Dean Allen’s amazing new Content Management System Textpattern is a viable free, open-source alternative to Movable Type. Not only is it filled with great features such as different styles for different categories it also removes the need to rebuild files at each change of content. This is because, like Wordpress, all site content is stored in a mySQL database and pages are built on the fly when requested. This means you don’t have to clutter your server up with hard-coded pages. Instead, a simple bunch of templates can be constructed that enable data to be poured onto the page. Sounds good? It is. But if, like me, you’re wanting to install the software on a windows machine there are a few things you’ll need to know first.
Textpattern requirements
Before you start, you’ll want to download all four of the applications listed below.
- Textpattern software (obviously!)
- Apache web server (I use Apache 2)
- PHP4 (running as an Apache Module)
- MySQL (with a database ready for populating)
Installing Apache, PHP and MySQL on a windows machine
The installation documentation for each of these products is extensive and should be read thoroughly to ensure you install correctly on your Windows machine. There are instructions for Linux, Mac OS and Windows. They vary considerably in places so make sure you’re reading the Windows installation instructions! I used a rather excellent installation guide courtesy of Web Thang: