| Feature |
Description |
| Ruby on Rails Support |
Spree is distributed as a Ruby on Rails gem. It supports the latest version of Rails (2.1) and it can be frozen to your deployed Spree application as well. You use the gem to create your application which automatically installs the plugin in your project. The newly created project is actually a fully functional store. All that remains is for the developer to customize and style to taste. |
| Completely Customizable Views |
Spree applications utilize an extension mechanism which allows developers to override existing views or to provide new ones. The real power of this approach is that it allows custom development for each client application without forking the Spree code. Users will be able to upgrade to newer versions of Spree without losing their custom views. This is much more powerful then simply providing a stylesheet for the developer to override (although that approach is supported as well.) |
| Customizable via Extensions |
The Spree extension mechanism allows for more then just customized views and stylesheets. Developers can also provide additional models, migrations and controllers. Developers can also replace or mixin additional functionality to the existing controllers. Spree users are encouraged to collaborate with one another and share their custom extensions with the rest of the community. |
| Payment Gateways |
Spree supports all of the major payment gateways via the popular Active Merchant plugin. We are busy adding new gateway and integration support. Our top priority is to get all of the PayPal options working along with Google Checkout. |
| Custom Tax Logic |
Spree ships with a few basic tax calculators but it is anticipated that you may need to write your own custom tax logic. Rather then trying to guess the exact tax rules you are going to need, Spree provides you the hooks to write your own. Thanks to the power of Ruby, it is possible to model your tax logic in just a few lines of code. |
| Powerful Inventory Model |
Spree also provides a highly sophisticated inventory model. Inventory is tracked at the variant level and a flexible system for handling backorders is also provided. Users with simple inventory needs will not have to concern themselves with the more complex features. Advanced users will be able to track units of inventory on a per record basis which allows for the physical tracking of each unit of inventory as it moves through the order fulfillment process. |
| Git and Github |
Spree uses Git to manage its source code. When you combine this with the wildly popular Github service you have the best set of collaborative tools available for any open source commerce project out there. |
| International Support |
Thanks to some recent contributions from volunteers, Spree now has basic i18n support. Basic functionaltiy for changing the language and currency are included in the upcoming 0.3.0 release. Basic VAT support will also be part of the next release. This support is literally being improved by the day so drop by the #spree channel or the spree-user group to see how things are going (or to lend a hand.) |
| SEO Permalinks |
Spree also offers handy SEO permalinks for your products. So instead of http://example.com/products/1 you have http://example.com/products/spree-baseball-jersey |
