Content architecture content-architecture

Follow David’s Model follow-david-s-model

David Nuescheler wrote David’s Model years ago, but its ideas still hold true today. The main tenets of David’s Model are as follows:

David’s Model can be found on the Jackrabbit wiki at https://wiki.apache.org/jackrabbit/DavidsModel.

Everything is content everything-is-content

Everything should be stored in the repository rather than relying on separate third-party data sources such as databases. Such an approach applies to authored content, binary data like images, code, and configurations. It lets us use one set of APIs to manage all content and to manage the promotion of this content through replication. You also gain a single source of backup, logging, and so on.

Use the “content model first” design principle use-the-content-model-first-design-principle

When building a new feature, always start by designing the JCR content structure first, and then look into reading and writing your content using the default Sling servlets. Such an approach lets you ensure that your implementation works well with out of the box access control mechanisms and let you avoid generating unnecessary CRUD-style servlets.

Be RESTful be-restful

Define servlets based on resourceTypes instead of paths. This approach makes it possible to use JCR access controls, adhere to REST principles, and use the resource and resource resolver that are provided to us in the request. This approach lets you change the scripts that render URLs on the server side without changing any client-side URLs. It also hides server-side implementation details from the client for added security.

Avoid defining new node types avoid-defining-new-node-types

Node types work at a low level in the infrastructure layer. Most requirements are met by using a sling:resourceType assigned to an nt:unstructured, oak:Unstructured, sling:Folder, or cq:Page node type. Node types equate to schema in the repository and changing node types can be expensive down the road.

Adhere to naming conventions in the JCR adhere-to-naming-conventions-in-the-jcr

Adhering to naming conventions adds consistency to your code base, lowering the incidence rate of defects and increasing the velocity of developers working in the system. The following conventions are used by Adobe in developing AEM: