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eZ organizes content into Content items made up of Fields. A structure of a=
Content item is defined by its Content Type.
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The role of a content management system is to organize and store content= regardless of type and complexity. eZ allows you to create and modify flex= ible structures that perfectly satisfy customer needs. This is one of the k= ey features that make eZ a versatile and successful system.
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Content items
The basic unit with which you operate in eZ is a
Each Content item belongs to a particular type which defines what Fields= are available for it.
Conceptually, you can treat a Content Type as a kind of pattern (a template) on which you base Content items. = Whenever you create a new Content item, you must choose the Content Type to= which it will belong.
The Content Type defines what Fields will be availab=
le in the Content item. A Content item may only contain the exact Fields th=
at are defined in the Content Type (although not all of them must be obliga=
tory).
eZ allows you to create, edit and delete Content Types and their Fields.= A pre-configured set of Content Types and their Fields for you to use is a= vailable in the Demo Bundle.
Content items= versus Content Types
The difference between Content items and Content Typ=
es is important for understanding the fundamentals of content management in=
eZ.
A Content item is an instance of a particular Conten= t Type, in other words a single object created based on a template that is = the Content Type.
When a Content item is created, it inherits the Fiel= ds from its Content Type. However, the values of the Fields (their "content= s") are empty and you need to fill them separately for each Content item. T= he Fields in a Content Type are only definitions. This means that they desc= ribe what Fields of what kinds will be present in a Content item, but as a = rule they do not provide these Fields' values.
As a consequence, all Content items of the same Cont=
ent Type will share the same set of Fields, but their Field values will be =
different.
To visualize this concept, you can think of a Conten= t Type as a stencil that you use to create multiple prints. Each pri= nt will have the same shape, but may be filled with a variety of paints. In= the same way, a Content Type defines the shape using the Fields that are p= rovided in it. Each Content item based on this Type will have the same "sha= pe," that is the same Fields, but can fill them with any "paint," that is a= ny values of these Fields.
Legacy terms
Legacy versions of eZ had the same underlying content model, but us= ed different terms for describing it. For reference, the legacy terms were:=
Content item =E2=80=93 content object
Content Type =E2=80=93 con=
tent class
Field =E2=80=93 attribute
Field Type =E2=80=93 datatype
Fields and Field Types
Just like every Content item is based on a Content T= ype, so every Field belongs to one of the Field Types.
A Field Type defines what kind of data is stored in =
a Field. For example, a Field with a TextLi=
ne Field Type stores a single line of text, an Image Field Type stores an i=
mage, and Author Field Type holds information about author details (like na=
me, email). By default, the system comes with a set of fundamental Field Types that cover most common ne=
eds (e.g. Text line, Rich text, Email, Author list, Content relation, Map l=
ocation, Float, etc.)
Learn more
You can also create your own Field Types= to build powerful and complex content structures.
Custom Field Types have to be programmed in the PHP scripting = language. However, the built-in Field Types are usually sufficient for= typical scenarios.
What you should know:
Content Items:
- A Content item consists of a number of Fields.
- Every Content item is based on a Content Type.
Content Types:
- A Content Type defines Fields that a Content item will be composed of.<= /li>
- Every Field belongs to a Field Type which defines the kind of data it c= ontains.
- eZ offers a Demo bundle which contains built-in Content Types. You can = use them or create new ones.
Fields and Field Types:
- eZ comes with a collection of essential Field Types.
- It is possible to extend the system by creating custom Field Type= s for special needs.
You can find more in-depth, technical informat= ion about the content model in eZ at Content model overview.
Learn about the Demo Bundle.
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