What is Bricks Site Builder?
Bricks Site Builder is a Dynamic HTML (DHTML) layout tool that runs on Apache +
mod_perl + Mason. It enables a web designer
to quickly build assemblies bricks (dynamic components, such as images, or weblogs) using a web-based select-and-submit
interface. A URI can then map to a number of assemblies that are then pasted together to build an object graph that is
traversed to render an HTTP response.
The biggest benefit of using Bricks Site Builder is the ability to leverage the work others have done by using the bricks they've written, such as weblogs, photo-albums, etc. to create a kick-ass data-driven web-site. The downside is that Bricks isn't mature (though it works), that it forces a little bit of structure on the way a site is designed, and that, as of now, not many bricks have been written.
Is Bricks Site Builder right for me?
If your site is primarily informational - that is, it doesn't require the user to do much - or if you can't run Apache with mod_perl and Mason, then Bricks Site Builder probably isn't right for you. If, on the other hand, you can run the required software, and are want to run a data-driven web-site, it might be perfect.
What bricks come with Bricks Site Builder?
table
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easy creation of HTML tables.
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text
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user-edited text
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filelink
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copy a file to the HTML output stream, allows for editing of that file
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image
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insert an image, allows for easy selection of that image from those available on disk
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weblog
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create a weblog directory, easily add new weblogs, has a drop-down listing of available weblogs
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photoalbum
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user selects a directory of images, and all images are placed in a photo album with thumbnails and a drop-down listing
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photoalbumset
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user selects a directory of directories, and all those directories become photo albums
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next
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a URI can map to multiple assemblies, such as a header, a weblog, and a footer. The next brick links the next mapped assembly so that multiple assemblies can be pasted together into one HTTP response.
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fileselect
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used by image, photoalbum, photoalbumset, and filelink to select a file on the server
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I'm a programmer. Is it easy for me to write new bricks?
Absolutely. Take a look at bricks/standard/Mason/image for an example brick.
Where do I get it?
You can download Bricks Site Builder here.
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