Summary

This chapter has taken us from a general overview of the CMS framework into the specifics of user management. We have reviewed the way in which user control is often needed, while acknowledging that it is not a universal requirement. Any kind of user management dictates a need for storage, with database being the normal option for a CMS. Some further demands on how data is stored emerged from discussions of customization.

Secure authentication is a requirement for user control, since otherwise the whole edifice crumbles. Once we have established the identity of the person at the browser, access control and personalized services are needed. Administration inevitably arises, even though as much of this as possible is handed over to self service. Given the huge variety of circumstances in which user management can be deployed, customization is likely, creating a requirement for flexibility in the CMS framework.

So, now we know quite a lot about handling users, but we need to know a lot...