the goodies it has to offer. The relationships between various articles and categories is a lot more intuitive and yes, unlimited and groupable custom fields is a BIG plus. But as Mary said, the admin can be a little cluttered at times. I dont like that I have to navigate 3 or 4 levels deep to get the tool/setting I need. The simplicity and elegance of TXP is one of its greatest strengths…

running with scissors wrote:

ee is far from perfect and i certainly have my gripes..

In the spirit of keeping this thread on track, I would like to hear what you love/hate about EE and TXP. The aim of this thread was to get a list of +‘s and -‘s so feel free to contribute :)

running with scissors · 2006-07-18 02:51:49

fair enough…

quick list of pros, some of which have already been mentioned:

+ unlimited custom fields – one of my favorite aspects of the system.
+ conditionals and advanced conditionals are quite powerful and another favorite.
+ custom sql queries – i’m far from a master in this area, but they have come in very handy.
+ multi user control panel access – limit what kind of access individuals have in the back-end.
+ stand alone entry forms for members.
+ flexible template structure – can be as simple or as complex as you need it to be.
+ search and replace
+ flexible category and sub category structure.
+ tag syntax – i actually like it. to me, it’s not to dissimilar to txp but then again, i’m not going to win any scripting awards.
+ integrated forum and wiki with an e-commerce module on its way.
+ excellent documentation.
+ commercial software – faster development, accountability, and reliability.

cons:

- its blogging roots still show through at times.<br />
- cost can be an issue for some projects. not as big of a deal now that they offer a free core option.<br />
- no hierarchical page structure – existing article entry structure can be confusing to clients.<br />
- to many system admin configurations can be daunting and we bit confusing, especially for novices.

Last edited by running with scissors (2006-07-18 02:57:48)

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#13 2006-07-17 19:19:56

Re: TXP vs EE

#14 2006-07-17 20:01:34

Re: TXP vs EE

#15 2006-07-17 20:32:40

Re: TXP vs EE

#16 2006-07-17 20:50:41

Re: TXP vs EE

#17 2006-07-17 21:06:45

Re: TXP vs EE

#18 2006-07-17 21:08:12

Re: TXP vs EE

#19 2006-07-17 21:31:04

Re: TXP vs EE

#20 2006-07-17 22:13:56

Re: TXP vs EE

#21 2006-07-17 22:34:53

Re: TXP vs EE

#22 2006-07-17 22:47:46

Re: TXP vs EE

#23 2006-07-17 23:02:57

Re: TXP vs EE

#24 2006-07-18 02:51:49

Re: TXP vs EE

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