Article - Joomla

Lets start about the what of "Joomla"!

Joomla is a free and open-source content management framework (CMS) for publishing web content. It is built on a model–view–controller web application framework that can be used independently of the CMS.
Joomla is written in PHP, uses object-oriented programming (OOP) techniques (since version 1.5) and software design patterns, stores data in a MySQL, MS SQL (since version 2.5), or PostgreSQL (since version 3.0) database, and includes features such as page caching, RSS feeds, printable versions of pages, news flashes, blogs, polls, search, and support for language internationalization.


Deployment

Like many other popular web applications, Joomla can be run on a LAMP stack. Many web hosts have control panelsthat allow for automatic installation of Joomla. On Windows, Joomla can be installed using the Microsoft Web Platform Installer, which automatically detects and installs any missing dependencies, such as PHP or MySQL.
Joomla enjoys strong support on the web from hosts that specialize in or support it. Many web sites provide information on installing and maintaining Joomla sites.

Joomla templates

A Joomla template is a multifaceted Joomla extension which is responsible for the layout, design[/color] and structure of a Joomla powered website.While the CMS itself manages the content, a template manages the look and feel of the content elements and the overall design of a Joomla driven website. The content and design of a Joomla template is separate and can be edited, changed and deleted separately.
The template is where the design of the main layout for a Joomla site is set. This includes where users place different elements (components, modules, and plug-ins), which are responsible for the different types of content. If the template is designed to allow user customization, the user can change the content placement on the site, e. g., putting the main menu on the right or left side of the screen.


Joomla extensions

Joomla extensions help extend the Joomla websites' ability. There are five types of extensions for Joomla!:Components, Modules, Plugins, Templates, and Languages. Each of these extensions handles a specific function.

•[color=#0000FF]Components:[/color] The largest and most complex extensions of them all; they can be seen as mini-applications. Most components have two parts: a site part and an administrator part. Every time a Joomla page loads, one component is called to render the main page body. Components are the major portion of a page because a component is driven by a menu item and every menu item runs a component.

•Plugins: These are more advanced extensions and are, in essence, event handlers. In the execution of any part of Joomla, a module or a component, an event can be triggered. When an event is triggered, plugins that are registered with the application to handle that event execute. For example, a plugin could be used to block user-submitted articles and filter out bad words.

•Templates: Describe the main design of the Joomla website and are the extensions that allow users to change the look of the site. Users will see modules and components on a template. They are customizable and flexible. Templates determine the “style” of a website.

•Modules: Rendering pages flexibly in Joomla requires a module extension, which is then linked to Joomla components to display new content or new images. Joomla modules look like boxes – like the “search” or “login” module. However, they don’t require html to Joomla to work.

•Languages: Very simple extensions that can either be used as a core part or as an extension. Language and font information can also be used for PDF or PSD to Joomla conversions.