Management system of contents

The management systems of contents , or SGC (of English Content Management Systems or CMS ), are a family of software of design and dynamic update of Web site or multi-media application sharing the following functionalities:

They make it possible several individuals to work on the same document;
They provide a chain of publication ( workflow ) making it possible for example to publish (to put on line the contents) documents;
They make it possible to separate the operations from management of the form and the contents;
They make it possible to structure the contents (use of FAQ, document, Blog, Discussion forum, etc);
Certains SGC includes the Gestion of versions.

The management systems of contents make it possible to carry out the Content management in the company, known under the name " Content Enterprise Management" in English (ECM).

Historical background of the context of appearance of the management systems of contents

In 1995, at the time of the rise of Internet, the “heroic” time of the pioneers, the Webmaster was the man of orchestra of the Web site. Drafting with the publication while passing by the statistical analysis of the site, it controlled all. This total control and single required to have strong knowledge in the computer programming languages such as for example SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) then HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language). The Web site was then a homogeneous form and statics where the bottom (contents) and forms it (the container) were indissociable. One can say with the passing that there was not (im) materially basic but rather a total written form. Because of this centralization of the tasks around the webmaster there could not also be of chain of publication or workflow.

The year 1996 with the appearance of the Languages of script (Javascript, Python…) mark the arrival of the writers not technicians and the beginning of the separation of the bottom and form. However the role of the webmaster remains central in the administration and the management of the site. There remains indeed developer and integrator.

Although the appearance of the term of Content management goes back to the summer 1995, it is in 1999, “revolutionary” year for some, that the first true management solutions of contents will be developed. With the arrival of this new software, the separation of the contents (text, image, its, video, document) and container (gauges or templates) become final. Thus, creation and the setting in line of contents become independent of their graphic supports. The contents created by the contributors fit once put on line, automatically in the gauges of pages created as a preliminary by the graphic designers. These gauges are graphic models where come automatically to fit the contents created and put on line.

This technical upheaval is accompanied by another, social this time Ci. Indeed one saw appearing a segmentation of the tasks within the administration and the management of the Web site. The role of the Webmaster is not also any more central, although there remains administrator (often technical) site, new actors make their appearance: the contributors (or writers) by the means of simplified interfaces of use (editors of simplified Web pages) are capable capacity to create contents and to put it on line without the assistance of the webmaster. Also the valideurs appear who as their name indicates it validate the contents created and thus allow or not their setting on line. This fragmentation of the tasks in specialities gives rise to chains of publication allowing a control of the life cycle of the contents, of their creation to their suppression or filing in databases.

Thereafter the perimeter of these solutions extended to many scopes of application in the company (Gestion of Web site, Gestion of documents, management of the rights and the access, management of Groupware S…). Since 2002 of new actors known as Open source and/or under noncommercial license (LPG) are born and come to compete with the old monopoly of the solutions under commercial license of the historical editors. The arrival of these new actors upsets in-depth the economic models existing and the management solutions of contents proposed. In the same way the customers ratios/suppliers them also will be some changed.

Today the massive integration of the management tools of contents within the Information systems (IF) of the organizations benefits from a more general movement of belief than the integration of new technologies of information and communication (NTIC) is de facto “factor of creation of value and source of innovation for the Entreprise”.

Common functions

To manage to offer the functionalities referred to above the design is rather often based on the following mechanisms:

Use of interface Web

Through interfaces known as Web the SGC are accessible whatever the type of Operating system by means of simple a navigator. Thus, the users do not need to install additional application softwares. Who more is, always thanks to the Standards Web, SGC thus offer a format of data readable (HTML and its derivatives), printable and storable by all, which facilitates the exchange and the accessibility of the documents.

Separation between contents and presentation

It is a principle founder of content management:

the contents is generally stored in a database, structured in tables and fields. It is the contents of the fields of the base which is created/modified by the writer, and not the itself page. One speaks about site " dynamique" ;
the presentation is defined in a gauge. The gauge defines two things: the page layout of the Web pages - via code HTML and the style sheets (Cs), as well as the information extracted the database (just as the place where those must be posted and under which conditions).

Edition of simplified page

Because of the principle of separation contained/presentation, the writers can concentrate on the contents. The edition of the pages is simplified considerably, and two mechanisms are proposed:

an interface WYSIWYG which proposes an graphical interface of working similar to that proposed by a word processing;
the use of simplified beacons, aiming at formatting the text. There are several types, of which most widespread is BBCode. One can also quote more modern alternatives such as Markdown or Textile. The Wiki S (not WYSIWIG) use the Wikicode.

Multiple methods of arrangement of information

The Information theory teaches us that, more there are information, more the disorder increases. That means that, if specific information is sought, all other information creates noise. A SGC thus has multiple mechanisms of more or less complex sorting like:

the Hyperlien S, which make it possible to refer the articles between them;
a Search engine on the text;
Of the specific sorting (by date of modification, authors, bonds…).

The majority of the SGC make it possible to categorize information, to index it and use taxonomies to improve the methods of research. One can thus create categories of contents, sections (or headings), even of the key words supporting the indexing.

The multiplication of the sights, by the mechanisms of choice, decreases the depth of information compared to the page of entry by multiplying the ways, and thus makes it more accessible.

Management of the rights

By the means of the interface of administration, the system makes it possible to manage the users and their rights. I.e. to give them access or not to the functionalities of the system. The functionalities are multiple and variable according to the platform, very basic like a right of read/write on an article, or more elaborate like a right of moderation of other users.

The SGC, convergent evolution of the company of information

The concept of WYSIWYG revolutionized the creation of contents in the Années 1980. It made lose ground with others older, such as that of the compilation of text, which separated already the contents and the form (returned). A time of several seconds then separated insertion from a beacon and its visualization after a compilation, necessary so that the user displays the result. Nevertheless, this principle of text marked by beacons gave only the flexibility imposed by the professional and continuous edition to being used: TeX, GML, SGML, etc, while the cycle of returned passed from a few tens of seconds to sometimes some tenth of second because of the power increased of the machines, power which increased in accordance with the Loi of Moore.

The WYSIWYG was essential as for him in Bureautique and remains dominating in the creation of contents general public, because he does not ask for effort of Abstraction. The separation of the contents and the form however is partially carried out by the use of the concept of styles , with the image of returned HTML by style sheets ( Cascading Style Sheet or CS) in marked text. The two systems thus partly converged.

The specialization of the organizations makes that there exist departments specialized in the presentation of the contents resulting from the company (department charged with the graphic Charte of the company, often attached to the Marketing) and others in the drafting of contents (for example: commercial, technical department or public relations), which write with the kilometer while fitting in the existing moulds. Decoupling between bottom and form is there too assured.

the introduction of style sheets proposes or imposes preset formats on the creation of document-types. The convergence of the means of visualization (related to the generalized accessibility of various police forces formerly reserved for the only services of composition) ended up simplifying not only the creation of contents, but also its exchange.

The integration of heterogeneous documents at the same time by nature (images, worksheets) and the source (subcontractors) within the same document requires a unified management of the parts included. Lastly, within the framework of the client relationship for the Undertaken S or of the regulations for the administrations, it is necessary to be able to follow emitted flows of information. It was thus requested from the users to arrange their documents so as to be able to find them, and follow the modifications made in the communication:

Is automatically, by the use of combined software called management systems electronics of documents;
Is by the édiction of standards of work.

Additional tasks like the page layout, the management of documentary flows, the management of the formats, formerly treated like appendices with the contents itself of the document, make integral part now of it, jointly with the definitions external with the document indicating their methods.

Futurology

The SGC falls under this general evolution, by combining the creation of contents with its management, its filing, and the publication. The most advanced systems at present meet the following needs already:

Management of successive and/or concurrent versions

When several people or entities work on the same document, it provides a tool which traces the evolutions, and makes it possible to visualize/manage the modifications and the possible conflict situations. Thanks to it, one can also know who brought such modification and when.

Multiplication of the sights

According to the centers of interest of the readers, certain current SGC make it possible to present contents in a way personalized while exploiting the same original contents. For example, an organization provides the same documentation base but different presentations to its various recipients: for a company, it can be its customers, its suppliers, its categories of personnel, and its shareholders.

Groupware (groupware)

Several recipients can find advantage to work on a common space private, related to a precise communication (follow-up of a client relationship for a company and its supplier), while keeping a historical trace matérialisable (in general by the color) making it possible to know which modified what. A precursory software in the field was Lotus WordPro, whose Microsoft Word took again this function later.

Multiplication of the sources of contents

It is about mutualiser the contents of several organizations while presenting the contents of information resulting from different sources with their page layout, as the newspapers do it which diffuse the dispatches of news agencies. This mechanism is generally called the Syndication of site.

Comments becoming themselves information sources

The majority of free projects CMS functioning on the Web propose to create forums associated with the articles to let the visitors react. They are the base of the success of the sites of news in wire. One could note on sites as Slashdot which the comments of the readers brought themselves a Added-value to information, dividing it into two blocks:

institutional information , which brings what can be emitted by a source known as of confidence ;
semi-official information which, by a mechanism of return, makes it possible to obtain: validation, correction, the discussion of information, and its enrichment by any reader.

The comment makes evolve/move the software tools of edition (intended for the simple diffusion of information) worms of the communications tools. Indeed, the Communication is bilateral, unlike information, unilateral.

This is probably the greatest evolution which implies a deep change in our way of considering the division of knowledge and to apprehend the Web. Indeed, on a side the diffuser of information, by proposing a forum of reactions, takes the inherent risks with the public expression (legal and editorial) and, other, the user takes the risk of the modification/removal of its contents by the authors of the site.

It is certain that it could be decided that only the people using the electronic Signature can react so that all are responsible for their dires, but what does it occur then of the anonymity which allows freedom of speech? It is probable that the people will have to base themselves on the confidence which they have in the ethical editors, and editors to hope that the law does not hold them for persons in charge in all circumstances of the remarks of the readers.

The qualitative improvement continues

This software enormously improved their qualities:

the Computer security, in particular to prevent the takeover by thirds, is from now on correct even excellent (native assumption of responsibility of SSL, even Kerberos);
the quality of code (PHP, Python, Perl…) : it better and better is indenté, commented on (thus more clearly), which supports the identification of the bug S and the improvement by the community;
the quality of the data-processing documents published, the quality of the code HTML, Javascript etc, the respect of the standards and the Accessibility of the Web as well as ergonomics.

The setting in conformity with the standards XHTML, WAI, 508, the actualization of the methods of programming of the originators with methods such as the extreme programming allowed a clear improvement of the quality of the management systems of contents. The initiatives carried out by individuals as Tristan Nitot made it possible to support this evolution.

Profitability

The installation of a simple management system of contents for a small company involves an unquestionable investment. Accordingly, the company must consider the following points in order to evaluate if the establishment of such a system will be profitable:

frequency of the modifications of the site;
extended from the modifications of the site;
urgency of the modifications of the site.

List SGC

See also: List of management systems of contents

See too

Management system of versions.
Management software of versions.
Information system.
Framework .

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