a8e-dev CMF is a lightweight, semantic content management framework that offers web developers and designers a stable development platform that’s extensible through a variety of 3pd components, modules, plugins and tools. Fully templatable, a8e produces clean, valid xhtml 1.1/css2 webpages and content which comply with current w3c standards and accessibility guidelines.

a8e’s roots trace back to early iterations of Mambo which branched around the same time the core Mambo developers formed Open Source Matters and soon after, Joomla!. From early 2005 till Jan 2008 a8eJoomla! was developed as an “alternative” mirror of current joomla 1.x series but one which differed in html framework, producing tableless, css enhanced output.

a8ejoomla began redevelopment in mid-2007 under the aegis of a8e-dev as a heavily recoded and optimized framework or “engine” which retains point-release compatibility with the majority of current joomla 1.0.1x components, modules and plugins.

a8e-dev is currently a heavily stripped down version of joomla 1.0.15 CMS (to retain compatibility with 3pd extensions) but uses unique libraries for functions, content parsing and output, new ajax and javascript libraries and a reworked templating engine to reduce server overhead, improve page-load and cacheing and new, integrated SEF/SERP functions which produce semantic, human readable URIs and menu items.

Currently (02-22-2008) we’re in the process of setting up CVS on at our new project area on sourceforge.net and should have our alpha-release up soon. In the interim feel free to browse our sourceforge pages at; http://sourceforge.net/projects/a8e-dev/