[Rainbowportal-devel] Regarding Theme/Layout Discussion....Additional Info

[John M <how...@ho...>]

Hi all,

Following from my most recent mail, here is something from a previous blog 
entry by Shaun on some of the features of one of their possibilities. It 
seems to support what we were discussing.

(Which is why it would be good to see what the other solutions are like as 
well):

"DotNetNuke Skinning
A couple months ago, another developer named David Haggard ( New Covenant ) 
approached me with ideas for a DotNetNuke skinning solution. He had 
experimented with the XML Skins but found the limitations too constraining 
for his needs. From a requirements perspective he had identified the 
specific features for each type of user and had researched a number of 
skinning concepts on different platforms. Throughout the development process 
he maintained communication and solicited feedback and early this week he 
notified me that he had released his HTML Themes.

He has created some example skins - a PHP-Dupe skin is a replica of the 
phpnuke.org site and is a good example of the flexibility of the solution. 
One of the most exciting things about the HTML Themes is the Developers 
Guide - a 40 page document which describes how to build and deploy skins. 
The magnitude of enhancements in this solution is overwhelming but I would 
like to highlight a few key points:

- complete abstraction of form and function
- free form layout flexibility
- HTML skin file - can be built in any designer ( FrontPage, DreamWeaver )
- tokens substituted during skin upload - precompilation = fast performance
- content area can contain up to 9 panes in any layout configuration
- configurable skin object properties - stored in XML file
- multiple module container definitions can be included with skin
- skinnable module title control
- package theme as single ZIP for upload ( html, xml, graphics, css )
- Host, Site, User, Machine, Tab level skins
"

Regards,

John

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