To my mind, you are mixing apples and oranges (sorry, I just liked Mark's produce analogy <g>).
I think of "FAQ Entry" and "Press Release" as content types or, more precisely, content templates. These might represent XML DTDs or schemas, a proprietary template or even a custom front end application that, in the end, produce assets of type "FAQ Entry" or "Press Release".
Now, having produced such a thing, what is your process for releasing it to, for example, a public website? This might be anything from nothing (once uploaded into CMS, out it goes), to "a second pair of eyes must view it", to full editorial approval + compliance approval + legal approval. This is your workflow.
The details of how workflow is configured, the "degrees of freedom" in the system, the granularity of review, etc., all vary by product - quite a little bit. Apparently, likewise for templates! But you can still reasonably separate the two concepts and compare approaches and implementations from product to product. That's my take on it anyway.
take it easy,
Charles
At 02:08 PM 11/19/2002 -0800, Charley Bay wrote:
thus spaketh Nuno Lopes: > <snip, CM is managing content during its lifecycle, > from creation until destruction> > > <snip>,... How can I easily manage the life cycle > of content within a CMS without a workflow embedded > in it? I believe we can't. > > <snip, These are different: workflow, workflow > engine, workflow definition application> > > <snip, defining workflow is expensive>,... So choose > wisely don't get over "excited" about the benefits > of being able to freely define processes and > workflows unless you really need that feature. > > <snip, "Workflow" is to Coordinate and Manage > (content), the latter to control, plan, organize > development and put into operation. >I'm going to show a little fear, ignorance, and bias here. Be gentle. ;-) I've had a hard time wrapping my head around "workflow" as something discretely understood. I get the concept, but I can't describe, "These are the atomic building blocks that comprise workflow, and by stacking these blocks your own way, you create your own custom workflow." Aren't the high costs of deploying a CMS associated with the need to custom assemble/configure the CMS in a given environment with the building blocks provided by the vendor? And, since so many environments are completely different from each other, how is a vendor to identify what is common among environments (so it can provide those building blocks)? I understand the idea that "press release" or "FAQ Entry" may be enabled through a custom workflow: Someone identifies the need, someone sees a custom form to enter information and ensure all required fields are populated, someone approves, the content is included in the next publishing, someone reviews the entry periodically and eventually removes it from existence. However, where I get stuck is when "workflow" in the general CM use can mean *anything*, and that's where I don't know where workflow starts and stops nor even what it *is*. Is workflow authoring? storing? reviewing? approving? editing? expiring? deleting? Heck, if it's everything, then it is nothing (the term lacks any specificity). In creating content managing tools, I must admit, I have a specific approach to "workflow": When I hear the word, I scream in terror as loud as possible and run away. (This has caused me great stress in my personal life. I hide under my bed for weeks at a time. I tremble in fear at hearing each falling footstep. I wake up from nightmares in cold sweats. I'm pretty sure "they" really *are* out to get me.) --charley [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Web Hosting - Let the expert host your site http://webhosting.yahoo.com -- http://cms-list.org/ trim your replies for good karma.
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