Text Pattern versus Expression Engine

roofchop · 2007-02-25 09:27:55

Sorry if this is similar to the Text pattern v Drupal post, but i only discovered Text Pattern last night following hours of which-CMS? research.

I have narrowed my options down to Text Pattern and Expression Engine – ee seems to have a good reputation. Cost issues aside, can anyone with experience of both give their opinions?

Much appreciated

Mary · 2007-02-25 17:44:09

It’d help if you stated what you need your cms to do for you, and what you don’t want it to do. Otherwise it’s an extremely open question. :)

hcgtv · 2007-02-25 18:01:58

Hi,

I used to use pMachine, which was the predecessor to EE, then I moved on to Nucleus CMS but kept tabs of pMachine’s progress towards EE 1.0. I’m a big fan of anything PHP and don’t look down on any project, I feel that each project has it’s merits, they just tackle things in different ways.

Months back, we had a similar discussion on this forum about Textpattern versus EE, which turned into a rather nasty exchange between the Open Source world and the pMachine staff. If you follow their forums, any thread comparing EE to anything Open Source, turns into a put down of said Open Source system. The pMachine staff always brings up the security issues in Open Source projects, no comparison of features, just that Open Source is inherently less secure, yadda, yadda…

So in my book, EE lost it’s good rep, I wouldn’t use it nor recommend it even if it was the last CMS in the world, I’d rather go back to using Notepad.

sunmaker · 2007-02-26 00:33:31

>Cost issues aside, can anyone with experience of both give their opinions?

I love them both. I find them head and shoulders above Drupal, Joomla, WordPress and most high-dollar commercial CMS I have been exposed to.

I make my living these days running an EE site. I have also built sites for clients in TXP and I hope to build some more.

Although you said “cost issues aside”, it’s worth noting that both TXP and EE Core are free.

EE has a sophisticated member management system. If your site requires authorized users to login with a unique password in order to see member-only material, EE is very good for that.

The member management system is not present in the free EE Core. Darn near everything else is present in EE Core and I find EE Core and TXP roughly equivalent.

EE has a vast number of settings and an almost overwhelming number of administrator controls. TXP, even with its sometimes usability challenged interface, is more approachable than EE. In my experience, this is important if the site is ultimately to be managed by the client.

I have trained someone to understand how to run a TXP site in one afternoon. To run or even comprehend an EE site would be a daylong seminar at least.

I will be very excited to see the revised TXP admin interface when it finally arrives…

EE has vast documentation, principally a guide to its tagging language. The tagging language works similarly to TXP but can be a bit harder to get one’s mind around.

It is not uncommon to have some tiny, obscure EE setting, buried several levels deep in the admin system, completely fufuffinate your site until a staff member on the EE support boards points it out. About half of their time seems to be devoted to this type of issue.

Where I did not find TXP so swell is in the plugin department. On the one hand, the number and power of TXP plugins, and the labor of love they represent, are all very impressive.

On the other hand, I find TXP plugins often sparsely documented, with docs written for insiders or apparently not tested on people not in the plugin developers’ immediate circle. Dean Allen is a genius and benefactor, but he has a propensity for terse communication and austere design that others need not emulate.

One plugin in particular eases backing up of the TXP site database. I could never get that to work right on some hosts. I think I once paid to have it developed. Thank goodness, EE has a built-in database backup that works crisply.

For the larger site with diverse departments feeding content and making demands, EE could fill the bill. For the smaller site where member login is not required, and where the ultimate site administrator may not be geekoid, I point you to TXP.

hakjoon · 2007-02-26 01:16:03

sunmaker wrote:
On the other hand, I find TXP plugins often sparsely documented, with docs written for insiders or apparently not tested on people not in the plugin developers’ immediate circle.

Everyone who installs a plugin is a tester. If it does not work somewhere, report it. Most times the author will fix it, and if that does not happen often someone else will fix it. Plugin authors can only fix problems they know exist.

The same goes for documentation. Post on the thread explaining what is unclear, offer suggestions. We’re a friendly bunch :)

roofchop · 2007-02-26 14:22:32

Thank you all, especially Sunmaker – you’ve clarified a lot.

I took the plunge and installed TXP before looking at your post. Having skimmed the surface and read your comments, I reckon I’ve backed the right horse.

For a non-Geekoid like me looking to build and manage simple but modern standards-based websites, TXP looks perfectly suited.

zem · 2007-02-27 00:07:46

On the other hand, I find TXP plugins often sparsely documented, with docs written for insiders or apparently not tested on people not in the plugin developers’ immediate circle.

You might like to take a look at the new Professional Series of Textpattern plugins.

Textpattern CMS

Textpattern CMS support forum

#1 2007-02-25 09:27:55

Text Pattern versus Expression Engine

#2 2007-02-25 17:44:09

Re: Text Pattern versus Expression Engine

#3 2007-02-25 18:01:58

Re: Text Pattern versus Expression Engine

#4 2007-02-26 00:33:31

Re: Text Pattern versus Expression Engine

#5 2007-02-26 01:16:03

Re: Text Pattern versus Expression Engine

#6 2007-02-26 14:22:32

Re: Text Pattern versus Expression Engine

#7 2007-02-27 00:07:46

Re: Text Pattern versus Expression Engine

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