SOBI2
Encyclopedia
Sigsiu Online Business Index 2 (also known as Sobi2) is an open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...

 web directory
Web directory
A web directory or link directory is a directory on the World Wide Web. It specializes in linking to other web sites and categorizing those links....

 component and content construction kit (CCK) for the Joomla!
Joomla!
Joomla is a free and open source content management system for publishing content on the World Wide Web and intranets and a model–view–controller Web application framework that can also be used independently....

 content management system
Content management system
A content management system is a system providing a collection of procedures used to manage work flow in a collaborative environment. These procedures can be manual or computer-based...

 (CMS). Sobi2 is written in PHP
PHP
PHP is a general-purpose server-side scripting language originally designed for web development to produce dynamic web pages. For this purpose, PHP code is embedded into the HTML source document and interpreted by a web server with a PHP processor module, which generates the web page document...

 and requires the MySQL
MySQL
MySQL officially, but also commonly "My Sequel") is a relational database management system that runs as a server providing multi-user access to a number of databases. It is named after developer Michael Widenius' daughter, My...

 database environment for storage. It is best suited for low to medium-level traffic web-sites.

Sobi2 is an add-on to Joomla that makes it possible to run and manage a directory in a Joomla website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...

. The core Joomla system offers a link component; it is limited. Sobi2 on the other hand has many features that make it stand out from other directory components. It can be used strictly as a web directory or as a directory to physical locations, like golf courses. It has built-in integration with Google Maps
Google Maps
Google Maps is a web mapping service application and technology provided by Google, free , that powers many map-based services, including the Google Maps website, Google Ride Finder, Google Transit, and maps embedded on third-party websites via the Google Maps API...

 (API key from Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...

 is required) and it has additional plug-ins available just for Sobi2.

Sobi2 works in Joomla! 1.5 native mode without the legacy plug-in enabled. The Joomla! 1.5 FTP-Layer won't be supported.

There is also the option of making certain features of the listing paid for or free. One could make listings free but charge for links to the websites. You have the option to decide all of this when you set up and manage the component.
[1] This is an extremely powerful component that could be used more many functions and is frequently updated.

Sobi2 - The Directory Component for Joomla (by Ken McDonald)

Sobi2 (Sigsiu Online Business Index 2) is an open source directory component for Joomla!, the very popular open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...

 content management system
Content management system
A content management system is a system providing a collection of procedures used to manage work flow in a collaborative environment. These procedures can be manual or computer-based...

. Using Sobi2 a Joomla user can have a fully functioning directory of contacts, members, distributors, manufacturers, locations, products, or whatever very quickly with little or no "coding" - most or all of the set-up may be done using only the configuration interface. Add your data, and you have a working directory on your Joomla web site. Sobi2 is also designed to be very flexible, and with that flexibility comes some complexity. The flexibility is a powerful feature which enables users to use Sobi2 in many different ways as you will see on the webs sites listed in this publication.

History

Already in 2006, as no one talks about CCK
CCK
CCK may refer to:*Choa Chu Kang, a suburban town in Singapore*Complementary code keying, a modulation technique used in IEEE 802.11b*Cholecystokinin, a digestive hormone...

 for the content management system
Content management system
A content management system is a system providing a collection of procedures used to manage work flow in a collaborative environment. These procedures can be manual or computer-based...

 Joomla! Sigsiu.NET developed a Content Construction Kit for Joomla!. Designed as a business directory (online business index), Sobi2 could already be used for every kind of directory.

Sobi2 has been designed as the follower of the SOBI (or SOBI1) component but it is not based on SOBI. It has been built up new from the bottom. This was necessary because the table structure of SOBI1 was not suited for the features "sub-categories", "one entry in multi-categories" and "user definable fields". Sobi2 uses a relational database
Relational database
A relational database is a database that conforms to relational model theory. The software used in a relational database is called a relational database management system . Colloquial use of the term "relational database" may refer to the RDBMS software, or the relational database itself...

 structure. Sobi2 is built up almost object oriented, but still runs under PHP
PHP
PHP is a general-purpose server-side scripting language originally designed for web development to produce dynamic web pages. For this purpose, PHP code is embedded into the HTML source document and interpreted by a web server with a PHP processor module, which generates the web page document...

4 and MySQL
MySQL
MySQL officially, but also commonly "My Sequel") is a relational database management system that runs as a server providing multi-user access to a number of databases. It is named after developer Michael Widenius' daughter, My...

4.

Features

Sobi2 is an add-on to Joomla! that makes it possible to run and manage a directory in your Joomla! website.

Content Construction using Sobi2 Fields Manager

All fields which are necessary for a directory can be created easily using the Fields Manager. There are several field types to choose from like text input fields, text areas (w/o WYSIWYG
WYSIWYG
WYSIWYG is an acronym for What You See Is What You Get. The term is used in computing to describe a system in which content displayed onscreen during editing appears in a form closely corresponding to its appearance when printed or displayed as a finished product...

 editor), check boxes, check box groups, select lists (drop down lists), simple text fields or a calendar field.

For text input fields there are additional settings available. A text input field can be defined to be used for an URL address, an email
Email
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...

 address, a link to an image or to a video/audio file. According to this setting the entered data will be shown in the views with the necessary syntactical format.

Sobi2 shows the data in two views. In an overview (Category View) all entries of the directory will be shown in such called V-Cards (similar to small business cards). Each entry has a link to its detailed description (Details View). It is definable which fields should be shown in which view with a simple click in the Fields Manager. Therefore it is also possible that a field isn’t shown in any of the views.

To earn money with the directory, it is easily definable in the Fields Manager for which information the author of an entry has to pay a fee. Also the amount of the fee is freely selectable.

During installation, Sobi2 creates by default several custom fields for a business directory
Business directory
A Business directory is a website or print media listing of information which lists all businesses within some category. Businesses can be categorized by business, location, activity, or size. Business may be compiled either manually or through an automated online search software.The details...

. They can be deleted or easily extended by any number of own fields.[4]

Clear Overview by Classification into Categories

For a better lucidity of the directory, the entries within Sobi2 are divided into categories. For that a Category Manager is available. With the Category Manager it is possible to create, edit and delete categories within the directory.

As many categories as the administrator of the website likes can be created with an unlimited nesting depth. That means, each category can contain sub categories which can contain sub categories as well, and so on.

An entry can be assigned to one or more categories. For a simple directory it is also possible to assign all entries automatically to a pre-defined category. Thus, the category selection by the user isn’t necessary.[4]

Presentation of Images in the Directory

According to the configuration of Sobi2, the author of an entry can upload up to two images for each entry. At this, the images will be reduced to a pre-defined size. These image can be shown either in the V-Cards of the overview (Category View) and/or in the detailed view of the entry.

Additionally the Sobi2 Gallery plugin can be installed. This plugin allows the users to upload an additional unlimited number of images to their entries. These images will be shown in the detailed view as small thumbnails and on click they will be shown enlarged with lightbox effect.[4]

Simple Adding and Editing of Entries

Sobi2 provides an entry form, which will be called from front-end of your site. This form contains the self-defined fields. The layout of this form can be changed by the usage of the built-in template
Template
Template may mean:*a stencil, pattern or overlay used in graphic arts and sewing to replicate letters, shapes or designs...

 engine. Thereby it is possible to divide the input data into tabs. This is useful especially for a lot of fields.

Sobi2 can be configured in this way, only registered users of a site can add entries to the directory. It is also configurable that adding entries is allowed for guests too.

For the administrator of the site there is an Entry Manager in the administration panel of Sobi2 available. With this Entry Manager it is possible to easily create, edit or delete an entry.[4]

Publishing an entry only for a certain period

Especially for directories with paid entries, but also to keep the directory up to date, Sobi2 has the possibility to associate the entries with an expiration date. Either a fixed period for which the entries will be published (e.g. 90 days) can be set up, or the expiration date of an entry is defined individually.

Additionally the author of an entry can define the expiration date by himself using a calendar field. This is meaningful especially for directories with advertisements.

If an entry is expired, it can be renewed by the author himself. At a defined period prior to expiration, a message visible only to the author of the entry will be shown. By the use of an additional link the author can renew his entry.[4]

Simple Email Generation

Sobi2 sends out email
Email
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...

s on occurrence of different events like adding, editing or renewing entries by the author or also if an entry is approved by the administrator. It is adjustable if only the author of the entry and/or also the administrator will get an email
Email
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...

. The Joomla! user group which will get the administrator emails is freely selectable. Also a selection of several groups is possible.

Sending out an email
Email
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...

 can be set up separately for each event. The content of the emails can be defined separately for each event in the administration panel of Sobi2. For that different placeholders are available.

A previously defined signature will be added at the end of each email.[4]

Different Views for Presentation of Categories and Entries

As a complex Joomla! component, Sobi2 has different views for front-end.

The main view of Sobi2 typically consists of the presentation of the main categories. Additionally the entries within those main categories or all entries in the directory can be shown in V-Card view.

Additionally to the category views there are other views available which will show V-cards of entries. E.g. it is possible to show the newest/latest, the most popular or recently edited entries or only the entries of a specific user.

An alpha index is available to show entries and categories (or only entries) starting with a certain letter in V-Card view. The alpha index is configurable and the letters can be arranged.

The meta keywords
Keywords
Keywords are the words that are used to reveal the internal structure of an author's reasoning. While they are used primarily for rhetoric, they are also used in a strictly grammatical sense for structural composition, reasoning, and comprehension...

 entered for the entries, can be used as tags. All tags of an entry can be shown in the detailed view as links to lists with all entries with the same tagged word. Using tags is recommended for a good indexing in search engines.[4]

Adaption of Sobi2 / Templates

Sobi2 can be used „out of the box”.

But Sobi2 can also be adapted individually to the site. This adoption take place in different levels.

Sobi2 has its own style sheet file (CSS
CSS
-Computing:*Cascading Style Sheets, a language used to describe the style of document presentations in web development*Central Structure Store in the PHIGS 3D API*Closed source software, software that is not distributed with source code...

). Nearly almost all elements of Sobi2 are addressable by CSS
CSS
-Computing:*Cascading Style Sheets, a language used to describe the style of document presentations in web development*Central Structure Store in the PHIGS 3D API*Closed source software, software that is not distributed with source code...

 classes (or IDs) and therefore configurable. Change specifically margins, colours or fonts only by changing the CSS file.
The CSS
CSS
-Computing:*Cascading Style Sheets, a language used to describe the style of document presentations in web development*Central Structure Store in the PHIGS 3D API*Closed source software, software that is not distributed with source code...

 file can be edited comfortably in the Sobi2 administration panel, using an editor with syntax highlighting.

For advanced adaptations there are separate templates available for the V-Card view and for the detailed view. With some HTML
HTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....

 skills and using the so called template commands, own views can be created easily. It is also possible to create an own template for the add entry form.

All templates are editable comfortably in the Sobi2 administration panel, using an editor with syntax highlighting
Syntax highlighting
Syntax highlighting is a feature of some text editors that display text—especially source code—in different colors and fonts according to the category of terms. This feature eases writing in a structured language such as a programming language or a markup language as both structures and...

.[4]

The description of possibilities of this template engine can be found on the official homepage in the article Template Commands

Since version RC 2.9, the Sobi2 template system was extended significantly. It is possible now to select individual templates for each category. Therefore also a template installer has been implemented.

Extensive diagnosis systems integrated

Sobi2 has a debug mode to log occurring problems in a file. The debug level is adjustable. The template parser is helpful in finding syntactical errors while developing an own template
Template
Template may mean:*a stencil, pattern or overlay used in graphic arts and sewing to replicate letters, shapes or designs...

. To detect if a server meets the requirements for Sobi2, a built-in system check is available.

All functions of Sobi2 at a glance

  • CCK
    CCK
    CCK may refer to:*Choa Chu Kang, a suburban town in Singapore*Complementary code keying, a modulation technique used in IEEE 802.11b*Cholecystokinin, a digestive hormone...

     with different field types and convenient custom fields manager.
  • Multilevel category structure with unlimited nesting depth and convenient category manager.
  • Extensive configuration possibilities via administrator settings and/or registry editor for ease of use of the configuration file in Sobi2 administration panel.
  • Individual entry form styling in front-end to add and/or edit entries by authors.
  • Fast SigsiuTree script to show the categories in a tree view in administrator panel and entry form.
  • Built-in image upload with automatically resize of the images to pre-set values.
  • Different views available to show the content of the directory.
  • Dynamical page title generation with a lot of configuration settings (SEO
    Search engine optimization
    Search engine optimization is the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search engines via the "natural" or un-paid search results...

    ).
  • Entry dependent meta data (keywords
    Keywords
    Keywords are the words that are used to reveal the internal structure of an author's reasoning. While they are used primarily for rhetoric, they are also used in a strictly grammatical sense for structural composition, reasoning, and comprehension...

     and description). Various settings for meta data generation for the different Sobi2 views (SEO).
  • Extended and widely configurable search function with built-in category search.
  • RSS
    RSS
    -Mathematics:* Root-sum-square, the square root of the sum of the squares of the elements of a data set* Residual sum of squares in statistics-Technology:* RSS , "Really Simple Syndication" or "Rich Site Summary", a family of web feed formats...

     feeds for the whole directory and for each category view. Additional configuration parameters available to generate RSS
    RSS
    -Mathematics:* Root-sum-square, the square root of the sum of the squares of the elements of a data set* Residual sum of squares in statistics-Technology:* RSS , "Really Simple Syndication" or "Rich Site Summary", a family of web feed formats...

     feeds of newest or most popular entries or for random selection.
  • Extensive diagnosis systems like error logging or version checker.
  • Built-in multi state cache
    Cache
    In computer engineering, a cache is a component that transparently stores data so that future requests for that data can be served faster. The data that is stored within a cache might be values that have been computed earlier or duplicates of original values that are stored elsewhere...

     system for fast retrieving of data (reduction of data base queries).
  • Built-in template
    Template
    Template may mean:*a stencil, pattern or overlay used in graphic arts and sewing to replicate letters, shapes or designs...

     system for creating own templates of V-Card view, detailed view and entry form.
  • Send out of emails for various events. Comfortable creation of email
    Email
    Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...

     templates in administrator panel using place holders for different data.
  • Integration of Paypal
    PayPal
    PayPal is an American-based global e-commerce business allowing payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet. Online money transfers serve as electronic alternatives to paying with traditional paper methods, such as checks and money orders....

     and/or display of account data at the end of a paid entry.
  • Integration to a router possible (way search function). Routers available in Internet can be integrated into Sobi2. By default Google Maps
    Google Maps
    Google Maps is a web mapping service application and technology provided by Google, free , that powers many map-based services, including the Google Maps website, Google Ride Finder, Google Transit, and maps embedded on third-party websites via the Google Maps API...

     will be used.
  • Integration of Google Maps
    Google Maps
    Google Maps is a web mapping service application and technology provided by Google, free , that powers many map-based services, including the Google Maps website, Google Ride Finder, Google Transit, and maps embedded on third-party websites via the Google Maps API...

     directly in detailed view.
  • A language manager to install different Sobi2 languages is also part of the Sobi2 administration panel. Various languages are available for Sobi2.
  • Via Sobi2 plugin interface and plugin manager of Sobi2 administration panel you can develop your own functionality for Sobi2 and integrate it easily.
  • Different modules, Joomla! and Sobi2 plugins are available to extend the possibilities of Sobi2.

[4]

Multiple instances of Sobi2

The Sobi2 Development Team provides also a special bash script
Scripting language
A scripting language, script language, or extension language is a programming language that allows control of one or more applications. "Scripts" are distinct from the core code of the application, as they are usually written in a different language and are often created or at least modified by the...

 called "Sobi2 Cloning Tool". It is simple script to clone Sobi2 and all possible add-ons. It allows to install multiple instances of Sobi2. The official Sobi2 demo site uses a clone called com_extensions (similar to Joomla Extensions Directory). This Sobi2 clone (and all add-ons for it) has been created with this script.

Plugin Interface

Sobi2 plugins enhance the functionality of Sobi2. There are plugins available to add an image or media gallery or to use Sobi2as a download directory.[4]

Some of the plugins to Sobi2 include a Review & Rating Plugin and Gallery Plugin. They make it possible for you to create and run a complete rating and review directory where people can submit listings, submit reviews and upload photos. Even if you don’t run the Community builder component Sobi2 can allow people to build entire web pages about their listing.[1]

Languages

Many language packages are available for Sobi2.

See also

  • Joomla
  • Mambo (CMS)
    Mambo (CMS)
    Mambo was a free software/open source content management system for creating and managing websites through a simple web interface....

  • MiaCMS
    MiaCMS
    MiaCMS is an open source content management system.-History:MiaCMS started as a fork of Mambo.* April 2008: Four former Mambo core developers fork Mambo and form MiaCMS. The founding members are Chad Auld, Ozgur Cem Sen, Richard Ong, and Al Warren...

  • Open Source Matters
  • VirtueMart
    VirtueMart
    VirtueMart is an open source e-commerce solution designed as an extension of the Mambo or Joomla! content management systems . VirtueMart is written in PHP and requires the MySQL database environment for storage...

  • Joomsef
    Joomsef
    ARTIO JoomSEF is a SEO component for Joomla! Content Management System that rewrites URLs to be Search Engine Friendly and to be human easily understandable. It works with multilingual sites by integrating JoomFish component support...

  • UddeIM
    UddeIM
    UddeIM is an open source PMS component for the Mambo or Joomla! content management systems . UddeIM is written in PHP and requires the MySQL database environment for storage.-PMS Component for Joomla:...

  • web directory
    Web directory
    A web directory or link directory is a directory on the World Wide Web. It specializes in linking to other web sites and categorizing those links....

  • List of web directories

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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