This is the
first part in a series introducing Umbraco to EPiServer developers,
however, it can also be seen as an introduction to EPiServer for
Umbraco developers. It all depends on your perspective. Please keep
in mind that this is not an attempt at comparing the two for the
sake of which is better, and I do not make the argument for either
platform. Both have their pro's and con's, but I leave it up to you
to select the platform that best suits your needs and
requirements.
In my
experience Umbraco is seen as a competent OSS alternative to
EPiServer. In my opinion, EPiServer is a very competent product,
although, the license costs often excludes it from consideration by
many organizations. Umbraco, too, is very competent. They employ
similar patterns for some of their functionality, and completely
different approaches for some.
I've planned
the disposition for the series according to the list below, but it
may change as I write. I'll update this post as the series
progresses.
Part
1. The administration user interfaces.
Part 2. Document vs. PageData
Part 3.
DocumentType vs. PageType
Part 4.
DataType vs. PropertyType
Part 5.
Property vs. PropertyData
Part 6. Media
vs. the VPP
Part 7. Members
vs. Users
Part 8. Event
hooking
Part 9.
Scheduled tasks
Part 10.
Building a Custom DataType, vs. Building a Custom
PropertyType
Part 11.
Extending and customizing the UI.
Part 12.
Template vs. PageTemplate
Part 13. Macros
vs. DynamicContent
Part 14. Macros
(XSLT/Razor/UserControl/Python) vs.
WebControls/UserControls
Part 15.
Searching with Examine vs. FindPagesWithCriteria
I have been
working with both platforms for many years, and I think both offer
excellent performance and functionality. However, regardless of
that experience, I may have gotten some things wrong, and I hereby
invite anyone to correct me, add information, or otherwise express
their opinions.