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Is Project Banana yet another Content Management System (CMS)? Not really, I like to call it a Website Management System (WMS), it controls the way the website gets rendered like a CMS, however it does more then that. It is built on Microsoft technologies, ASP.NET and C#, and I have not decided on a pattern or methodology as yet though I have tried a few and found that all have their pros and cons, the possibilities are:
- ASP.NET Web Forms, the most common and the least flexible, not a contender.
- ASP.NET Web Forms with Model View Controller, the Microsoft Pattern and Practice’s bridge between Web forms and Rails (MVP) commonly known as the Web Client Software Factory and one of the three contenders.
- AST.NET Dynamic data, not even a consideration.
- ASP.Net MVP Framework is the other contender, however it also is still in BETA and I have other serious reservations regarding it.
- A custom ASP.NET Web Forms based approach using IOC, the last contender.
- A hybrid of the above
So what can you expect from Project Banana?
- Enables rapid website development, build the public UI using existing data retrieval and configuration methods and voila!
- Modular, plug in another module must be effortless all that needs to be done is the public UI.
- Easy to maintain content
- Enterprise strength
The wish list
- Off line content management
- Database agnostic
- Capable of managing multi-lingual websites
- Hassel free upgrades
- Mono compatible?
Basically, none management systems or libraries out there do not meet my requirements so I am writing my own. I have started the “Core Module” 4 times already and I will discuss it in future posts the pros and cons of approaches in my Project Banana™ what I have learned series.
Additionally, my boss asked me if I would eventually make Project Banana open source and I feel there are ramifications and thinking to do about that subject. However, chances are that I will never make it open source, if anything I might make it “source opened” Microsoft style using the Microsoft Permissive License (Ms-PL).
The decision to keep it in house at this point is business driven, I would like Project Banana to be a development experience in good, flexible and reusable patterns. I would also like it to open new opportunities for myself so to make it open source at this stage would not be wise, time will tell.
Why the Project Banana™ what I have learned series, then? Because I believe that the ASP.NET community has given me a lot and it is my turn to give back.
I also hope my post will get better trough out the new year.
Finally I wish you a happy and fruit full new year, may all your wishes come to bear.