Contributors: A-Z Index

A

Name	Photograph	Title / Role	Contributions / Notes
Allen Ellis		Founder	Original designer for ocPortal Also conceived and coded the Theme Wizard and Point Store Son of one of the early inventors of Internet protocols (Usenet, aka Internet newsgroups) Token non-brit	View

C

Name	Photograph	Title / Role	Contributions / Notes
Chris Graham		Founder	Original developer of ocPortal, former lead developer of Composr CMS Masters degree in Computer Science from The University Of Sheffield Undertaken work for over 15 FTSE-100 companies, as well as many small and mid-sized organisations. Includes a number of banks and major brands.	View
Chris Warburton		developer for ocProducts	Made some key contributions to ocPortal	View

H

Name	Photograph	Title / Role	Contributions / Notes
Haydn Maidment		project manager for ocProducts	None available	View

J

Name	Photograph	Title / Role	Contributions / Notes
Jim Davidson		contributor	written many tutorials via Arvixe	View

P

Name	Photograph	Title / Role	Contributions / Notes
Patrick Schmalstig		Lead Developer	Joined Chris Graham behind the scenes in the development of Composr CMS in 2016. Took on the lead developer role in 2023 when Chris Graham stepped back to attend to his new lifestyle changes. Spearheaded the development of Composr CMS v11 and the new website, Composr.app. Formed the company PDStig, LLC to take on professional support and development for Composr CMS users especially after the discontinuation of ocProducts, Ltd.	View
Philip Withnall		Early Developer	Coded the chatroom, blogging support, the analytics system, and OcCLE (now Commandr) Masters Degree in Computer Science degree from The University Of Cambridge Other work has included helping out with Firefox, and ongoing work on GNOME	View

R

Name	Photograph	Title / Role	Contributions / Notes
Robert Goacher		Founder	Ran some of the early websites where ocPortal came from Technically the original developer of ocPortal, in that he wrote the first few lines of code Heavily involved in the feature design process Hosted some of our early meet-ups	View

S

Name	Photograph	Title / Role	Contributions / Notes
Steve Jarvis		project manager for ocProducts	Wrote many tutorials via Arvixe	View

Newest 10 Entries

Question	What is Tempcode, and how is it used in website themeing?
Answer	Tempcode is a templating language used within Composr. It offers a powerful way to control the output of dynamic content and design elements on a website. It works by using: Parameters: Placeholders for content passed to the template from Composr / PHP. Symbols: Global functions that perform operations, calculations, or retrieve information. Directives: Instructions that control the flow or logic of content, such as conditional statements and loops. Language strings: References to pre-defined text stored in language files for easy translation. Escaping: Ensures the content generated is properly escaped according to its use case. Tempcode empowers theme designers to create highly customizable and dynamic websites, allowing for logic, conditional rendering, and manipulation of various website elements.

Question	What are some alternatives to Photoshop for web design?
Answer	While Photoshop is a popular choice, there are other excellent options available, including: GIMP/GIMPShop: These free, open-source image editors provide a robust set of features comparable to Photoshop. Paint.NET: This free, Windows-only software offers a user-friendly interface and essential image editing tools. Corel Paint Shop Pro: A more affordable alternative to Photoshop, Corel Paint Shop Pro delivers a good balance of features and ease of use.

Question	How can design elements like dominance and attention to detail improve a website?
Answer	Dominance and attention to detail are key to a balanced and engaging website. Important elements can be emphasized using techniques like larger text, unique colors, and increased spacing. Conversely, less crucial elements should receive less emphasis. This interplay helps guide the visitor's eye and ensures a visually harmonious layout. Attention to detail involves eliminating inconsistencies and distractions, such as typos, misaligned elements, and low-quality images, that can detract from the overall aesthetics and message of the website.

Question	What is the importance of color schemes in website design?
Answer	Color schemes are crucial as they convey emotions and brand identity. Choosing colors that align with your website's purpose can evoke desired feelings in visitors. For example, a website selling chocolates might use shades of brown to subconsciously trigger associations with chocolate. However, an environmental website would be better suited using green, aligning with pre-existing perceptions of environmentalism. It is also important to maintain consistency with your color scheme, limiting the number of colors used to avoid a conflicting and cluttered appearance.

Question	Can I use Comcode / resource IDs directly when working with the repository?
Answer	Using Comcode / resource IDs directly is not recommended as they may not match between different sites. Use GUIDs instead, which Composr automatically substitutes for IDs before parsing Comcode. You can use Commandr commands like find_guid_via_id to find the GUID for specific resources.

Question	What precautions should I take when using the Composr Repository?
Answer	Exercise caution when working with the repository: Avoid using it as the sole backup method; rely on regular database backups. Work primarily under the "var" meta-filesystem and copy specific folders/files rather than the entire repository. Do not use tools like "rsync" or Git on the whole repository without careful consideration.

Question	What are the limitations of the Composr Repository?
Answer	While powerful, the repository has limitations: Automatic syndication is not performed for content added via the repository. Multi-language content translations are not retained. Transferring complex data schemas between staging sites may have limitations. Merging separate websites into one is not supported through the repository. You should use Composr's import tool instead.

Question	How can I access the Composr Repository?
Answer	You can access the repository using WebDAV (non-bundled addon), which allows you to view it as a folder on your computer. Composr uses the SabreDAV PHP library for WebDAV functionality. However, please be aware that SabreDAV is deprecated and may not function correctly on newer PHP versions.

Question	How is the Composr Repository structured?
Answer	The repository is structured as a filesystem with various meta-filesystems mounted under a root directory. These meta-filesystems include: bin: Stores Commandr scripts. database: Provides access to the raw database. etc: Allows access to Composr configuration options. home or filedump: Provides access to the File/Media Library. home contains the files in a special JSON format with metadata filedump contains the raw files members: Lists registered members with their settings and user groups. raw or root: Provides access to the Composr installation directory. raw contains the raw files without overrides, and modifying any file modifies them directly without automatic override handling root contains the files with applicable overrides applied automatically, and Composr will automatically handle overrides and utilizing _custom directories when these files are modified var: Contains structured website resources and content.

Question	What are the benefits of using the Composr Repository?
Answer	The repository offers several benefits: Opacity: Provides a clear view of Composr's content and resource data. Tactility: Allows easy manipulation of data through drag-and-drop operations. Data transfer: Simplifies transferring data between sites. Desktop application integration: Enables using text editors and file-search tools for tasks like mass search and replace. Configuration management: Tracks changes to options and facilitates transfer between sites. Backups: Allows backing up portions of the repository. Revision control: Supports built-in and advanced revision control. Filesystem for Commandr: Acts as a file system for the Commandr command line. Resource API: Offers an abstract resource API for programmers. API for external apps: Provides an API for mobile apps and other external applications.

Top 10 Entries

Question	What is the purpose of "confirmed" and "non-confirmed" sessions?
Answer	Composr distinguishes between confirmed and non-confirmed sessions for added security: Confirmed: When you actively log in with your credentials. Non-confirmed: When you return to the site and are automatically logged in via cookies. You can configure zones to require confirmed sessions, preventing access from cookie-based logins alone. The Admin Zone uses this by default.

Question	How can I enhance the security of my Composr installation on shared hosting?
Answer	Shared hosting environments can be inherently less secure. Here are some tips: Choose a Secure Host: Opt for hosts that offer suEXEC and open_basedir for better account isolation. Test Security: Verify the host's security measures with the provided filesystem_browser.php script. Restrict _config.php: Remove world-writable permissions from _config.php after installation.

Question	How does Composr protect against Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks?
Answer	Composr utilizes multiple layers of defense against XSS attacks: HTML Filtering: Configurable levels of filtering prevent malicious script injection. Content Security Policy (CSP): Restricts the sources from which scripts and other resources can be loaded. Input Sanitization: Data is sanitized before being processed to prevent malicious code execution. Output Encoding: Data displayed to users is properly encoded to prevent interpretation as active code.

Question	What are the different types of security alerts in Composr?
Answer	Composr has a variety of hack-attack codenames that trigger security alerts and logging. Some common examples include: DODGY_GET_HACK: Suspicious URLs with potentially harmful characters. EVIL_POSTED_FORM_HACK: Possible CSRF attempts via malicious form submissions. SCRIPT_UPLOAD_HACK: Attempts to upload PHP scripts, potentially malicious. DOWNLOAD_PRIVATE_URL_HACK/TRY_TO_DOWNLOAD_SCRIPT: Attempts to download sensitive files. BRUTEFORCE_LOGIN_HACK: Repeated failed login attempts. SQL_INJECTION_HACK: Attempts to exploit SQL queries for data extraction. You can customize alert handling for each type in data_custom/xml_config/advanced_banning.xml (Admin Zone > Security > Configure advanced banning).

Question	What are some tips for secure website maintenance?
Answer	Avoid FTP: Use secure alternatives like SFTP or SSH for file transfer. Secure Email: Enable SSL for IMAP and POP3 email protocols. Strong Passwords: Use unique and complex passwords for different services. Secure Computers: Keep your own devices patched and secure. Maintenance Password: Remove the maintenance password from _config.php when not in use.

Question	What are the main security features of Composr?
Answer	Composr has a robust set of security features to protect your website, including: Passwords: Visual representation of password quality and enforcement of complexity rules. Password expiry and prevention of re-use. Secure password hashing, even if the database is compromised. Temporary passwords for staff setup. Login Restrictions: Two-factor authentication via IP address approval. IP address banning, including wildcard banning. Session locking to IP addresses. Configurable session expiry times. Ability to prevent privileged actions from auto-logged in sessions. Optional member approval process. Auditing Systems: Comprehensive audit logging of administrative actions. Logging of user actions and IP address history. Tools to analyze audit logs. Failed login logging. Hack attack detection, logging, and banning. Email notifications for changes to user credentials. Framework Security: Protection against CSRF attacks. Click-jacking prevention via CSP implementation. Secure coding standards and scanning techniques. Configurable HTML filtering to prevent XSS attacks. Secure code modularization standards. Other features: Granular privileges and access permissions. Content submission validation process. Rootkit detection system. Spam prevention systems. Web application firewall rules. Moderation systems.

Question	Why are my searches slow, and how can I improve search speed?
Answer	Slow searches can occur when dealing with large amounts of content. Here are some workarounds and solutions: MySQL timeout setting: For MySQL 5.7+, set a query timeout to prevent searches from locking up your database. Composr automatically sets this, but you can configure it manually if needed. Use InnoDB tables: Switching to InnoDB tables in MySQL can prevent slow queries from affecting other users on your website. Note that InnoDB is not officially supported by Composr yet. Enable the fast custom index: As mentioned earlier, the fast custom index is optimized for handling large datasets and filtered searches, potentially leading to significant speed improvements.

Question	How does the search engine handle different languages?
Answer	Composr's fast custom index supports multiple languages. Content is indexed based on its translated version, ensuring that you get relevant results even when searching in a different language.

Question	What are quoted phrases and how do they work?
Answer	Quoted phrases allow you to search for an exact sequence of words. For example, searching for "red apple" will only return results containing that exact phrase. Keep in mind that enabling quoted phrases can increase disk space usage.

Question	How do stop words affect search results?
Answer	Stop words are common words (like "the", "a", "is") that are ignored by the search engine because they add noise and don't contribute to the meaning of the search query. You can customize the list of stop words for the fast custom index. See the search tutorial for more information.

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