By GotMals on
Can someone please shed some light for me on getting my social networking site up and running?
Basically I am confused about going with Dupal vs just buying scripts that are written in PHP? It appeared to me that Drupal is built in PHP, so therefore if I can get a jumpstart by buying the scripts I am looking for, is that the better route rather than fumbling with Drupal? I am very new to all this web stuff and am not sure the route I should be taking.
Would I be able to take Drupal modules and plug them into the 'bought' PHP scripts?
Can anyone help me better understand this?
Comments
In general I would say you
In general I would say you can not just take any PHP script and plug it into Drupal.
As for Drupal vs buying I prefer Drupal (but most people on this forum probably do).
Using Drupal will probably take some time given you are new to all this web stuff but costs you no money.
The script costs you money and hopefully less time.
Drupal is extensible.
The script could be (but not likely).
Drupal comes with support (these forums)
Does the script have support?
I could go on, but the point is there are likely to be pros and cons to each and without a specific script to comment on, replies will tend to be a bit generic.
i think you can but...
you probably shouldnt
for instance in one of the core include files, the function required a string but when i installed the ubercart attributes module - you know as in mug-blue or mug-red, etc
an array was passed in to the function so it threw an error
so i simply added an if(is_array($incoming_variable)){//implode into a string} to the core file
also in another instance, the core file implodes an array but it was passed an array of arrays so that was no good
so i used a multi_implode code to absolutely implode any type of array and added the function to the module file and it works just fine...
if anyone can suggest better ways to do the above two...im all ears!
It really depends on what you
It really depends on what you need. If that script has every function you need, worth what you pay, and don't have time and money to learn and develop Drupal go with that script. If you don't care about money and time here is why you should go with drupal.
- Most of those scripts lack of quality. They are not wel documented and its a torture to modify code for your further needs. But drupal is very well documented and its pretty easy to modify functions without touching to the core
- Most of those scripts are not opensource so modifying site may cause licence problems in future but you can't have such problem with drupal
- Number of people that develop those scripts are limited so you won't get many updates.
- Mostly those scripts are designed for one purpose so its hard to add new functions
Humm these are the first things I can think.
I have asked the script
I have asked the script company:
if their scripts are extensible? The answer is yes.
if I own the scripts once I buy them? The answer is yes.
The costs of these scripts is so minimal (between $300-$800) that I was thinking it definitely is worth my time to start with something rather than from scratch. And since Drupal was based on PHP, I thought it was a slam dunk, but that I might be missing something, since I am new to this.
But I do want to ensure that I would be able to plug in a Drupal module into a script I may buy. So if there is anything I should be asking these companies, that I am not, then please let me know.
Any other information you can give me on this is greatly appreciated.
If you can give the name of
If you can give the name of custom script and what functions do you need we can help more.
- It may be extensible but how hard is it?
- Do they have any documentation for API or do they have an API?
- Is there any developers that experienced on extending that script?
If you have doubts about that script and you consider drupal as first option go with drupal. You can do almost anything offered with that script.
What scripts are you talking about?
What scripts are you talking about? Information directly from the company (who wants to make a sale to you) is not necessarily to be trusted.
Also, no, just because they are written in PHP does not mean they would be in any way compatible with Drupal. Definitely no Drupal modules would "plug in" to it, as they are written around the Drupal API and work within that framework. To use an analogy to help explain: PHP is like the alphabet basically. With the alphabet you can write any words you want. After that you can graduate to writing sentences and full paragraphs, or even full chapters... this is what Drupal is, the full sentences, paragraphs, and chapters (it is well beyond the simple "alphabet" stage of raw PHP). It even has an "abridged version" of a whole book which is what the CMS part of Drupal core is (though by using modules, theming, and use of the Drupal API this can be extended into an epic novel). As in a book, you cannot simply copy and paste these chapters into a completely different book and expect it to make sense. The scripts you refer to are also written in the "alphabet" of PHP, but that is where the similarity ends - it is a completely different book.
Leaving the book analogy... Drupal does have various tools and abilities which you could implement to share data with other applications, though this would absolutely not be plug and play; you'd have to know how to code PHP to interface with that other system (which means understanding both how the internal processes of both Drupal and the other system work). Drupal also works as a whole - you cannot just take Drupal modules and use them without Drupal core. Drupal core is the "engine" that powers everything else. Depending on what scripts you are talking about there may already be modules that integrate them with Drupal, which you can search for on Drupal.org's modules page.
Another factor to consider is how "smooth" of an integration might be possible between various separate scripts... when you build a site with various completely different tools that were made without the slightest intention/knowledge of working together, it is very unlikely the end result will be a pleasure for your visitors to use, or feel like a cohesive experience as they move from one area of the site to another.
Hope this helps.
For instance one I came
For instance one I came across was called www.business-space.org where they offer up a linkedin clone script for purchase.
=-=
based on my reading of that site, you don't "own" the script. You license it for use on a single domain. which means you can use it once and only once on a single domain and thats that.
Ideally if you are new to webdevelopment in general, I'd save your money. first you will layout 700-800 bucks and any thing you need done to customize a site built on that script will likely make you have to go back to them. Because the script isn't open source means you may be bound by other license restrictions also. ie: you may not be able to alter their script.
First of all even the most
First of all even the most expensive option state that "the software can be installed on up to 5 domains" so you are not free at all. Than at license it says
and here is an interesting part
who is going to decide what is abnormal or not?
Whatever those closed licenses are almost same for all. If you have time and desire to learn new things go with drupal or any other open source framework.