Learning Joomla! 1.5 Extension Development

A practical tutorial for creating your first Joomla! 1.5 extensions with PHP, written and tested against the final release of Joomla! 1.5

Joomla! is the world's hottest open-source content management system, and the winner of the 2006 Open Source CMS Prize.

While Joomla! is packed with features, its greatest quality is that it is extremely extensible, allowing any number of complex applications to be cleanly integrated. Shopping carts, forums, social networking profiles, job boards, and real estate listings are all examples of extensions developers have written for Joomla!. All of these can run off one Joomla! site, while only one database, template, and core need to be maintained. When you build an extension to Joomla!, it will inherit the look and feel of the overall site.

If you're eager to start creating extensions for Joomla!, this book is for you. Walk through the development of complete Joomla! 1.5 components and modules with this tutorial for PHP programmers. Written for Joomla! version 1.5 and tested against the final release, this book will get you started coding your first extensions as quickly as possible, and adds the features that will make your work look professional! This book is the most up-to-date introduction to creating Joomla! extensions available.

The book will show you how to use the Model-View-Controller design pattern, pull in common HTML elements, use JavaScript frameworks, manage users, build configuration panels, internationalize interfaces, and manage database records. General knowledge of PHP is assumed, but previous Joomla! programming experience is not.

What you will learn from this book

• Create toolbars, list screens with pagination, and menu items
  
  
• Maintain a consistent look and reduce repetitive code using HTML functions
  
  
• Automate database record management
  
  
• Use the MooTools JavaScript framework to manage customized Google Maps
  
  
• Understand the Model-View-Controller design pattern used in components

Approach
This book is a practical tutorial, aimed at people with no experience of programming Joomla!

Who this book is written for
This book is suitable for PHP programmers who want to take their first step in customizing and extending the features of Joomla! through custom PHP development. It is not a reference guide for advanced Joomla! developers.

You need only the basics of PHP programming; no experience of developing Joomla! extensions is assumed. You are expected to be familiar with the general operation of Joomla!

About the Author
Joseph L. LeBlanc started with computers at a very young age. His independent education gave him the flexibility to experiment and learn computer science. Joseph holds a bachelor's degree in Management Information Systems from Oral Roberts University.

Joseph is a freelance Joomla! extension developer. He released a component tutorial in May 2004, which was later translated into French, Polish, and Russian. Work samples and open-source extensions are available at www.jlleblanc.com. In addition to freelancing, he is an active member of the Washington, DC tech community and Joomla! Bug Squad.