This document discusses 3 ideas for improving ExpressionEngine as a publishing platform: 1. Live Content - Allowing publishers to create fields dynamically as needed rather than using predefined field groups. 2. Client Side Data - Developing a JavaScript API and utility called EEJS to access ExpressionEngine data like channels and entries from the front-end templates. 3. Data Services - Creating a separate CodeIgniter application called the EE Data API to provide a RESTful API for ExpressionEngine data to power off-site apps and mobile apps.

1. Live Content
Finding new ways to Publish
By Christopher Imrie
Lead Developer, Moresoda

2. Christopher Imrie
Lead Developer, Moresoda
• Aerospace Engineer
• Ex-freelancer
• Adobe Certified Instructor
• PHP, JS, MySQL
• CodeIgniter, ExpressionEngine
• Problem Solver

3. 3 Ideas
• Live Content
• Better ? Different?
Flexible publish page
Client side data
Data services

4. Ideas & Techniques
• New ideas lead to new techniques
• My techniques != your techniques
• Not gospel, just showing whats
possible

5. The aim?
Look at ExpressionEngine as
different kind of publishing platform

6. Live Content
Finding new ways to publish
Flexible Publish Page

7. Publish Page

8. Publish Page
• Easy to understand
• Clients love it
• Flexible
• Extendible with Custom
Fieldtypes
• Could be better?

9. Publish Page
Channel Fieldgroups Fieldtypes
• Tedious?
• Could be better?
• Arcane?

10. What would be better?
Channel Fieldtypes
• Remove the fieldgroup concept?
• Brandon Kelly proposed this (Aug 2010)
• Problem persists...

11. The Problem
Developer makes all the
connections

12. Article / OpenDNS

13. Article / Next American City

14. WYSIWYG Editors
• Designed as one size fits all
• Bloat
• HTML produced can be bag of
hurt
• Just awful for certain tasks
(Blogging about code anyone?)
• Developers love the control

15. A better way

16. Let the publisher create
fields as they need them

17. What would this look
like?

18. Composer
Demo

19. Technical Overview
• JavaScript Fieldtype Framework
• Powered by RequireJS
(AMD, load on demand)
• Many fields work without
modification
• A fieldtype can be a single JS file

20. Front end control
Article Page
Title
WYSWYG
• “Linear” story allows layout
control
Gallery • Each “block” can be targeted
with CSS
WYSWYG • RSS + Atom feeds still work
Image

21. Open Source
Github
Coming Soon...

22. Live Content
Finding new ways to publish
Client Side Data

23. Data
• Store thousands of entries
• Channels, Categories & Status
• Extensible suite of template tags

24. Data
What about client side data?

25. Client Side Data
Control Panel Templates
1. AJAX request to custom 1. AJAX request to custom JS/XML
module method template
2. Parse AJAX request 2. Channel Entries Tag
3. Query DB
Not flexible enough
4. EE->output-> No query strings
send_ajax_response()

26. Channel Entries API
• PHP
• Create, Update, Delete...
• No Read API (!)

27. EE JavaScript API
• Why doesn’t it exist?
• Fieldtypes tricky
• What about:
• Channels
• Categories
• Entry meta data
• Site preferences
• Standardised & predictable

28. EE JavaScript API
What would this look
like?

29. EEJS
Demo

30. EEJS Overview
• JavaScript Utility
• Async (jQuery Deferreds)
• Methods for:
• Accessing Configuration
• Building URLs (Templates, Actions,
CP etc)
• Channels and Channel Entries
• Works in CP & Templates

31. EEJS in Templates
• Works outside the Control Panel
• Integrates with Web Apps
• Makes your life easier

32. Open Source
Github
github.com/ckimrie/eejs

33. Live Content
Finding new ways to publish
Data Services

34. Data Services
• EEJS makes working with data
easy
• CP & Templates
• What about off-site?
• APIs
• Mobile Apps

35. Data Services
• No standard external API
• Custom APIs possible with
templates
• Tedious

36. Data Services
Like EEJS, standardised data can
be made available

37. Considerations
• REST
• CodeIgniter, not ExpressionEngine
• Performance EE Sessions,
template tracking,
template parsing,
• Output format are not needed !

38. Data Services
What would this look
like?

39. Data API
Demo

40. Data API Overview
• CodeIgniter Application
• No installation
• Uses EE configuration
• Cacheable
• Separate App = Customisable

41. Open Source
Github
github.com/ckimrie/ee-data-api

42. So you’ve seen...
3 Ideas
that make ExpressionEngine a different
kind of publishing platform

43. 3 Ideas
Flexible Publishing
Client Side Data
Data Services

44. Thank You
@chrisimrie
github.com/ckimrie
chris@moresoda.co.uk