As pointed out in the previous section, we'll use the CMS to store information about the members. Lets say that we would like to store the following information (for each member):

• Name
• Nickname
• Date of birth
• Gender (Male/Female)
• Telephone number
• E-mail address
• Facial photo

But wait! How can we store all this custom information? If you take a look at the list of the built-in content classes, you'll discover that none of them is even close to being suitable for storing information about TSCM members. What we have here is a typical content management problem. Fortunately, unlike other content management systems, eZ publish allows the users to create their own content classes. Instead of having to fit our data into a predefined, rigid structure, we have the power to create our own custom structure. The following list of steps explains how to do this.

1. Make sure that you're logged into the administration interface.
2. Click on the "Setup" tab.
3. Click on "Classes" - from within the menu on the left hand side.
   A list of class groups will appear.
4. Click on "Content" (from within the list).
   A list of available classes will appear.
5. Click on the "New class" button.
   The class edit page will appear.

eZ publish will then start the creation process of a new, custom content class. We'll need to specify a name for this class, lets just call it "Member". An identifier will also have to be specified. Each content class may be identified using its ID number or identifier string. The identifier is a friendly string. It is easier to remember and more flexible than an ID number.

1. Type "Member" into the name filed.
2. Type "member" into the identifier filed.
3. Leave the "Object name pattern" empty.

We will now start adding attributes to our new "Member" content class. The following text explains how to add the desired attributes.

The "Real name" attribute.
This attribute will be used to store the real name of a member. We'll use the built in "Text line" datatype for this attribute. Since we can't have a member without a name, we'll set the required flag. This means that every time somebody tries to add or modify a member, the system will not update that member as long as the name field is empty.

1. Select "Text line" from the "Datatypes" dropdown box.
2. Click the "New" button (adjacent to the "Datatypes" dropdown box).
   A new attribute will appear.
3. Type "Real name" into the name field.
4. Type "realname" into the identifier field.
5. Make sure that the "Required" and "Searchable" checkboxes are checked. The rest of the checkboxes should be unchecked.

You've now added the first attribute to the "Member" class. Since the "Searchable" checkbox is checked, this attribute will be searchable by the built-in search engine. In other words, it will be possible to search for members (by name). This functionality will be revealed and explained at a later stage.

The "Nickname" attribute.
Some chess fanatics tend to have lame nicknames such as "King", "Knight-rider", "Rookie" etc. The nickname attribute will be used to store a possible nickname.

1. Select "Text line" from the "Datatypes" dropdown box.
2. Click the "New" button (adjacent to the "Datatypes" dropdown box).
   A new attribute will appear.
3. Type "Nickname" into the name field.
4. Type "nickname" into the identifier field.
5. Type "Nickname missing." into the default field.
6. Make sure that the "Searchable" checkbox is checked. The rest of the checkboxes should be unchecked.

The "Date of birth" attribute.
This attribute will be used to store the birthdate of a member. We'll use the built-in "Date field" datatype.

1. Select "Date field" from the "Datatype" dropdown box.
2. Click the "New" button (adjacent to the "Datatypes" dropdown box).
   A new attribute will appear.
3. Type "Date of birth" into the name field.
4. Type "birthdate" into the identifier field.
5. Make sure that the "Required" checkbox is checked. The rest of the checkboxes should be unchecked.

The "Gender" attribute.
This attribute will be used to specify whether a member is a male or a female person. The "Selection" datatype will be used. This datatype is perfect for quick'n dirty single and multiple choice scenarios.

1. Select "Selection" from the "Datatype" dropdown box.
2. Click the "New" button (adjacent to the "Datatypes" dropdown box).
   A new attribute will appear.
3. Type "Gender" into the name field.
4. Type "gender" into the identifier field.
5. Click on the "New option" button.
   You'll now have two options.
6. Type "Male" into the first option field.
   Type "Female into the second option field.
7. Make sure that the "Required" checkbox is checked. The rest of the checkboxes should be unchecked.

The "Telephone number" attribute.
This attribute will be used to store a member's telephone number. Since some people don't have a phone, we'll not mark this attribute as required. We'll use the "Text line" attribute to store phone numbers.

1. Select "Text line" from the "Datatype" dropdown box.
2. Click the "New" button (adjacent to the "Datatypes" dropdown box).
   A new attribute will appear.
3. Type "Telephone number" into the name field.
4. Type "phone" into the identifier field.
5. Type "Phone number missing." into the default field.
6. Leave the default checkbox settings.

The "E-mail address" attribute.
This attribute will be used to store a member's electronic mail address. Since some people don't have an E-mail address, we'll not mark this attribute as required. We'll use the "E-mail address" attribute to store the members e-mail addresses.

1. Select "Email" from the "Datatype" dropdown box.
2. Click the "New" button (adjacent to the "Datatypes" dropdown box).
   A new attribute will appear.
3. Type "E-mail" into the name field.
4. Leave the default checkbox settings.

The "Picture" attribute.
This attribute will be used to store a digitized photograph of a member's face. We'll only allow image files that are smaller than one megabyte.

1. Select "Image" from the "Datatype" dropdown box.
2. Click the "New" button (adjacent to the "Datatypes" dropdown box).
   A new attribute will appear.
3. Type "Picture" into the name field.
4. Type "picture" into the identifier field.
5. Set the maximum file size to 1 MB.

That's it. The "Member" class is now made up of exactly those seven attributes that we wished for at the beginning. Click the "Store" button; eZ publish will then store the class definition in the database. The next section explains how to add member objects.