netFORUM on Drupal

The netFORUM xWeb interface was designed to give associations who are interested in Single Sign On and netFORUM integration an easy path towards a web presence that requires minimal outside help or on-staff expertise. It does require someone who is familiar with how xWeb works and the netFORUM data model to install and set up.

For developers, the netFORUM xWeb Interface module provides an easy way to read and write data from netFORUM, and it relieves them from the need to keep track of authentication, caching, availability, and more.

For website builders the netFORUM Dynamic Facade Nodes and netFORUM Views modules work to ensure that any user who can create an eMarketing template in netFORUM can create pages on the website. They use the same syntax and the same fields that netFORUM uses for templates and html descriptions of events and products.

Drupal is a simple at heart Content Management System that provides developers a good framework for extending and implementing custom modules. As an open source software package, Drupal is easy to explore, has a low barrier to entry, and there is a lively and extensive community of trained professionals. Many features of advanced CMS systems are freely available with 3rd party modules, all collected and available at www.drupal.org.

To help associations determine if Drupal and the netFORUM on Drupal project are right for them, a public demonstration site has been created where any user is free to log in and create new pages that use data from netFORUM.