Announcing eZ Publish Basic: Revitalizing a Classic Open-Source CMS with Full PHP 8 Compatibility

We are thrilled to announce a new project to breathe new life into eZ Publish 2.x, the community-supported CMS that served users for nearly a decade. With PHP's evolution over the years, the original eZ Publish has faced compatibility issues. But now, 7x is leading an open-source initiative to bring eZ Publish 2 into 2025 with full PHP 8 support.

Introducing eZ Publish Basic (Version 2.4.0.0.0)

Launched on GitHub on November 1, 2024, "eZ Publish Basic" marks the first step in our mission to modernize this reliable content management system. Our goal is to retain its core functionality while updating the codebase to work seamlessly with PHP 8. By addressing major changes, such as replacing the outdated "register globals" setting, we aim to ensure that developers and community sites can continue to use and customize eZ Publish Basic with confidence.

The Power of Open Source and the Choice of the GNU GPL License

From the start, eZ Publish was built to be adaptable, transparent, and community-centered. In keeping with that mission, we’ve chosen to update eZ Publish Basic under the GNU GPLv2 (or later version). This choice is central to our commitment: the GPL not only allows everyone to access, use, and modify the software freely but also ensures that improvements remain open and available for all. The GNU license strengthens eZ Publish as a platform by safeguarding both the community’s and developers’ contributions, creating a CMS ecosystem where freedom, adaptability, and innovation flourish.

A Fresh Start for New Developers and PHP Enthusiasts

eZ Publish Basic is designed to be more than just a CMS upgrade—it’s an invitation for new end users or developers to experience the capabilities of a powerful, well-structured CMS that offers a breath of fresh air compared to writing vanilla PHP. This project provides a unique entry point for aspiring developers, where they can learn core CMS concepts that make eZ Publish worth using and adapting in 2025. By working with eZ Publish Basic, developers can gain foundational skills and insight into a robust CMS structure that emphasizes freedom, scalability, and practical solutions.

An Educational Tool for Students and New Developers

This project is intentionally educational, crafted with students and beginner developers in mind, even as it retains the power for production-grade tasks. eZ Publish Basic allows newer developers to learn the fundamentals of PHP and CMS design in an open-source, collaborative setting. While it’s accessible to those still learning PHP, it remains fully functional and ready for any production environment. This approach empowers emerging developers to build real-world skills while contributing to a larger, impactful project and experiencing the value of community-driven software.

Why Join the eZ Publish Basic Project?

For developers, historians of the open-source world, or anyone who used eZ Publish 2 or subsequent versions (eZ Publish 3, 4, 5, and the Netgen or Ibexa OSS adaptations), this project is a chance to support and preserve a piece of open-source history. The open-source community has always been a critical part of eZ Publish’s journey, and we are inviting contributors to help complete this PHP 8 migration and keep eZ Publish Basic as a useful, adaptable solution for years to come.

Project Details

• Repository: GitHub - eZ Publish Basic
• Current Version: 2.4.0.0.0
• Planned Release for Full PHP 8 Compatibility: Q2 2025
• License: GNU GPLv2 (or later version)

Whether you’re a seasoned developer, an advocate for free software, or someone who used eZ Publish 2 in its early days, we invite you to join us. Your contributions—whether in code, testing, feedback, or ideas—will help ensure that eZ Publish Basic thrives as a resource for anyone seeking a robust, open-source CMS. Let’s preserve the values of openness and collaboration while creating a tool ready for today’s web.

Help us keep eZ Publish Basic open, accessible, and adaptable for years to come. Join us today on GitHub and be part of the journey to make this legendary CMS a modern, powerful solution for all.

Together, let’s keep the spirit of free software alive and well in eZ Publish Basic!

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’m please to note here the release and availability for download and installation and usage to update your installation of eZ Publish 6 (composer based installs+) to further improved releases in the future.

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!

Hello again, thank you for reading my blog. We at 7x stay small and nimble in our work to ensure a strong focus on quality control.

Have a quick look at the new eZ Publish 6 Project Home Page. This was just recently updated content under a new simpler to remember URL.

Here we will use this website to attract end users to our software and hopefully they will stay to join with our community of like minded website builders.

Have a look and consider joining our community today at any level you can, just speak up in the forums or chat channel.

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 Recommendation Upgrade From PHP 5.x or 7.x to PHP 8.2 Today for a much more secure and complete eZ Publish installation.

There are several mission critical security, stability and performance reasons why it's a good idea to upgrade from PHP 7.x to PHP 8.2.

An upgrade to eZ Publish 6 (v6.0.x) for many websites takes less than two hours time to complete.

Here are just a few key reasons

1. Improved performance: PHP 8.2 provides websites several performance improvements that make it faster than previous versions of PHP. This means that your website or application could run faster and handle more requests per second using cheeper website hosting.

2. Improved error handling: PHP 8.2 has improved error handling that provides more detailed error messages and makes it easier to catch and handle errors in your code.

3. New features: PHP 8.2 introduces several new features, including improved type system, named arguments, and union types, which can help you write cleaner and more concise code.

4. Security enhancements: PHP 8.2 comes with several security enhancements, including stricter type checks, improved password hashing, and better support for SSL/TLS

In summary, upgrading to PHP 8.2 can benefit both your website's performance and security, as well as improving your development experience with the new features.

5) Server compatibility. As versions older than PHP 8.1 have been deprecated and are no longer generally available, or supported then you'll find you must upgrade. There is no support for any versions prior to PHP8.1.

Once the server is upgraded your existing eZ Publish website will crash without a companion upgrade to eZ Publish 6 (v6.0.x) which for many websites takes less than two hours time to complete.

I have been working on a new eZ Publish Podcast called eZ Publish Insights. eZ Publish Insights is a podcast that covers the community, tools, software and howtos. We want to represent the pulse of the eZ publish Community.

In this video (now with audio) we show how to use composer to download eZ Publish 6.0.x software from GitHub and then the configuration and setup using the Setup Wizard for installation configuration.

This video takes you from an empty vhost (configured) and installs and configures the software via composer (already installed) using php (already installed).

This video results in a 100% working installation of eZ Publish 6.0.x GitHub.

I took the time to record a quick screen recording of the entire eZ Publish 6.0 CMS Composer Download And Setup Wizard Installation Configuration process resulting in a 100% working installation of eZ Publish 6.0.

I am very excited to be the first to point out that 7x has been continuously been developing and preparing for the next major release of eZ Publish version 6.0.0 via Composer via GitHub.

Work hard in silence and let success make the noise.

As a result of our recent collaboration with Share eZ Publish! Partner ZWEBB we are in the process of testing and distributing the bug fixes needed to successfully install eZ Publish with PHP 8.3 the latest release of the software that powers most of the web.

Install 7x eZ Publish 6.0alpha1 from composer today and provide feedback on your own experience.

You won’t regret this decision.

Update: On Christmas Day we found the last key blocking bugs and fixed them for a much more stable alpha Christmas Day release from our main branch on github or our monthly branch 2023.12 and tag 2023.12.05. Read the release announcements and join the discussions.

I am very excited to again be the first to point out that 7x has been continuously been developing and preparing for the next major release of eZ Publish version 6.0.0 via Composer via GitHub.

Work hard in silence and let success make the noise.

7x is distributing the bug fixes needed to successfully install eZ Publish with PHP 8.3 the latest release of the software that powers most of the web.

Install 7x eZ Publish 6.0 from composer today and provide feedback on your own experience.

Here is a quick example of how to use composer to instal eZ Publish 6.0

mkdir ezpublish; cd ezpublish; composer require se7enxweb/ezpublish:v6.0.0;

You won’t regret this decision.

Update: On Christmas Day we found the last key blocking bugs and fixed them for a much more stable New Year‘s Day release. Read the release announcements and join the discussions.

7x releases an updated eZ Private Messager extension for eZ Publish 5.99.99alpha1 (PHP 8 Support From Netgen eZ Publish):

Download today!

Today 7x was elevated on GitHub as a sponserable account.

This means that today onward our supporters can easily choose the sponsor level that fits their own needs and financially support the human powered work that drives eZ Publish forward to greater features and maintenance.

It seems we are the first eZ Publish developers to setup flexible financial support options via, GitHub Sponsors, Patreon and PayPal. This is a good sign as we want to be the change we want in life and work.

Sponsor 7x today at a level that your comfortable with and help us in a big way.

Netgen eZ Publish need’s vendor based default installation campaign today to help vendors improve their own application installation process of the latest version of eZ Publish instead of falsely misleading people into believing that the eZ Publish project or software is a dead app (non functioning).

Short: It doesn’t work yet.

Keep waiting for more official updates and extended support for your distr package manager implementation of all required php extensions.

In one way or another between the two of the flavors of Ubuntu/Debian failed to properly install all the php extensions (php-intl I’m looking at you) required by eZ Publish CMS to run in php 8.3 in 12/2023.

My attempts to install php were package based and dependent on the maintainer to provide full support for the latest distributions of ubuntu / mint. If I would’ve installed from sources, I’m sure I wouldn’t have had as many problems hee hee.

I desperately need to test a full eZ Publish hosting environment running the latest php release to find and fix any compatibility issues and prove it does infact function as desired.

Time now is but an illusion

A word today about the server requirements for an eZ Publish website. They may seem daunting but from years of experience let me assure you they are not in any way.

The most resource intensive part about installing eZ Publish is often the initial installation setup wizard usage to build your installation for the first time. This is where most shared hosting users with limited experience make their biggest mistake, building a eZ Publish website initially on shared hosting, it's often possible but not as pleasant as a box you can control yourself as root. It's better to upload a (mostly) complete built setup ready to run on production.

After which the cost of eZ Publish goes down dramatically and then depends upon the custom features you require for your website.

You'll find, with some work, if the hosting is designed for WordPress, you can alternatively host a complete ready to host eZ Publish on almost any kind of hosting with just enough memory being the key to a fully featured website. I remember hosting eZ Publish v2.x on 486 CPU with less than 256 MB of memory for both OS, Apache Web server and eZ Publish PHP.

With that in mind it is trivial to distribute a completely setup eZ Publish installation to the server hosting your website by transferring the files of eZ Publish and loading your database dump consisting of your setup eZ Publish website structure and content to the website server.

Warning: Skipping the setup wizard can lead to advanced troubleshooting of your web server / PHP environment to ensure the server itself is configured to support the base eZ Publish requirements. Also these lesser hosting packages are often best for hosting production installations of eZ Publish much more than they are suited for active eZ Publish extension or kernel development which is a common pitfall.

A word on cheaper hosting packages: They may be cost effective for production hosting but can be difficult and unstable for development use. This is where the wisdom and foresight of an effective website administrator comes in to leverage each hosting platform for it's advantages and avoid the more painful disadvantages.

Currently, we possess a package server functioning as a meticulously structured repository for various packages. This repository encompasses design extension packages as well as other eZ packages, including functional code packages. As demands persistently emerge, the necessity for a comprehensive, automated solution becomes evident. The envisaged solution aims to streamline the intricate process of transmitting packages to eZ publish installations seamlessly. The envisioned system necessitates the implementation of an automated family of solutions that caters to both client and server facets, eliminating the need for manual interventions. This holistic approach seeks to integrate a user-friendly feature set, allowing for effortless browsing, selection, downloading, and installation of packages.

The advent of this automated family of solutions aims to revolutionize the existing paradigm by offering a turnkey mechanism. This mechanism, when applied, will systematically address the complexities associated with the deployment process on both the client and server sides. By facilitating an automated workflow, users are relieved of the cumbersome task of manual intervention, paving the way for a more efficient and error-free package transmission system. In essence, this transformative approach underscores the commitment to enhancing user experience and optimizing the overall efficiency of eZ publish installations.

Within this framework, the design extension packages and various eZ packages, including functional code packages, find a harmonious integration. The package server serves as the backbone, orchestrating the seamless storage and retrieval of these packages. Furthermore, the envisioned feature set encompasses a sophisticated browse and select functionality, empowering users to navigate through available packages effortlessly. The download and installation processes are intricately woven into this automated tapestry, ensuring a cohesive and user-friendly experience.

The imperative for an automated solution stems from the growing complexities associated with the manual handling of package transmission. The envisaged turnkey system is poised to alleviate these challenges, offering a comprehensive suite of features that spans both client and server functionalities. By addressing the need for automation, this solution not only simplifies the user experience but also enhances the overall efficiency of package management within eZ publish installations. In summary, the journey towards an automated, user-centric package transmission system is guided by the desire to provide a seamless and efficient solution to the evolving needs of eZ publish users.

- The advanced package installation tool simplifies deployment.
- It lays the groundwork for automated CMS updates.
- Enables on-demand updates.
- Facilitates scheduled updates via cronjob scripts.
- Enhances system responsiveness to evolving requirements.
- Marks a significant step toward a fully automated CMS update mechanism.

The introduction of a sophisticated package installation tool not only streamlines the current package deployment process but also lays the foundation for a future characterized by automated updates to the content management system (CMS). This tool acts as a pivotal catalyst, setting the stage for a seamless automation of CMS updates, both on-demand and through meticulously scheduled cronjob scripts. By incorporating this tool into the existing infrastructure, the system gains the capability to effortlessly manage and implement updates, ensuring a dynamic and responsive CMS that can evolve in tandem with evolving requirements. The integration of this installation tool marks a significant stride towards achieving a fully automated and efficient CMS update mechanism.

But you don’t have to worry about it being a problem for your application while Wordpress deploya more automated installations to shared hosting and vps hosting for minimal overhead every night and every day without fail. What kind of world do you wanna live in?

We thought after the exit of eZ Systems from the GPL CMS community that the software (on netgen GitHub) needed a home page website about the software and using it.

I am happy to re-introduce you to https://ezpublishlegacy.se7enx.com

The site is still recovering from data loss and lack of updates. 

We hope that the site can be updated soon to improve the quality of the content and it’s relevance.