Advice on record-based structures - to SQL or not SQL?
Hi,
I'm very new to Umbraco, and just need a bit of advice of that's ok.
I wrote a business module a while back which has a usercontrol which the user can enter businesses into. With Umbraco, I guess the way they'd do this is within a Document Type so that they could fill in details about the Business.
Now my module (I wrote it for Sitefinity) is very straightforward, dumping entries entered into a form into the backend db. I could then use this on the site for displaying businesses by category etc.
With the Umbraco approach, am I correct in my assumptions that you'd just use a Document Type? And if so, what's the performance like if they've entered hundreds of entries? I'd also want to be able to assign a business to any number of categories - is this doable within Umbraco's structure?
Apologies for the questions - just finding my feet!
You can also still put data into db table. If the data is to be entered by website users then you can expose that usercontrol as a .net macro. If the entry of data is for cms users then you can expose that control as a dashboard control. Take a look at umbraco.org/tv there are videos on creating macros and dashboard controls its a paid service but worth it to kick start umbraco development. Also do a dig under the wiki section on this site plenty of goodies there as well.
i've a similar problem like tony. I want to use umbraco to store hundreds of entries (product descriptions) with categories, etc. I think when using normal document types the content tree in the admin will be blown. So, did i understand you right that it is possible to customize the admin to handle this content in a different way? If so, can i display the data on the site with the umbraco build in features (xml / xsl) or do i need user controls to display this kind of data? Why all this questions? Currently i'm evaluating which system can be used to fit my needs. If i need to handle all stuff by my self (controls admin, controls frontend, db, etc.) maybe another solution would be better. But if you say that i can handle my needs with umbraco i´ll pay for the video subscription and get deeper.
Thats the beauty of umbraco it is very extensible. So you can create your own custom dashboards and trees in the backend to view edit your own tables. I have worked on numerous websites where we have done this. The display of your data can be done with .net user controls or if you prefer you can write your own xslt extensions to give you data as xml then you can write out that data using xslt or you can in 452 use linq2umbraco and if using 4.6 juno then razor. Take your pick ;-}
I would recommend the tv subscription as it will kick start your Umbraco journey, there are videos regarding how to create your own sections,trees and xslt extensions. Also take a look at some of the packages on our.umbraco that create custom sections e.g google analytics package written by Morten that will also show you how its done.
That's great stuff guys, really helpful. I'll do the same I think with the TV stuff. Shame there's not a book yet - did notice one on amazon but it's not published until later this year.
René I'd be interested to hear how you end up tackling your problem if that's ok - I'm a little way off doing what I need to yet, but what you want to do is virtually identical to me so you'd be pointing me in the right direction :) Good luck!
I was just curious how you're getting on with your plans on the above? Did you go the umbraco xslt route, or opt for a more traditional approach in the end?
Advice on record-based structures - to SQL or not SQL?
Hi,
I'm very new to Umbraco, and just need a bit of advice of that's ok.
I wrote a business module a while back which has a usercontrol which the user can enter businesses into. With Umbraco, I guess the way they'd do this is within a Document Type so that they could fill in details about the Business.
Now my module (I wrote it for Sitefinity) is very straightforward, dumping entries entered into a form into the backend db. I could then use this on the site for displaying businesses by category etc.
With the Umbraco approach, am I correct in my assumptions that you'd just use a Document Type? And if so, what's the performance like if they've entered hundreds of entries? I'd also want to be able to assign a business to any number of categories - is this doable within Umbraco's structure?
Apologies for the questions - just finding my feet!
Cheers,
Tony
Tony,
You can also still put data into db table. If the data is to be entered by website users then you can expose that usercontrol as a .net macro. If the entry of data is for cms users then you can expose that control as a dashboard control. Take a look at umbraco.org/tv there are videos on creating macros and dashboard controls its a paid service but worth it to kick start umbraco development. Also do a dig under the wiki section on this site plenty of goodies there as well.
Regards
Ismail
Hi Ismail,
i've a similar problem like tony. I want to use umbraco to store hundreds of entries (product descriptions) with categories, etc. I think when using normal document types the content tree in the admin will be blown. So, did i understand you right that it is possible to customize the admin to handle this content in a different way? If so, can i display the data on the site with the umbraco build in features (xml / xsl) or do i need user controls to display this kind of data? Why all this questions? Currently i'm evaluating which system can be used to fit my needs. If i need to handle all stuff by my self (controls admin, controls frontend, db, etc.) maybe another solution would be better. But if you say that i can handle my needs with umbraco i´ll pay for the video subscription and get deeper.
Cheers,
René
Thats the beauty of umbraco it is very extensible. So you can create your own custom dashboards and trees in the backend to view edit your own tables. I have worked on numerous websites where we have done this. The display of your data can be done with .net user controls or if you prefer you can write your own xslt extensions to give you data as xml then you can write out that data using xslt or you can in 452 use linq2umbraco and if using 4.6 juno then razor. Take your pick ;-}
I would recommend the tv subscription as it will kick start your Umbraco journey, there are videos regarding how to create your own sections,trees and xslt extensions. Also take a look at some of the packages on our.umbraco that create custom sections e.g google analytics package written by Morten that will also show you how its done.
Regards
Ismail
Thanks Ismail,
then lets start the journey :)
That's great stuff guys, really helpful. I'll do the same I think with the TV stuff. Shame there's not a book yet - did notice one on amazon but it's not published until later this year.
René I'd be interested to hear how you end up tackling your problem if that's ok - I'm a little way off doing what I need to yet, but what you want to do is virtually identical to me so you'd be pointing me in the right direction :) Good luck!
Loving Umbraco btw!
@Tony
no problem. I'l tell you about my progress on this topic. And i agree with you about an umbraco book :) It would be greate to have a book :)
Hey René,
Hope you're well.
I was just curious how you're getting on with your plans on the above? Did you go the umbraco xslt route, or opt for a more traditional approach in the end?
Cheers!
Tony
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