The eZ Content Model

When you want to create a new “Article” object, eZ Publish automatically creates a form for the content, with the proper input fields for the respective datatypes, such as the Online Editor for “XML block” fields. The Online Editor is a WYSIWYG editor, with functions similar to those found in common word processors:

WYSIWYG Online Editor

When you submit data in the content creation form, a new content object is created, which means a new row is added to the table for content objects, associated with the language selected by the user as the first version of the object. Each attribute's contents are stored in a separate data table.

Major content interfaces

The back-end Administration Interface can be used to create content objects. For the editors of a web application, it is often more convenient if they can modify content directly while viewing the public page. With the Website Interface, content manipulation and creation is directly integrated with the front-end view of the website.

Another convenient way to edit content is by navigating a file system structure offered by a WebDAV client, where all content objects are represented by folders and files. These files can then be manipulated or created with OpenOffice.org Writer or Microsoft Word and uploaded back to the site. All content uploaded this way is handled by the normal publishing process, and the mapping of the uploaded documents to content classes can be defined by site developers.

Content tree structure

With the unified, clearly-structured model that eZ Publish uses to store content in the database, it is simple to structure the data. Basically, each node in the tree structure encapsulates one content object. A single content object can be referenced by multiple nodes, so that one article can appear at multiple locations on the site. This clear separation between structure and content keeps your changes synchronized throughout the entire website.

Each content class can be configured so that its objects' nodes can or cannot be assigned children nodes.

Permissions and workflows

With the permission system, you can also configure which users or groups of users can create, view, or modify certain types of content. Therefore, you can specify that editors can write new articles in an area not visible to anonymous users, while an editor-in-chief publishes such articles to the public area. An editor could then be allowed to correct an already-published article. It is also possible to allow anonymous users to create comments below articles, or to require payment in order to access articles in an archive. This kind of workflow is configurable and extensible.