Phella Innovations

This package uses at least three major innovative ideas in the field of work with PHP. We didn't count some smaller ones used here and there around the code, also completely new and original or rarely seen over the net. If you the author of similar features or seen them somewhere else we would gladly learn them and share the ideas.

HTTP Wrapper

Phella has wrapper (or driver) to work with HTTP. It means that developer doesn't have to access to HTTP protocol directly. Instead he/she has to go through provided by Phella API with higher level of abstraction comparing to the original HTTP.

This feature appeared to be very arguable. Many developers were not ready psychologically to give up raw HTTP for something higher leveled. But we sure that rising the level of programming everywhere possible is the key for quick development and clean code (that means easier maintenance).

See description of the wrapper in the Documentation.

Micro-Parsing Contextual Templates

Native PHP template mechanism was chosen for Phella. We aware of different downward sides of this approach but still prefer it to other "curly" templates. One of the negative sides of PHP templates are corpuscular bits of code which would appear around here and there in the template. Even if you properly separate Model and View according to MVC paradigm there is still room for them to serve View algorithm.

Till now the only used way to agglomerate such bits of raw code in templates were so called "helpers". There are just generic functions or classes helping to build chunks of the template. If we talk about HTML forms one of samples may be QuickForm. It is good piece of code but we fill such approach a bit programmer chauvinist. Firstly it look like program, but situated in the template where we expect rather HTML then programs. Secondly designer doesn't overview resulting HTML, seeing only some bits passed as parameters to the helper. Definitely it is not that bad comparing to the same thing done without any "helper", but we found a much more sophisticated and convenient approach.

The working name of this idea is "Micro-Parsing Contextual Templates", because we define some rather small chunks of template and parse them searching for context we need to manipulate. If you would come out with some more interesting name you are welcome. You can read description of our approach to HTML forms to understand the idea. At the moment we are working on API to extend the same approach on any other contents different from HTML forms.

CMS provided as API

This is another very original idea. Traditionally CMS packages use to provide fixed and all-containing interface. Obviously it is never "all" but as much as developer can stick in without dangerously overloading the interface. The main problem with this approach that you never can please everybody. There are always somebody misses certain features or somebody who fill it too heavy.

To solve the problem we offer CMS as API. It means one can assemble CMS package rather easily with the only those features needed for particular application. It means light application and handy interface.

Yes of cause it need programming skills. But have you ever heard that anybody with zero web developing experience installed, set and tuned any of boxed CMS? We are big boys already, we don't believe in fairytales.

Our CMS API goes in close conjunction with idea of "administration-in-place". It means there is no any admin panel but all going to happen right on the working place of the web application. See the idea on our demo page. Certainly "administration-in-place" is not our invention. But surprisingly this very user convenient approach is very rarely used on the net. May be because it is much more difficult to implement. Ain't any more with Phella CMS API.