Initial push to develop a Website

Rails
1

Hello,

This is my first post here! I`m a computer engineering with almost no
formation in web Development. What I do know, is software
engineering/architecture, Java and C/C++. I also have had some
foundation
in XHTML/CSS.

So, this said, a friend came to me asking to develop a Website similar
to
eBay/Amazon/etc., I know its a huge project, so i dont want to develop it with SQL, PHP, HTML. I want to use some Modern technology... Ive read
about a few of them:

MVC -> facilitates the development of website by handling all those
“complicated” language (SQL, PHP, HTML) and it`s connection
automatically
by the use of some language:

  • Java -> JSF
  • Ruby -> RubyOnRails
  • Python -> Django

CMS -> facilitates the development of website by templates; in other
words,
it has many templates of many kinds of websites and those templates can
be
customized.

  • drupal
  • joomla

The project has six months to be developed, at least a first working
prototype. In addition, there is going to be two or three programmers
doing
it in their free time.

I do know some of the strengths and weakness of each MVC/CMS… the CMS
is
faster to develop, but its less customizable... From what Ive heard of
my
friends project, its not a common website, itll provide a lot more
than
eBay/etc. So I`m afraid of using CMS.

Most of all, the project should be modular; in other words, it must be
possible to add new tools to the website after its completion.

If anyone has something to add, suggest or ask, please feel free.

Thanks in advance.

2

On Oct 30, 2013, at 9:59 PM, N2obie wrote:

Python -> Django

If anyone has something to add, suggest or ask, please feel free.

A CMS could be developed using one or another of those MVC kits – a CMS
is a higher-level abstraction than MVC. So comparing them is a false
choice.

Unless the project fits neatly into the pattern of your CMS (f.e. Drupal
is perfect if you are building a community-written book, or a magazine,
or a corporate Web site with a contact form), then that’s going to be
the fastest way to the finish line. But the moment you stray from the
fall line, you will be skiing in the trees, and often have to un-do the
core premises of the CMS in order to build some bit of functionality
that you really need.

Walter

3

A CMS could be developed using one or another of those MVC kits – a CMS
is a higher-level abstraction than MVC. So comparing them is a false
choice.

What you mean is that i should develop a CMS using MVC, so that adding
content to my website would be easy and simple?

Em quinta-feira, 31 de outubro de 2013 10h12min47s UTC-2, Walter Lee
Davis
escreveu:

4

On Oct 31, 2013, at 1:15 PM, N2obie wrote:

A CMS could be developed using one or another of those MVC kits – a CMS is a
higher-level abstraction than MVC. So comparing them is a false choice.

What you mean is that i should develop a CMS using MVC, so that adding content
to my website would be easy and simple?

Maybe. What I am pointing out is that a CMS is a high-level abstraction,
and depending on the type of site you are trying to build, it may be a
perfect fit for your project. But it also comes with a bunch of features
that only make sense if you are trying to build a content-managed site,
like a blog or a news site. A lower-level toolkit, like Rails or Django
or Symfony, can be used to build almost anything, because it doesn’t
make any assumptions about what you’re trying to do with it. All it does
is provide a meaningful level of “plumbing” to allow you to construct a
data-driven site. It makes no guesses about what sort of site that would
be. If all you need is a CMS, then you can use one and you won’t have to
build anything. But if what you need (and your initial post made it very
clear that this is true) is quite a bit more than what a CMS can
provide, then you may want to build from scratch. Using Rails or Django
or Symfony means you would’t have to REALLY build from scratch, writing
your own database access code and template substitution system, for
example.

To give you a real-world (metaphorical) example, if someone gave you a
truck-load of bricks and portland cement, you could build just about
anything with it. But if they gave you a truckload of 36-foot
pre-stressed concrete beams, you would have difficulty making the same
range of finished projects with it. The pieces are too big to make a
fireplace.

Walter

5

On Wed, Oct 30, 2013 at 6:59 PM, N2obie [email protected] wrote:

So, this said, a friend came to me asking to develop a Website similar to
eBay/Amazon/etc.,

The project has six months to be developed, at least a first working
prototype. In addition, there is going to be two or three programmers doing
it in their free time.

Thanks, always nice to have some good laughs in the morning :slight_smile:

If nothing else, though, shouldn’t you simply get the programmers
who’ll be involved together to agree on a language/platform??

–
Hassan S. ------------------------ [email protected]

twitter: @hassan