CMS : Java Glossary

• Allow people who don’t know HTML to pour it the content into standard templates.
• Allow multiple people to update the content, much like a version control system for source code where you can back out changes and keep multiple versions of documents.
• Generation of boiler plate either before upload or with Servlets.
• Indexing so you can find documents containing given text.
• Visual editing of HTML
• Manage multiple languages for the same content.
• Generating breadcrumb your-are-here trails.
• Managing ICRA censorship ratings.
• HTML Validation
• Ability to include raw HTML unmolested.
• Ability to write your own macros in Java. This means you need documentation, examples and a user community to help you.

They would normally run on the server and store your content in a database, and generate the html on the fly, however in theory they could also run it on the desktop and prepare a website to be uploaded for fully static distribution, the way this website mindprod.com works using static macros. The advantage of the second approach is you can host it anywhere with minimal strain on the server. The advantage of the first approach is the ability to change the layout of the website by the second.

The first thing to do is choosing which one to use is make sure it is alive and active. These sort of projects where there are so many so similar and all free, have a very high burn-out rate and they are quietly and gradually abandoned. If there has not been a release in the last 6 months, I would avoid it.