Why Xenforo is perfect?

[Claudio]

I´m planning to start learning how to program and I´d like to know which are the best points to keep in mind when you try to create a software from scratch.

Without any programming knowledge, I see that these are the main points that make Xenforo perfect:

• Only a few developers
• Use of css instead of images
• Use of sprites
• Use of html5/keywords on urls for seo
• Think the software paying attention to the speed and less queries

What else? this will help me a lot for start doing things well from the beginning and don´t make mistakes like IPB with VB5

 

[Claudio]

Is this a stupid question or nobody know what reply?

I know why there are lot of software that doesn´t worth the money...is because there is no a basic guide to follow when you develop a software.

Come on guys... I want to learn in a good way

 

[Insy]

Stupid question.

XenForo uses a powerful framework (Zend Framework) and is programmed in "real" PHP 5 - not PHP 4 syntax & limits like vBulletin uses.

Only a few developers => Thanks to the Zend Framework. It allows to not reinvent the wheels.
Use of css instead of images => Good developers
Use of sprites => Good developers
Use of html5/keywords on urls for seo => Good developers
Think the software paying attention to the speed and less queries => Good developers

That's why Xf is so great: amazing developers, modern programming, a good framework and some good libraries (jQuery).

PS: it's Internet Brands (IB) who develops vBulletin, not IPB (which is another competitor).

 

[Lawrence]

I´m planning to start learning how to program and I´d like to know which are the best points to keep in mind when you try to create a software from scratch.

Without any programming knowledge, I see that these are the main points that make Xenforo perfect:

• Only a few developers
• Use of css instead of images
• Use of sprites
• Use of html5/keywords on urls for seo
• Think the software paying attention to the speed and less queries

What else? this will help me a lot for start doing things well from the beginning and don´t make mistakes like IPB with VB5

Are you looking to learn how to create add-ons for XenForo, or how to create a stand-alone product?

 

[Claudio]

Stupid question.

XenForo uses a powerful framework (Zend Framework) and is programmed in "real" PHP 5 - not PHP 4 syntax & limits like vBulletin uses.

Only a few developers => Thanks to the Zend Framework. It allows to not reinvent the wheels.
Use of css instead of images => Good developers
Use of sprites => Good developers
Use of html5/keywords on urls for seo => Good developers
Think the software paying attention to the speed and less queries => Good developers

That's why Xf is so great: amazing developers, modern programming, a good framework and some good libraries (jQuery).

PS: it's Internet Brands (IB) who develops vBulletin, not IPB (which is another competitor).

Stupid question.

XenForo uses a powerful framework (Zend Framework) and is programmed in "real" PHP 5 - not PHP 4 syntax & limits like vBulletin uses.

Only a few developers => Thanks to the Zend Framework. It allows to not reinvent the wheels.
Use of css instead of images => Good developers
Use of sprites => Good developers
Use of html5/keywords on urls for seo => Good developers
Think the software paying attention to the speed and less queries => Good developers

That's why Xf is so great: amazing developers, modern programming, a good framework and some good libraries (jQuery).

PS: it's Internet Brands (IB) who develops vBulletin, not IPB (which is another competitor).

Stupid question for you that knows about this. I don´t know anything about coding and I´ll be involved on a project in which one I have to hire several programmers, so I need to know what are the most important things to pay attention on.


If not, the programmers can tell me that php4 and mootools are the best ones and I´ll believe them. Please, if you have more information and can complete the list please give me a hand

 

[CyberAP]

XenForo is written using modern technologies and patterns. I think that XenForo is the first forum software to apply an MVC pattern (a modern technique for writing good quality code). After browsing through some core XenForo scripts I can admit that developers were strict to rule: write less, do more. That is why their code is easy to read and learn. Also both Kier and Mike are very experienced professionals in their sphere and already know how to build such systems. I'd like to state that some User Experience decisions that were made are unique among other forum software platforms (needless to say: notifications, AJAX interface, moderation tools and other XenForo features continue to remain best on the market).
The other thing is semantics, mainly html5, which provides SEO optimization and better development conditions for javascript coders.
And the last but not least is CSS and great tools for customization. XenForo still needs some extended CSS3 support but it is already a great product and could be extended drastically.

 

[turkyalawlqy]

Are you looking to learn how to create add-ons for XenForo, or how to create a stand-alone product?

both please >>

 

[Insy]

Stupid question for you that knows about this.

You're right. I'm sorry, I should not have said that

 

[Jeremy P]

Truthfully as others have said XF's 'secret' is plain old good developers. Developers who understand the language they're working with well and know exactly the goals they're setting out to accomplish with their code.

XF is, in my opinion, the best PHP software I've come across so far. And not only is it a software but they give you full access to the same framework they wrote the forum on, so you could build entirely different things on the platform if you wanted.

vB5 on the other hand.. well their developers don't seem to understand the language they're working with very well at all, and I don't even think upper management really understands the goals they're trying to accomplish.

 

[Claudio]

Exactly.
I´m worried about this because if the only answer is "only good old developers", why there is too many bad software?. Why they are not using the last program languages like html5 and php5?

To complete the information of this post, I think that is good to quote some links from interviews to KAM and try to understand how they worked:
http://www.theadminzone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=77506
http://www.theadminzone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12067
http://www.theadminzone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=78018
http://xenforo.com/community/threads/devs-will-the-zend-framework-stay-in-the-xenforo-build.3003/

There they detail many aspects of the software development and good points of view. I want to thank you all to let me understand why Xenforo is what it is.

 

[Digital Doctor]

And not only is it a software but they give you full access to the same framework they wrote the forum on, so you could build entirely different things on the platform if you wanted.

Are there any examples of Addon makers in the last 2 years taking advantage of this ?

 

[Digital Doctor]

Programming language mootools

If your goal is to make money, never mind the code, only engineers care about about architecture.

 

[Insy]

I´m worried about this because if the only answer is "only good old developers", why there is too many bad software?. Why they are not using the last program languages like html5 and php5?

The problem of many scripts such as vBulletin is the legacy code.
When you add features without ever taking the time to clean up and optimize your code, you quickly get something wrong. Leverage PHP 5 for software written in PHP 4 requires to completely review the architecture of the script. And this is a huge job!

 

[Digital Doctor]

Claudio what software are you going to make ?

 

[Claudio]

Claudio what software are you going to make ?

A social network for a big company, while we use phpfox (which has several speed issues when there are lot of online users).

Support is not so good but Phpfox is what they need, something very similar to Facebook (and I ask myself why Facebook hasn´t claim about the same Facebook style/structure they are using yet).

 

[cclaerhout]

XenForo +++:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Object-oriented_programming
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Modeling_Language (must have been use for its dev)
> Clever use of Jquery and of its own code for Ajax
> Amazing templates system (html/xen codes/hook interaction/css templates with their own variable) both for public and private (admin) sections
> Support, providing a good behaviour
> Mods
> Price

XenForo ---:
> trial
> warez boards who leak your codes pretending they nullify your code whereas it was not protected, then sell your code publicly with the complicity of Paypal


By the way, if you don't know anything to programming, you will have no other choice than trust your developing team.

 

[Jeremy P]

Are there any examples of Addon makers in the last 2 years taking advantage of this ?

Pretty much every addon?

Any addon which adds a route to a controller and returns a view is running on XenForo's MVC architecture. You probably just don't think much of it because there's not many 'major' addons. Reality is there's nothing stopping someone from creating a full blown extensive CMS, or just about anything else you could imagine.

I believe XenForo's website is actually running via the XF addon system, IIRC.

I´m worried about this because if the only answer is "only good old developers", why there is too many bad software?. Why they are not using the last program languages like html5 and php5?

Because they don't have good* developers.

*Not to say developers who don't do this are necessarily bad, but I would hope any developer seeks to make use of modern technology to accomplish their goals. If they're not, then I personally would rather develop my own code than use theirs.

By the way, if you don't know anything to programming, you will have no other choice than trust your developing team.

This. You have to know exactly what you're looking for, and while we can give you hints, we can't tell you what you want. If you are worried about code quality I'd personally recommend taking some time to understand code, or at least finding one trustworthy person who understands it, so that you can be sure it's of the quality you desire.

If you're worried about something else, take the time to learn enough about it so that you can feel comfortable deciding whether or not it meets your expectations properly.

 

[Claudio]

This. You have to know exactly what you're looking for, and while we can give you hints, we can't tell you what you want. If you are worried about code quality I'd personally recommend taking some time to understand code, or at least finding one trustworthy person who understands it, so that you can be sure it's of the quality you desire.

If you're worried about something else, take the time to learn enough about it so that you can feel comfortable deciding whether or not it meets your expectations properly.

All this information is enough to let me see who knows and who don´t. At least is a first step to start choosing the right people.

 

[Claudio]

I can´t find a post I read last week about how Xenforo deals (for example) with forms (the system implemented on Xenforo makes almost impossible to hack). Does anybody remember something about this post or about what I´m talking about?

 

[tenants]

I can´t find a post I read last week about how Xenforo deals (for example) with forms (the system implemented on Xenforo makes almost impossible to hack). Does anybody remember something about this post or about what I´m talking about?

No system is completely secure... unless it has the functionality of a brick
There are almost always security issues with every piece of software/site (even sites that have been knocking around for years).. its just a matter of finding them and discovering what severity they are

... every site has weakness, I see brute forcing a possibility with XF: http://xenforo.com/community/threads/login-security.37083/#post-423438
... and at its most basic, almost every site is vulnerable to DOS attacks

edit... oh wait, when you say hack.. do you mean "hack the code instead of writing quality code" In which case, I would say it certainly suggest you write in a particular way, I've improved vastly since my first Plug-in, I love the way XF is set up