SPIP

SPIP

Initial release	2001 (2001-07)
Stable release	2.0.10 / October 31, 2009
Written in	PHP
Operating system	Cross-platform
Type	Content Management System
License	GNU General Public License
Website	http://spip.net/

SPIP (Système de Publication pour l'Internet Partagé or Participatif) is a free software content management system designed for Web site publishing, oriented towards online collaborative editing.

This software, known for its easy setup, use and maintenance, is widely used by networks of people, in public or private institutions. The last P in the word SPIP both stands for Partagé (shared) or Participatif (participative), in the sense that the software is especially tailored for collective online editing.

Its mascot is a flying squirrel, an allusion to the squirrel nicknamed 'SPIP' which accompanies the comic character Spirou (The word spip actually means squirrel in some areas of Belgium).

Presentation

SPIP is a free software for content management used both by institutional sites, news sites (the webmaster of Le Monde diplomatique newspaper is one of the initiators of SPIP), community portals or academic sites, or personal webpages. It is however less well suited for virtual communities than other existing Content Management System.

Technology

This software is written in PHP, and relies on a SQL database.

The pages of the site are generated 'on the fly': the contents stored in the database are formatted through presentation 'skeletons' that merge HTML and SPIP's own mark-up language. A caching system avoids the generation of pages at each request: when a page is requested, SPIP checks if it doesn't exist in its cache and if it isn't too old, it will be displayed. The life-span of a page is adjustable in its presentation skeleton.

History

SPIP was originally conceived for the uzine.net site, then designers decided to give it away under GPL License. Since its launch 2001, it has also been tested by le Monde diplomatique and www.vacarme.eu.org.

SPIP integrates a cache mechanism, an authentication system, an automatic setup module as well as an interface for administration and input of articles. SPIP's main feature is the creation of dynamic pages without any PHP knowledge, thanks to a template system relatively easy, known as 'skeletons.

In early 2003, the 1.6 version permits to decline the private interface in several languages. A space for translators is set up in order to multiply the number of available versions.

In January 2004, the 1.7 version of SPIP allows to manage multilingual websites, and boasts a search and content indexation module; It also enables syndication of other sites' contents.

In April 2005, the private interface of version 1.8 has been reworked in order to take into account the ergonomic analysis . An important modification for developers is SPIP's core that is from now on constituted from a new compiler. It becomes then possible to elaborate skeletons with more and more complex functionalities without any work in PHP.

Numerous re-workings are currently under way, such as the reworking of the private interface in the form of skeletons.

The 1.9 version (1) introduces a plug-in system and numerous changes, notably in the files organisation (particularly the transition from '.php3' to '.php' files extensions.

The 1.9.1 version introduces a template system, akin to Wikipedia.

The 1.9.2 version modifies the directory structure to allow a better mutualisation of sources.

The 2.0 version supports multiple SQL databases, and introduces easy skeletons for web forms.

Current versions

The stable version available in October 2009 is version 2.0.10.

See also

• Comparison of content management systems
• List of collaborative software

External links

• Official web site : Presentation, download, documentation, etc.
• (English) Detailed history of SPIP
• Template:Fr The SPIP galaxy