CRUD and simple CMS libraries?

I last wrote with CI a couple of years ago and used GroceryCRUD (for a quick admin), IonAuth (for user management) and Jamie Rumbelow's Base Model (for easy DB processes, callbacks (serialising and unserialising data) and auto created/updated columns).

I am about to get more heavily into CI again after (I think) having rejected Laravel - I'm a simple chap and CI keeps it simple.

Typically most sites I will develop in CI will have a simple CMS for pages alongside all the web app bits. I was just wondering what libraries/helpers are considered best in breed these days?

I see that GroceryCRUD is still developed, is that the best choice for CRUD?

I'm thinking that Bonfire might be a good bet for the CMS/User management functions. Is it?

What about the base model callbacks, created/updated etc? Seems that the Rumbelow base model is no longer updated and may not work in CI3. Are there any alternatives or better methods of working?

I think ultimately what I'm looking for is a solid 'base install' that will be a good jumping off point to rapidly develop CI apps from, whilst avoiding too much bloat and unnecessary features.

Any advice very much welcomed!

Hey there jhob. Welcome back!

IonAuth is still a great package.

User ivantcholakov has a starter package of code that I've heard good things about, and seems pretty complete, though I haven't used it.

I originally wrote Bonfire, and still think it's a good starting point, depending on how much of the bells and whistles you want.@mwhitney has been doing a great job with keeping Bonfire going for the last year or more. He currently has it working with either CI 2 or 3 with the flick of a config setting, I believe. And it's base model was originally based on Jamie's but has been expanded since.

Alternatively, my latest project is SprintPHP which is many of the modules that Bonfire has, but in a non-GUI fashion. Everything was rewritten from scratch with more modern code styles, and more flexibility and power than what I had written before. It will be the base of the next major version of Bonfire, but will always be available in a standalone package.

So that's my humble contributions.

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Hey there jhob. Welcome back!

IonAuth is still a great package.

User ivantcholakov has a starter package of code that I've heard good things about, and seems pretty complete, though I haven't used it.

I originally wrote Bonfire, and still think it's a good starting point, depending on how much of the bells and whistles you want.@mwhitney has been doing a great job with keeping Bonfire going for the last year or more. He currently has it working with either CI 2 or 3 with the flick of a config setting, I believe. And it's base model was originally based on Jamie's but has been expanded since.

Alternatively, my latest project is SprintPHP which is many of the modules that Bonfire has, but in a non-GUI fashion. Everything was rewritten from scratch with more modern code styles, and more flexibility and power than what I had written before. It will be the base of the next major version of Bonfire, but will always be available in a standalone package.

So that's my humble contributions.

Thank you for the reply - that's really helpful!

I will look at getting something set up with bonfire & groceryCRUD for now. I think I would find the bonfire GUI helpful but your sprintPHP sounds great for the future.

I'm also very interested in your forthcoming book too. It seems there's nothing currently out there that demonstrates how to write a well structured CI web app. I originally learnt a lot from the WROX CI book but that is very out of date now. Do you have any idea of when it might be released?

To add to Lonnie's post, if you do go with Bonfire or SprintPHP, they don't include a CMS, so you would probably still be looking for something to handle that portion of your site. Unfortunately, I don't have any good recommendations in that area, and would probably be just as interested in hearing about some good options.

I'm still working out some issues with CI 3 support in Bonfire, but it appears to be in a usable state which I would consider "beta" (especially using the latest from the develop branch). I have a vested interest in seeing CI 3 support working properly well before CI 2's end of life, since I have a large site built on Bonfire which needs to move to CI 3 this summer.

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