OcPortal

ocPortal is a web based automated news publishing and content management system (a 'nuke') based on PHP and SQL. The system is fully controlled using a web-based user interface.

The system is free to use, but you have to register to remove the copyright logo and text inserted onto pages produced by the software. It requires a web server that supports PHP, and a database server such as MySQL or Oracle (or any other SQL-compliant database system using its database-abstraction system).

Authors of ocPortal

ocPortal is maintained by a small group of PHP programmers, and some support staff:

• Chris Graham – The original author and lead programmer
• Philip Withnall – The module coder and secondary programmer
• Allen Ellis – The design artist and image creator
• James McDougall – The support assistant
• Tom Jepp – The conversion specialist

Features of ocPortal

The main aim of ocPortal is to create online communities of people (hence the name 'Online Community Portal') that revolve around an ocPortal installation and forum. For this reason, ocPortal supports integration with many of the major forum systems, including (but not limited to): Invision Power Board, vBulletin, phpBB, XMB Forum, UBB and SMF. Additional driver files can be created for other forum systems, provided the coder has a knowledge of how ocPortal and the selected forum system work.

ocPortal supports a module and block system, whereby the administrator can add new modules and blocks to the system, and place them on the pages produced to add new features to their website.

Advanced permissions allow the site staff to control what users can or cannot see or do. The administration panel is locked to prevent unauthorised alterations to the website.

ocPortal is able to support multiple languages for both fixed content, such as menus and help pages, but also for dynamic content, such as news entries. This means that, if the feature is set up correctly, visitors to the site can view the content in their own language.

The authors of ocPortal claim that the software is more secure than products such as PHP-Nuke and have worked as hard as possible to remove any vulnerabilities from their software. However, they admit that it may have some security holes, though it is possible for users to inform the coders rapidly of these faults through the ocPortal website.

External links

• Official Website: http://ocportal.com/
• Feature Guide: http://ocportal.com/?page=featureguide
• Official Forums: http://forums.ocportal.com/