PubKit 0.6.3 beta published
07 Jun 2010 MODx
PubKit, successor to pkBlog, has at last been published. Version 0.6.3 is now available here on Pogwatch and from the MODx Forums.
I've tried to incorporate feedback and requests from others, together with my own experience, into the PubKit code. The main aim has been to produce a core creation/updating loop that can remain unchanged when you want to extend the fields or types of item you can handle. Hence the use of PHP classes to define specifics of items requiring a different mix of fields, different update procedures and so on.
I've used classes previously in my own pre-MODx scripts to display forms and output from database tables, and always found them to be very flexible and extensible, provided you analyse the tasks and data you are handling properly and create objects to match them.
PubKit goes beyond pkBlog in important ways, extending the range of fields you can use, adding hooks for language customization, and bringing custom tables onto the scene.
As well as publishing items to web pages, I have made use of PubKit for interactive pages, with a guestbook and a contact form, using variant save routines to perform basic verification and email dispatch as methods of the relevant classes. I have also built a photo gallery with uploading, captioning and location facilities. It's a separate snippet that makes good use of PubKit base classes and shared functions. These features need some tweaks and tidying before they're fit to publish.
There are full listings and information on the various files and elements in the PubKit pages here, though not much as yet on the structure of the sample site. PubKit is installed on the demo site at pubkit.pogwatch.com, and I hope to find time to add some more material soon. Meanwhile feel free to download and see what you make of it. Comments are welcome here, but I'd prefer it if you posted "how to" questions on the MODx forums.