The CMS architecture consists of four distinct layers.
CMS includes a standard application interface that provides extensive general functionality without the need for custom development. It is designed for rapid deployment in a broad range of publishing environments.
The standard CMS application interface is built on the CMS Toolkit, a collection of reusable code libraries and interface widgets that standardize and simplify interaction between the database layer and the end user. Developers can employ the toolkit to customize and extend the application interface to suit the specific requirements of individual publishers.
The Content Repository, a standard component of the ArsDigita Community System (ACS), provides the foundation for storing and managing content as structured data. It consists of an extensible set of data tables as well as a procedural API for all basic data operations involving content.
The Content Repository is in turn an extension of the ACS Core database layer. The ACS Core implements an extensible framework for managing all classes of data objects, including content.