This page assumes that you have already read Basic Configuration. If not, please go to that page first.
An Overview
Sputnik's behavior is controlled by several things:
- Configuration parameters;
- Individual nodes' attributes, propagated through prototype inheritance;
- System nodes, which contain things like templates, stylesheets, etc.;
- Available plugins.
Configuration Parameters
Configuration parameters can be set in the launcher script or by editing a node called sputnik/config. See Basic Configuration for the basic ones, and More Parameters for additional ones.
Node Attributes
In addition to the global configuration parameters, individual nodes (pages) have attributes that may affect their behavior.
Some of those attributes, such as title and content, can be edited by any user who is authoried to use the editing interface.
Others can be edited only by users with administrator privileges can edit those attributes using the "Configure" button.
While node attributes attributes can be set on individual nodes, they can also be set on groups of nodes through the use of prototype inheritance.
That is, a node can declare another node as a "prototype" and inherit values from it. The prototype node may in turn inherit values from its prototype.
See Node Fields for more information.
System Nodes
System nodes store certain data that is used by Sputnik as a whole. This includes the stylesheet, the configuration of the navigation bar, some of the templates, interface text, etc.
For a full list of system nodes, visit the sputnik node on your installation of Sputnik.
Plugins
Plugins are optional modules that add changes that go beyond appearances. Among other things, you can use plugins to change:
- Markup - change how Sputnik converts text to HTML.
- Storage - change how Sputnik actually stores your data.
- Authentication - change how Sputnik authenticates users.
- Captcha - provide alternative captcha methods.