AJAX Search

The built-in search engine utilises AJAX and MySQL's powerful FULLTEXT feature to rapidly return, in real-time, any pages that match your search query.

When you click on a returned result, the visited page will highlight the search terms until one of them is clicked on. Try searching for 'ajax' and clicking on a returned result.

Search results appear here in real-time.
Example Sidebar

Create and integrate sidebars on-the-fly.

You can create and add as many of these sidebars as you want. Sidebar content is generated via the same easy to use WYSIWYG editor as regular pages, allowing you to insert and format text, HTML, forms and images. Each sidebar has the option of a toggle link which expands and collapses the panel. The sidebar's toggle state is recalled upon susbsequent visits to the same page.

You can even create a sidebar that contains raw PHP code - thus providing unlimited extensibility via functions, libraries and includes. Smart.

An Introduction

This page provides a very brief overview of the technology that underpins Vanilla.

PHP

PHP is a server-side language. This means that PHP pages and scripts are parsed on the web server before they are sent to the visitor's browser. PHP is an open source language and is by far the most popular dynamic programming language on the internet. Unlike standard HTML which is a static language, PHP has hundreds of built-in features and functions that allow developers and editors to create very complex and feature-rich dynamic websites. It plays with MySQL very nicely.

Read more about PHP extensibility within Vanilla.

MySQL

MySQL is the most popular open-source database in the world. It can handle millions of records and is employed across the board from cottage industry to corporate megasite. Developers usually connect to and communicate with their MySQL databases using PHP scripts.

AJAX

AJAX stands for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML. It allows you to submit forms and modify a page's layout and content without refreshing the web page. It does this by 'calling' server-side scripts (PHP) in the background and using JavaScript to fetch and return the results to the current webpage. Common examples of AJAX-enabled websites might be YouTube, the BBC's iPlayer site and twitter.

jQuery

jQuery is a JavaScript framework that sits 'on top' of a website, providing a host of modular features such as DOM manipulation and ready-made AJAX functions. A typical jQuery function might animate an element on the page, fade in a picture or allow you to drag and drop objects within webpages.

Read more about Vanilla's built-in jQuery features.

FCKEditor

Vanilla includes a copy of FCKEditor - an industry standard WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editing interface.  Similar to a Word Processor-type system, the editor's built in collection of tools allows the input and formatting of content in a fashion that will be familiar to most technology users - even the complete novice.  Along with formatting text, this tool can also handle the uploading and embedding of images, audio and media.

Read more about creating and editing pages.