This is interesting to others who always wanted to provide more similar features the eZ Publish Information Collection System implementation of php + templates + settings that collects information about content objects. I wanted to use the system of features for collecting voting information so I created a duplicate implementation using the core kernel of eZ Publish as a reference while extending it to provide more features unique to the use case of generic content object voting collection and display functionality.

Digg [Sigma] is an idea. A re-implementation of digg.com during it's early php website implementation at v1 through v3 era. A website that promoted small business, group efforts, social networking, social interaction, social bookmarking, web promotions and loads of exciting stories, reading and voting through their implementation of digg.com. Well digg.com got sold, voting and social aspects were shelved and that abruptly ended an era of social news voting and bookmarking from a once prominent source online.

Digg [Sigma] is the engine that is added to any eZ Publish 6 (required) compatible website software installation, when properly configured, provides amazing additional features to your eZ Publish Website like display of content with voting information and functionality from the moment of creation of new content.

Currently there are a lot of configuration and usage requirements changes to be made to the Digg [Sigma] engine implementation for eZ Publish. We aim to simplify this in the future though continued development and abstraction of common themes into better customized templates, settings, views (module/content), php and documentation with usage examples.

To help speed things up for everyone we have quickly assembled the DiggClone Project to help spin up more eZ Publish based websites with the Digg [Sigma] engine built in using composer, default settings, default content (using a full dump of database content to sql file, and all website code files configured) to host clone.digg.one project homepage implementation example zipped up and ready to change the hostname, logo and defaults to meet your own unique needs and you too can host your own digg.one (our project turned into a social bookmarking website) based website using the stable eZ Publish System we live problem free lives knowing our pages are stable and reliably serving the public.

The DiggClone Project serves as a ready to use solution. The DiggClone Project provides a easy to use, reliable and up to date build of the latest digg [Sigma] software (as made available on digg.one social bookmarking and networking website (Example Project #0)) that can be used or merged into your existing eZ Publish website. This gives you the inner workings of the engine working for your needs.

(Primary Package to Install (Project) - This contains everything required save composer + php + web server + database server + some assembly required ;) called 7x DiggClone (Example Project #1): https://github.com/se7enxweb/clone.digg.one

(Core : Front-end : Information Collection Attribute) eZ DataType For Content Voting called 7x Digg: https://github.com/se7enxweb/sevenx_digg

(Secondary : Front-end : Digg Design + Module Views) eZ Design Extension called 7x DiggClone: https://github.com/se7enxweb/sevenx_diggclone

Really quickly now this is exciting a previous customer of 7x who also wanted a content voting and ranking features for their website already in eZ Publish, Global Mandates sponsored the development and refinement of the very first diggClone example implementation actually implemented in a real copy of any existing eZ Publish website. Now available at globalmandates.org home page. This work will be released in time at (Example Project #2): https://github.com/se7enxweb/sevenx_globalmandates on GitHub as well to provide another even faster starting point for end users to use to create their own copy of a digg [Sigma] and DiggClone based website using eZ Publish.

In the future we will reduce the amount of work needed to simply start using the templates and settings provided in a meaningful way. Currently the bindings between default structure content IDs, Identifiers, templates all lack settings support to store this information in an abstraction that allows for easier setup in seconds vs hours.

In the future we will focus on 7x Digg extension development to contain the refined templates of the diggClone extension as well as the module views and settings. This will reduce our need for the diggClone extension to just use the solution more efficiently.

In the future we will implement the example of Global Mandates implementation of a Digg (Clone/eZ) website like enhanced templates and home page design (unique from digg.one domain) into DiggClone repositories. These changes will provide a much faster starting point as they will also include written documentation and key instructions for getting started in minutes vs days without help. This documentation will help give a centralized place to explain in greater detail problems or issues which might arise while working with eZ Publish + 7x Digg based projects which will incentivize solving problems before they become real.

This should by the near future result in a consolidated, documented, and quick to implement starting point for any end user to clone this project software for any need like hosting your own digg based social network platform of websites.

Digg.one is a fun place to share information and make a searchable record of your own information that matters to you the individual.

eZ Publish is a fun website framework that makes publishing to the web a dream come true!

Together they form the DiggClone Project resulting in 7x Digg, DiggClone, clone.digg.one and GlobalMandates.org

Who can say what the future will hold for what started out as a simple test of what was possible with a little focused interest while developing with my favorite cms.

What do you think? Should I have based this solution on the eZ Star Rating DataType System implementation instead? I chose the Information Collection System because I felt it would offer more in the short term faster than the most obvious alternative.

Happy Hacking!

I have an omission to share for the past 20 years or more I have been providing eZ Publish based open source development support services as //kracker and kracker.org

Recently I have converted my own personal use domain from a splash page domain index into a full mult sub domain based eZ Publish 6 web applicatio platform of web content. This lets me host with ease my main domain in eZ Publish and my subdomain within the same instance / installation meaning larger network application features abound.

 I plan on soon writing a detailed blog post about cpanel based mult domain mult site installation configurations using the 7x Symbolic Link Distribution of eZ Publish 6.

We are very excited to announce the release of eZ Publish 6.0.4 which includes the new responsive admin design by default.

This means with eZ Publish 6.0.4 you can use the admin3 design to access (by default configuration) your website using your cell phone!

7x Releases 7x Valkey a Redis compatible solution to access all features of a speedy Key / Value databases like Valkey, Redis, DragonflyDB or any other Redis compatible database via php-redis extension through 7x valkey template operator calls to this high-performance key/value datastore. Download 7x Valkey via composer into your eZ Publish installation, activate, clear cache and you will be able to make Valkey / Redis key/value Database calls using the 'valkey' eZ Publish Template Operator. Here is a simple example.

<h1>{valkey( 'get', array( 'testkey' ) )|attribute(show,1)}</h1>

{valkey( 'set', array( 'testkey', 'Greetings from 7x Valkey!' ), false() )}<hr />

{valkey( 'get', array( 'testkey' ) )|attribute(show,1)}<hr />

This eZ Publish Feature was developed by my company 7x which maintains the eZ Publish PHP8+ CMS. We strive to deliver support within the eZ Publish Design support for the latest Web Application Development Technologies like high-performance key/value datastores like valkey.

While the underlying technology is named redis because we support OSI approved licensing we choose the better funded and future proof implementation under open source license bsd named Valkey. In the future redis will be a dying technology and valkey compatible solutions will be popular and well supported in terms of feature rich implementations. Time will tell.

I write today to reflect on the nature and type of work being done recently at 7x.

I fined that I have learned a new skill and that is default installation (dynamic setting and database configuration) programming via eZ Publish package development in the form of what is called a site package.

7x has developed a new replacement for the older ezflow, ezdemo, ezwebin site package installers called sevenx (technically sevenx_site.ezpkg).

This solution was made part of the release of eZ Publish 6 on or before January 1st 2024.

While traditional kernel development (file changes in the ezpublish repository) have slowed in February after the release of eZ Publish 6.0.1 on February 1st 2024 another type of development has resumed which is eZ Publish default installation testing and development which has included the upkeep and amount of the packages.ezpublishlegacy.se7enx.com package server.

I wrote previously in support of an increased presence of an eZ Publish Package Server in the talking points surrounding a feature complete cms.

I also wrote previously in support of Netgen supporting eZ Publish with implementing a feature complete update of the package server needed to distribute eZ Publish to new users and in general which 7x took up the challenge to do the work first to share with Netgen.

While other vendors focus on just a small feature addition here or there within an eZ Publish website; 7x is looking at the entire system as a platform which means we see needs that often go overlooked like self-hosting the eZ Publish Package Server and maintaining the packages it hosts to the general public.

We moved this older se7enx.com resource from our own hosting to a faster more reliable GitHub based hosting. This ensures future collaboration with others with eZ Publish Packages for distribution.

We recently shared a older but solid ezpaypal-ezpackage repository reverse engineered from binary ezpkg sources licensed under the GNU GPL. We updated this repository to provide the latest eZ PayPal version 1.2.0 software (a now long stable software package).

This package is installed as a required dependency of the 7x eZ package (sevenx_site) and soon will be installed as a dependency of the other site packages (ezwebin, ezdemo, ezflow) once we get closer to 6.0.2 and 6.0.3. As it takes time to add the required code and release it to the git repositories and package server per package (dependencies required; collection).

This will mean that the older site installers (each site package contains an installer php file that does the work) for each site package (ezwebin, ezdemo, ezflow) (content and no-content) will get a refresh and soon be worth testing all over again.

We will come to this point once we begin to merge over changes made to sevenx_site package to the other packages like the installer, package xml, and packaged dependencies get updated when we begin to refresh the actual content installed (content tree). We are aiming to have this completed for the 6.0.3 release.

This will strip out eZ Systems Products and Marketing from the default demo website and allow us to finally refresh the content class datatypes used (add html5 video support to the existing video class among many others like installing more example data like enable comments by default and have them working; Also Add ezstarrating datatype to most of all the content classes; experiment adding xrowmetadata extension into the default data as it requires very little configuration to start using, ++). Lots of ideas of what more features we could offer by default to default installation users who could be swayed by a new feature rich demo of what we have already we just need to start offering it by default in the default demo content as installed by the site package selection (which installs a demo content package of classes and objects (content tree nodes)).

It's deep stuff and it is time consuming to test to ensure the build of available packages remains stable and functional as you never know who is testing the current packages selection at any given time.

Yet it is rewarding once the package server contents has become much more stable and feature rich as it has been refactored lightly with the lessons of years of eZ Publish development (simplifying the var dir pathing in a default installation for example).

If your interested in sharing your extensions on our 7x eZ Publish Package Server; Please reach out and contact me via email.

7x is distributing PHP 8.x Support for eZ Publish Legacy on GitHub!

This year I’ve done an incredible amount of work bringing php 8.2 support to the netgen repository.

That said, now the whole world can run ezpublish on the latest versions of php.

This repository can be installed using composer! Checkout the packagist!

If your like me still hosting and developing eZ Publish today I strongly recommend you upgrade to the latest version of 7x eZ Publish!

There are a few work arounds and remaining issues but overall it is a great success.