5 open source CMS projects to watch

Multiple database support among key features

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Open source has a long tradition in content management and some of the largest sites on the internet use open source systems and components.

For example, Drupal and Joomla! have risen to become a quite popular CMS for organisations of all sizes. But what other options are out there?

In this edition of 5 open source things to watch, we take a look at content management systems that will help you build a website without losing the change.

1. Django CMS

Named after the Python Web framework it is developed with, Django CMS is a relative newcomer to the open source CMS world with version 2.1 released in January.

Its features include front-end editing where content can be edited in the page itself, page versioning for keeping a record of page changes, an integrated media library for images and a workflow system for publishing approvals.

Django CMS is designed with community contributions in mind with an extension repository for additional functionality.

Like Django, page design is done with the native templating system in order to separate design from application logic.

URL: http://www.django-cms.org
Licence: BSD-like

2. SilverStripe

SilverStripe is an open source CMS developed by the eponymous New Zealand company.

SilverStripe CMS features WYSIWYG content authoring, workflow and it separates design from application code.

The same company developed Sapphire, a PHP5-based development framework, which is used by SilverStripe.

In addition to popular open source databases, SilverStripe will run on Oracle and SQL Server. Page versioning is also supported.

URL: http://www.silverstripe.org/
Licence: BSD

3. Refinery

Refinery CMS is one of a handful of open source content management projects built with the Ruby on Rails (including Rails 3) framework.

Refinery, like many other Rails apps, prides itself on a simple user interface and ease of use.

Refinery can be extended with “engines”. Example engines include a blog, theming and podcast support.

Other features include a native image library and file manager. Both MySQL and PostgreSQL databases are supported.

Like SilverStripe, Refinery’s core developers hail from New Zealand.

URL: http://www.refinerycms.com/
Licence: MIT Licence

4. Bricolage

Bricolage positions itself as an “enterprise-class” open source CMS and publishing system with workflow for large amounts of content.

Developed in Perl and the Mason template toolkit, Bricolage allows custom data fields and templates and people can collaborate with personal workspaces.

Other features include sandboxed previewing, revision control with rollback and customizable alerts.

Bricolage is developed in Perl, however, it integrates with PHP at the API level.

Bricolage counts some big name websites in its showcase like the World Health Organisation.

URL: http://www.bricolagecms.org/
Licence: BSD