App Shared "Ghost" Content-Types (⚠)
This explains App Shared Content-Types which used to be called Ghost Content-Type. For an overview check out Understanding Data....
Warning
This is a very advanced topic which less than 1% of all developers use.
You almost certainly will not need this. So if you start playing around with this, make sure that you really need this.
What is an App Shared Content-Type?
App Shared Content Types are a Content Types which are defined in one App and re-used in specific other Apps.
- They can only be used inside the App which are configured to share the definition
- The App data is in the export/import, but not the Content-Type Definition
- If you import an App with such data, the App containing the definition must be imported first.
- These Content-Types are stored in the SQL database
You rarely want to use this.
How it works
- Shared Content-Types are defined in a Primary App which manages this type.
- Other Slave Apps are configured to also use this Content-Type. They automatically inherit every configuration of the primary App even when the schema changes.
Why does this Feature exist?
The feature was originally introduced in 2sxc 1.0 because at that time we didn't have Global Shared Content-Types
It has since been used in various complex sites. An example is a installation which has many Sites, each having the same News App. In such scenarios it's hard to keep changes synchronized, so it's usually implemented as follows:
- A primary App is on a hidden Site which just manages the Content-Types
- A template App is configured to use thes Content-Types. It usually also uses shared Templates etc.
- The template App is then exported and imported in each site where needed.
Why would you want to use this?
- If you are creating a complex system with many portals and apps which should share the schema
Why would you not want to do this?
Using Shared Content-Types is fairly technical, so the developer must understand what this is.
History
- Introduced in 2sxc 1.0