Contao

Contao (formerly TYPOlight)
Original author(s)Leo Feyer
Developer(s)Contao Association
Initial release2006[1]
Stable release
5.3.12[2] / 2024-08-06[±]
Repository
Written inPHP
Operating systemUnix-like;
Microsoft Windows
Available in28 languages[3]
List of languages
Fully translated: Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Persian, Russian, Spanish
95% or more complete: Czech, Romansh, Serbian, Swedish, Finnish, Romanian, Slovak, Burmese, Danish, Hungarian, Polish, Albanian, Latvian, Slovenian, Ukrainian,
80% or more complete: Lithuanian, Croatian, Portuguese
TypeCMS
LicenceGNU LGPL (Free software)
Websitecontao.org

Contao (formerly TYPOlight) is a free content management system (CMS) for medium to large websites. The program specializes in back-office (i.e. for developers) and front-office (i.e., for users) accessibility, and observes XHTML, HTML5 and CSS standards, according to W3C/WAI guidelines, to generate pages. The program is an open-source project, published in its original form in 2006 by Leo Feyer and hosted on GitHub.

Features

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The Contao content management system has built-in search engine, file manager and form builder tools and features automatic live updating. With its CSS framework and built-in jQuery and MooTools libraries, it readily supports multilingual content (UTF-8 character set) throughout), as well as for documentation and in the back-end administration area, uses Web 2.0 and Ajax techniques and offers version control and cancellation management (undo/redo), permitting a user to review and, if necessary, roll back changes to a prior state. Although the program makes use of a graphical interface, many program instructions require resorting to a command-line interface.[4] From the administration area, a user may choose to install, update or uninstall any of over 1,700 extensions or update the database.[5].

As of version 5.0, Contao requires a web server that routes requests to PHP, PHP version 8.1+, MySQL 5.7+ or an equivalent MariaDB version, and 11 PHP extensions. Contao is compatible with and recommends using the latest version of PHO and MySQL/MariaDB.[6]

Product name

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As of the pre-release version 2.9. RC1 on June 6, 2010, the TYPOlight product was renamed Contao. Developer Leo Feyer justified the change on the grounds that TYPOlight had often been confused with TYPO3, a different CMS originally developed by Kasper Skårhøj, whilst the word “light” was sometimes misunderstood to imply that the CMS was suitable only for small projects.[7]

In his instructional book on the CMS, Websites erstellen mit Contao, Peter Müller writes that the software name “Contao” has “a good ring”, pointing out that C, O, N are the first letters of “content” and that tạo is a Vietnamese word that means “to model, generate or shape.” The name is appropriate, he suggests, because the program “allows content to be generated, shaped and managed.”[8]

Reception

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In 2007 Packt Publishing named TYPOlight, as it was then known, as the second-place winner in its awards category of “Most Promising Open-Source CMS”.[9]

Versions

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Legend: Old version, not maintained Older version, still maintained Current stable version Latest preview version Future release
Software Major releases Minor releases Bugfix releases General corrections to Security relevant corrections to
TYPOlight 1.x Old version, no longer maintained: 1.0 1.0.0 (2006-03-12)
2.x Old version, no longer maintained: 2.0 2.0.0 (2006-11-24)
Old version, no longer maintained: 2.1 2.1.0 (2006-11-28) to 2.1.22 (2007-01-29)
Old version, no longer maintained: 2.2 2.2.0 (2007-02-28) to 2.2.12 (2007-04-10)
Old version, no longer maintained: 2.3 2.3.0 (2007-04-25) to 2.3.4 (2007-05-11)
Old version, no longer maintained: 2.4 2.4.0 (2007-06-07) to 2.4.7 (2007–10-11)
Old version, no longer maintained: 2.5 2.5.0 (2007-12-12) to 2.5.9 (2008-06-06)
Old version, no longer maintained: 2.6[10] 2.6.0 (2008-08-12) to 2.6.8 (2010-05-01)
Old version, no longer maintained: 2.7[11] 2.7.0 (2009-05-01) to 2.7.7 (2010-05-01)
Old version, no longer maintained: 2.8[12] 2.8.0 (2010-02-16) to 2.8.4 (2010-06-30)
Contao Old version, no longer maintained: 2.9[13] 2.9.0 (2010-07-02) to 2.9.5 (2011-05-18)
Old version, no longer maintained: 2.10[14] 2.10.0 (2011-08-11) to 2.10.4 (2011-12-30)
Old version, no longer maintained: 2.11 (LTS)[15] 2.11.0 (2012-02-15) to 2.11.17 (2014-04-07)
3.x Old version, no longer maintained: 3.0[16] 3.0.0 (2012-10-30) to 3.0.6 (2013-03-21)
Old version, no longer maintained: 3.1[17] 3.1.0 (2013-05-21) to 3.1.5 (2013-11-08)
Old version, no longer maintained: 3.2 (LTS)[18] 3.2.0 (2013-11-21) to 3.2.21 (2015-06-05)
Old version, no longer maintained: 3.3[19] 3.3.0 (2014-05-26) to 3.3.7 (2014-11-24)
Old version, no longer maintained: 3.4[20] 3.4.0 (2014-11-25) to 3.4.5 (2015-03-27)
Old version, no longer maintained: 3.5 (LTS)[21] 3.5.0 (2015-06-05) to 3.5.40 (2019-04-11) June 2018 May 2019
4.x Old version, no longer maintained: 4.0[22] 4.0.0 (2015-06-09) to 4.0.4 (2015-10-16) December 2015
Old version, no longer maintained: 4.1[23] 4.1.0 (2015-11-26) to 4.1.3 (2016-04-22) June 2016
Old version, no longer maintained: 4.2[24] 4.2.0 (2016-06-18) to 4.2.5 (2016-10-27) December 2016
Old version, no longer maintained: 4.3[25] 4.3.0 (2016-11-25) to 4.3.11 (2017-06-02) June 2017
Old version, no longer maintained: 4.4 (LTS)[26] 4.4.0 (2017-06-15) to 4.4.57 (2021-08-21) December 14, 2020 December 14, 2021
Old version, no longer maintained: 4.5[27] 4.5.0 (2017-12-28) to 4.5.14 (2018-08-28) August 2018
Old version, no longer maintained: 4.6[28] 4.6.0 (2018-08-23) to 4.6.14 (2019-01-24) February 2019
Old version, no longer maintained: 4.7[29] 4.7.0 (2019-02-15) to 4.7.7 (2019-07-16) August 2019
Old version, no longer maintained: 4.8[30] 4.8.0 (2019-08-15) to 4.8.8 (2020-02-17) February 2020
Old version, no longer maintained: 4.9 (LTS)[31] 4.9.0 (2020-02-18) to 4.9.42 (2023-07-25) February 14, 2023 February 14, 2024
Old version, no longer maintained: 4.10[32] 4.10.0 (2020-08-18) to 4.10.7 (2021-02-16) February 14, 2021
Old version, no longer maintained: 4.11[33] 4.11.0 (2021-02-17) to 4.11.9 (2021-08-24) August 14, 2021
Old version, no longer maintained: 4.12[34] 4.12.0 (2021-08-19) to 4.12.7 (2022-02-18) January 14, 2022
Older version, yet still maintained: 4.13 (LTS)[35] 4.13.0 (2022-02-17) to 4.13.46 (2024-08-06) February 14, 2025 February 14, 2026
5.x Old version, no longer maintained: 5.0[36] 5.0.0 (2022-08-18) to 5.0.10 (2023-02-16) February 14, 2023
Old version, no longer maintained: 5.1[37] 5.1.0 (2022-02-16) to 5.1.11 (2023-08-01) August, 14, 2023
Old version, no longer maintained: 5.2[38] 5.2.0 (2023-08-15) to 5.2.10 (2024-02-16) February 16, 2024
Current stable version: 5.3 (LTS)[39] 5.3.0 (2024-02-16) to 5.3.12 (2024-08-06) February 14, 2027 February 14, 2028
Future release: 5.4 February 14, 2025
Future release: 5.5 August 14, 2025
Future release: 5.6 February 14, 2026
Future release: 5.7 (LTS) February 14, 2029 February 14, 2030
6.x Future release: 6.0 February 14, 2027
Future release: 6.1 August 14, 2027

Further reading

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German

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  • Leo Feyer: Das offizielle Contao-Handbuch: Der Leitfaden für Anwender, Administratoren und Entwicklung (Official Contao manual: Guide for users, administrators and developers). Addison-Wesley, Munich 2010. ISBN 978-3-8273-3014-7
  • Thomas Weitzel: Mit Contao Webseiten erfolgreich gestalten: Konzeption, Umsetzung, Beispielprojekte (Successful Contao websites: design, implementation, sample projects). Addison-Wesley, Munich 2010, 264 pages. ISBN 978-3-8273-2892-2
  • Nina Gerling: Contao für Redakteure: Inhalte editieren und verwalten mit dem Open-Source-CMS (Contao for editors: Edit and manage content using the open source CMS). Addison-Wesley, Munich 2010. ISBN 978-3-8273-2893-9 Online Handbuch
  • Anne-Kathrin Merz: Contao: Das umfassende Praxisbuch (Contao: The comprehensive practice book). Addison-Wesley, 2010. ISBN 978-3-8266-5532-6
  • Peter Müller: Websites erstellen mit Contao (Create websites with Contao). Galileo Computing, 2010, 536 pages. ISBN 978-3-8362-1651-7, third edition (2012), ISBN 978-3-8362-2010-1
  • Thomas Reindlmeier: Contao: Webseiten clever gestalten (Contao: cleverly designed websites). KnowWare, Osnabrück, 2010, ISBN 978-87-91364-93-8

References

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  1. ^ "There it is - Contao". 12 March 2006.
  2. ^ "Releases - contao/contao". github.com. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  3. ^ Contao Open Source CMS, Transifex translation tool. Accessed 20 June 2016.
  4. ^ Command Line, Accessed 13 August 2024.
  5. ^ Contao Quick Start, Quick Start, Accessed 13 August 2024.
  6. ^ "System requirements", Contao Manual, retrieved 2024-08-13
  7. ^ Aus TYPOlight wird Contao Archived 2012-01-01 at the Wayback Machine (German)
  8. ^ Peter Müller, "Das ist Contao", in Websites erstellen mit Contao. Galileo Computing, 2010, p. 25. ISBN 978-3-8362-1651-7
  9. ^ Open Source CMS Award, Previous Winners Archived 2009-07-07 at the Wayback Machine at packtpub.com
  10. ^ TYPOlight Open Source CMS Changelog for the version 2.6
  11. ^ TYPOlight Open Source CMS Changelog for the version 2.7
  12. ^ TYPOlight Open Source CMS Changelog for the version 2.8
  13. ^ Contao Open Source CMS Changelog for the version 2.9
  14. ^ Contao Open Source CMS Changelog for the version 2.10
  15. ^ Contao Open Source CMS Changelog for the version 2.11
  16. ^ Contao Open Source CMS Changelog for the version 3.0
  17. ^ Contao Open Source CMS Changelog for the version 3.1
  18. ^ Contao Open Source CMS Changelog for the version 3.2
  19. ^ Contao Open Source CMS Changelog for the version 3.3
  20. ^ Contao Open Source CMS Changelog for the version 3.4
  21. ^ Contao Open Source CMS Changelog for the version 3.5
  22. ^ Contao Open Source CMS Changelog for the version 4.0
  23. ^ Contao Open Source CMS Changelog for the version 4.1
  24. ^ Contao Open Source CMS Changelog for the version 4.2
  25. ^ Contao Open Source CMS Changelog for the version 4.3
  26. ^ Contao Open Source CMS Changelog for the version 4.4
  27. ^ Contao Open Source CMS Changelog for the version 4.5
  28. ^ Contao Open Source CMS Changelog for the version 4.6
  29. ^ Contao Open Source CMS Changelog for the version 4.7
  30. ^ Contao Open Source CMS Changelog for the version 4.8
  31. ^ Contao Open Source CMS Changelog for the version 4.9
  32. ^ Contao Open Source CMS Changelog for the version 4.10
  33. ^ Contao Open Source CMS Changelog for the version 4.11
  34. ^ Contao Open Source CMS Changelog for the version 4.12
  35. ^ Contao Open Source CMS Changelog for the version 4.13
  36. ^ Contao Open Source CMS Changelog for the version 5.0
  37. ^ Contao Open Source CMS Changelog for the version 5.1
  38. ^ Contao Open Source CMS Changelog for the version 5.2
  39. ^ Contao Open Source CMS Changelog for the version 5.3
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