CMS, Apache, PHP, Tomcat, Java and others

A long time I diligently avoided Java Enterprise Edition. Standard HTML means were represented and quite sufficient for the decision of the majority of tasks in this area.  
Almost all examples which came across, looked more likely "frills", "tinklinkers" or certificates of nonprofessionalism of founders.
In general, disproportion of a task and a tool is not only a bad form, but also testify to poor quality (the project, the executor...).
Not numerous exceptions quite were solved by servlets and Tomcat.

However times vary. There are new inquiries and new technologies.
The first attempts to use such systems as Joomla, Wordpress ... and at all Apache, PHP left a bad feeling.

But in 2006, my attention turned to LIferay (http://www.liferay.com). Founders of this platform (team of programmers from Indian center Sun)
have intended to collect together almost all "nearby-network" and "nearby-java" technology.
Full search of combinations from ten different servers and databases, half-dozen different technologies - this is extensive platform for professional games.
The normal configuration includes such things as Apache, Tomcat, HSQLDB, MySQL, Ant..., Spring, Struts, Velicity, Ruby... Web, WAP...
And all this is based on concepts "portal" / "portlet".
"Soup" it has turned out rich:)
By the way, and itself it is a site (http://www.vbalk.info/) it is made and functions on this platform.

Themes

"Themes" in this technology - it's basic construction design.
An example of "theme" is the design of this page.

At the top:
1) Large black canvas. Called a "banner".
2) On the left - the picture. Called the "logo".
3) The right button inside the admission ("SignIn"). Called the "dock"
4) Below - bar menu.
5) In the menu - items. Elements are in one of four states:
- Selected (PROJECT brighter white)
- Selected (hover - the one on kotoryey hover your mouse)
- Reviewed
- Other.
6) Portlet. Outside of relation of content and features, view the portlet can be given to the topic. I.e. color, size, title bar, borders, backgrounds ...
7) Page. Portlets "placed to page". For it may be given background, the required fields.

Etc., etc.
Each theme represents a "compote" of HTML, JS, CSS, VM, PNG - files.

Naturally, I wanted to try. One of my collections - on the right. "Nothing" - because in all subjects do not have those or any other mandatory / routine in standard Liferay elements. In all there is no "dock". Some of the options to create / use sites allow you to do without this "provocative" element.