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Introduction to Lecker CMS

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Table of Contents

• Project Structure
• Core Components
• Lecker CMS UI
• Important Tables and Terms
• Libraries
• Modules
• Security Best Practices

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Project Structure

The Lecker project follows a specific file structure:

• application/
  • config/ - Database connection, base URL, constants, routes, autoload, etc.
  • controllers/ - Main project functions for frontend, backend, content management, etc.
  • core/ - Contains MY_Controller with shared functions
  • helpers/ - Contains besc_helper for simple helper functions
  • language/ - Contains language lines accessed via $this->lang->line('your_line_key')
  • libraries/ - Project libraries and Lecker_crud
  • models/ - Models named by the controller where they are used
  • views/ - HTML views for frontend, mail, authentication etc.
• assets/ - Fixed assets shared between projects
• system/ - Core CodeIgniter libraries and PHP files, including Model.php
• items/ - Project-specific assets (JavaScript, CSS, images, uploads)
• vendor/ - Composer and third-party libraries
• composer.json & composer.lock - List of installed libraries
• index.php - Application entry point (switch to production environment for live sites)
• .htaccess

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Core Components

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Controllers

1. Backend & Repository Controller

   • Basic backend functions
   • Repository management (overviews, teaser image selectors)

2. Content Controller

   • Setup of editable tables in CMS
   • Content Helper for displaying buttons and data
   • Module saving, cloning, and display
   • Error logging

3. Authentication & User Controller

   • Backend and frontend login
   • Password reset

4. Frontend Controller

   • Public-facing views
   • Data preparation

5. Lecker Controller

   • Core of the CRUD system
   • Functions for rendering tables, editing, filtering, and image upload

6. MY_Controller

   • Universal functions used throughout the app
   • Image preparation for modules
   • Naming functions
   • Error logging functions

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Models

Models specify database queries for CRUD operations using CodeIgniter syntax. The Model.php in the system folder defines universal model functions that can be used anywhere.

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Lecker CMS UI

The Content Management System is accessible via the Backend at /backend (default setting editable in routes.php). Key features include:

• Dashboard with editable tables
• Menu divided into groups:
  • Normal project user: Content, General, Repositories
  • Projects with shop: additional Shop category
  • Developers: additional Dev Area category
• Settings for user data and dashboard customization

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Important Tables and Terms

1. Entity

   • Middle point to connect with teaser images and items
   • First image taken as main, can be reordered
   • Define table columns and relationships
   • Uses entity_teaser_relation
   • Types:
     • Article Entity: represented by a page with dynamic modules
     • Noarticle Entity: exist independently, without articles or modules
   • Must be specified in constants for ID generation

2. Article (table items)

   • Subordinate to Entity
   • Contains modules and language-specific content
   • Defined via pretty URL
   • Four visibility options:
     • Visible
     • Only with direct link
     • Logged in only
     • Hidden
   • Can be associated with multiple modules (text, image, gallery)
   • Supports multiple languages (specify in constants)
   • Can link original article with secondary language articles

3. Image Repository

   • Central storage for images and photos
   • Connect to entities as teaser images, modules, or noarticle entities
   • Public/private settings (private images blurred in backend)
   • Resized and saved by default in three versions using Imagick library:
     • Frontend image
     • Full size
     • Thumbnail

4. Tags

   • General (associated with any Article Entity)
   • Specific to certain Noarticle or Article entity types
   • Default tag connected with Normal Article entity

5. File Repository

   • For saving various file types (mainly smaller PDF files or ZIP packages)
   • Used in articles via download module

6. User Table

   • Accessible only to superadmin
   • For creating and managing user accounts and permissions

7. Dev Area

   • Not visible for non-dev backend users
   • Contains error logs, article overview, debugging tables, and stats
   • Automatic error logging using MY_Controller functions

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Libraries

Lecker includes several libraries:

• PDF creator
• Shopping functions
• Picture creation
• CKEditor for text editing
• PHPMailer

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Modules

Modules for articles are specified in three main areas:

1. Content Controller

   • Types of modules and their columns

2. crud.php

   • Preview of modules in backend
   • Module editor
   • Icons

3. Frontend Controller

   • Detail function to collect article-specific modules and content

4. JavaScript files

   • edit.js in items/backend
   • Module-specific JavaScript files
   • Specifies transfer of information between module editor and preview

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Security Best Practices

1. Keep the CMS and plugins up to date
2. Implement basic security measures
3. Use secrets management:
   • Create a .env file in the root directory - see template under installation
   • Access secrets using $_ENV['SECRET_NAME']
   • Use phpdotenv library