Documented / Undocumented API - Why Should I care? - Part 3

re: Documented / Undocumented API - Why Should I care? - Part 3

Dominik — Wed, 27 Jul 2005 13:15:16 GMT

Nice writeup Stefan. I think it definitely helps customers to decide about some 3rd party "products" that may be available. I hope and do expect that most of the "features" you listed that some 3rd party products may achieve (e.g. user management by API) are covered with vNext. The problem with the 3rd party products is in my opinion, that they may cover things that especially large companies really miss in MCMS (e.g. user management *g*)

Cheers,
Dominik

re: Documented / Undocumented API - Why Should I care? - Part 3

Stefan_Gossner — Wed, 27 Jul 2005 14:05:32 GMT

Hi Dominik,

absolutly! That are exactly those missing features. It would have been nice to have these requirements be addressed in the current version of the product. The product team has very high focus on these feature for v.Next.

Cheers,
Stefan

Play by the Rules or Don't Play at All!

Angus Logan — Wed, 27 Jul 2005 14:54:36 GMT

re: Documented / Undocumented API - Why Should I care? - Part 3

Erjan — Wed, 27 Jul 2005 15:30:32 GMT

Indeed!
Very nice post, Stefan!

Cheers,
Erjan

re: Documented / Undocumented API - Why Should I care? - Part 3

Chris — Thu, 28 Jul 2005 16:55:18 GMT

I just don't understand why a feature such as managing users couldn't have been released in a service pack. Developers are buying third party tools to do these things out of necessity.

How many service packs have come out for wss since the latest MCMS version was released? How hard would it have been to have an intern write a few stored procedures and release a updated dll for the papi. MCMS is a very expensive product, and MS dropped the ball here.

re: Documented / Undocumented API - Why Should I care? - Part 3

Stefan_Gossner — Thu, 28 Jul 2005 17:12:09 GMT

Hi Chris,

Microsoft usually does not provide new feature in a service pack.

New functionality is only provided in a new version of a product.

The product team has a very high focus on these features and other customers requirements for next version.

Cheers,
Stefan

re: Documented / Undocumented API - Why Should I care? - Part 3

Sandeep — Fri, 29 Jul 2005 15:42:19 GMT

1. Having myself experimented with wrapping the COM API in .NET code to carry out the required functionality, it is very difficult to understand why the same cannot be provided by Microsoft in the form of supported API's.
2. Please read the release notes of CMS2002SP1. Some new functionality was added in the API.
3. Be aware that this is resulting in some high profile clients wishing to move to other competitor products. v.next is still an year and a half away, and clients would require another 3 to 6 months to migrate, after its release.
3. Stefan, do you know is any of the products listed in the CMS web site in the partners section are using the unpublished API's?

Cheers!

re: Documented / Undocumented API - Why Should I care? - Part 3

Stefan_Gossner — Fri, 29 Jul 2005 15:53:28 GMT

Hi Sandeep,

1) That is due to time constraints. Implementing this API would have slipped MCMS 2002 release by half a year. That was not acceptable.
2) That is correct. These new API calls were required for hotfix to work. Means to fix a bug in WebAuthor.
3) We are aware of this but this still does not change anything
4) As far as we are aware of: non of these partners is using undocumented API.

Cheers,
Stefan

Some people never learn :-(

Stefan Goßner — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 13:51:35 GMT

Tarek Yehin posted an article on how to create resource galleries programmatically. As already discussed...

re: Documented / Undocumented API - Why Should I care? - Part 3

Joost — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 14:54:46 GMT

Very bad that Microsoft still doesn't have these things:

- create resource galleries

- create custom channel properties

- manage rights groups

- manage users in rights groups

- assign rights groups to channels, resource galleries or template galleries

- move channels, template galleries or resource galleries

It would make live much easier. :-(

re: Documented / Undocumented API - Why Should I care? - Part 3

Vlax — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 21:36:42 GMT

Is this product using undocumented API calls?

http://mcms.ithit.com/

Thanks for the advice

re: Documented / Undocumented API - Why Should I care? - Part 3

Stefan_Gossner — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 20:55:11 GMT

Hi Vlax,

based on the information on their website this product allows to create resource galleries.

If this is true, then they are using undocumented API.

Cheers,

Stefan

re: Documented / Undocumented API - Why Should I care? - Part 3

slywook — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 17:57:47 GMT

Hi,

I've just a question, Is it possible to develop in c# a code in order to manage the channels tree without using CMS 2002 interfaces ?

re: Documented / Undocumented API - Why Should I care? - Part 3

slywook — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 19:44:07 GMT

Could you give me the objects/methods to manage/move the channels on CMS 2002 ?

I don't find any helps concerning this point.

re: Documented / Undocumented API - Why Should I care? - Part 3

Stefan_Gossner — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 19:53:51 GMT

Hi Slywook,

unfortunatelly it is not that simple. You cannot directly move a channcel directly.

You need to create a channel with the desired name in the destination location and then move the postings there.

Cheers,

Stefan

re: Documented / Undocumented API - Why Should I care? - Part 3

slywook — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 11:45:43 GMT

Hi,

I always come back with my channels tree.

As I can't do a drag and drop channel. I will try to do a creation of a new channel and I will move the postings.

Can I do the move with a part of the channel tree ?

I have another question, we use template page for each channel.

Is there a possibility to link templates pages with a channel and to keep this link during a move operation on the channel tree?

Thanks :)

re: Documented / Undocumented API - Why Should I care? - Part 3

slywook — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 12:06:23 GMT

In fact,

Is it possible to manage channel (create,move,delete) and template page (linked to channel) using API and without the Interface CMS ?

thanks in advance :)

re: Documented / Undocumented API - Why Should I care? - Part 3

Stefan_Gossner — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 19:15:06 GMT

Hi Slywook,

no this is not possible. You need to adjust the links.

Cheers,

Stefan

re: Documented / Undocumented API - Why Should I care? - Part 3

Stefan_Gossner — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 19:16:36 GMT

Hi Slywook,

regarding your second question: you cannot move channels. But you can create and delete them.

Not sure what you mean with a template page. That is not a MCMS term. Are you talking about a channel rendering script?

If yes: yes you can assign a channel rendering script to a channel programmatically.

Cheers,

Stefan