I am thinking of starting to learn Joomla 1.7 but don't know where to begin.
I am interested in learning to create blogs, e-commerce websites, forums and other type of websites. I know that there is probably a lot of learning involved but I am willing to commit.
I should also mention that my knowledge starts at XHTML\CSS and ends in Javascript\jQuery (and a bit of Java up to Swing), however I have never done any PHP/MySql programming.
Do I need to learn PHP and MySql before learning Joomla or I can start learning it now?
If I don't need to learn PHP and MySql first what book/tutorial/video tutorial would you recommend for someone who never used a CMS before and would like to learn it to its full extent?
I second the recommendation of the official documentation. http://docs.joomla.org/ overall a fantastic resource, although the wiki format can make navigation tricky. I recommend looking for and clicking the 'Category' links under any article - and/or clicking the back button when you've finished reading a page to go back to the category listing.
For free documentation I'd recommend Hagen Graf's 'books' available as free downloads from:
Here for the Joomla 1.6 version:
http://cocoate.com/joomla-16-english
Here for the Joomla 1.7 version
http://cocoate.com/2011/07/joomla-17-beginners-guide
There are other useful websites for learning to use Joomla:
http://www.compassdesigns.net/
http://www.alledia.com/
http://www.joomlablogger.com/
http://brian.teeman.net/
I've included the 1.6 documentation for anyone out there who is using that particular version, but there is no reason to stick with 1.6 as it is no longer supported.
Presentations by Jen Kramer: http://www.slideshare.net/jen4web
Presentations but Brian Teeman: http://www.slideshare.net/brianteeman
There are many other useful resources too - I'll probably return to this post and add some more resources later.
The official documentation is pretty good so I suggest your starting point should be here. As the documentation also suggests you should install XAMPP in order to run a local Joomla site for experimentation. XAMPP will get out of the way installing/configuring httpd, setting up PHP and MySQL.
I've put several Joomla sites together and I can guarantee you don't need to know PHP/MySQL to put something good together.
Related
Sorry if someone already did this question, but I couldn't find it. I want to allow my client to edit the website pages content through a UI, not using notepad++ or something like that, you know? Like edit the FAQ or add some new product to his store. I don't know how to search it. I already looked for admin dashboard templates, but nothing...
If I'm not mistaken, you want a CMS (Content Management System). This would allow you to run a website with an editor and many other tools to help you and your clients out with development. Popular CMS's even have large libraries of plugins to customize and add virtually anything to the development environment. Popular CMS's include:
WordPress
Drupal
Joomla
ModX
etc.
You can even develop your own via PHP and MySQL databasing. Not only does this allow you to have the tools tailored to your needs, but it's also a great learning experience.
If you're looking for just a sort of online IDE (Integrated Development Environment), then Cloud9 may suit your needs, but it can get pricy depending on what you need: https://c9.io/
Overall, if you're dealing with dozens of HTML documents on a website, it can get messy and the need to switch to templating is an absolute necessity. CMS's are easy to install and have a lot of features, but they can be very bulky. So if you're just looking for a simple management system, I think PHP and MySQL would be best for your scenario. If that's all you want then here are some articles to get you started:
https://css-tricks.com/php-for-beginners-building-your-first-simple-cms/
http://www.elated.com/articles/cms-in-an-afternoon-php-mysql/
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2011/10/getting-started-with-php-templating/
I'm a web designer and so I learnt everything essential needed for designers and now I can design the websites using joomla.
But I want to move myself to programmer. I have very basic knowledge of php and mysql. I wanted to know how can I enter into development with joomla.
Joomla has been very popular in the world but also it has not implemented so much effort for the users. It is providing a tutorial but randomly, so I'm confused how to start. There is no any sites step by step tutorials for joomla.
So, anyone please help me how to start on the topics. Could anyone provide a lists what to learn as to become a developer of joomla?
Well first of all, you need to know about the versions.
There are 2 types of Joomla releases. Long Term (Joomla 1.5 and 2.5) and Short Term (Joomla 3.x)
Joomla 1.5 is old and unsupported now so there is no need to look into it.
If you want to start developing for Joomla, then you simply need to read up on the documentation and start messing around with pre-made extensions. You will also need to do research on how MVC works if you are not already familiar with it.
Hope this helps
you can get help from a nice book such as Joomla! Programming
I'm starting a journey with CMS. I would like to create a few simple web sites: my pastime blog, programmres blog (but I would be something more than just a plain blog) & three web sites: for my father's & uncle's shops + simple web sites that helps to learn English :)
When it comes to by programming background, I was PHP developer for 2 years so I thought I could use that experience. I found WordPress & Joomla as probably the two most popular platforms. However WordPress is usually recommended as best bloogging platform. What about being a CMS? So perhaps one of them is better as CMS? Or there's something else ever more suitable for my needs (Drupal)?
On every day basis I'm ASP .NET MVC 3 developer, so perhaps you could recommend a good MVC3, active CMS project?
EDIT: How about ASP Project: Orchard?
I would always advocate Drupal over Joomla for CMSs. They are similar in what they offer. WordPress in more beginner friendly but is (currently) less "customisable" and has a different, more blog-oriented, focus. Drupal is very full featured and is easy to manage and install. I believe Joomla is getting better with the release of 1.7 and/or 2.5LTS.
Drupal's community is more comprehensive and as such you get plenty of support. You can choose a very wide range of functional complexity with Drupal that you can't with WordPress. Joomla is similar in this regard but there are a few key things that I prefer from a development perspective with Drupal over Joomla:
Modules and plugins are more plug and play with Drupal and easier to manage.
When you develop a module in drupal you there are code "hooks" to bind to the core where as Joomla you extend the core
The drupal website admin is more intuitively designed and easier to manage modules etc.
Installation and update/upgrading of Drupal is more universally developer friendly (i.e. you don't need to be an expert and if you aren't you are not too likely to destroy your sites!). That said Joomla seems to be starting to follow Drupal more closely now so it will probably start getting better.
The main reason I would advocate Drupal for your needs it your requirement for a variation of functionality. You can enable and disable functionality very easily in Drupal and you can drag and drop themes etc. with ease. I use Joomla every day in work and my experience Drupal is king!
It's not very difficult to use WordPress as a CMS. A good resource is http://digwp.com/. The blog itself should help, but the Digging into WordPress book has a chapter about how to turn WordPress into a CMS. The great thing is you'll get a lifetime subscription of the book, so when new versions of the book come out, you will get the updated PDF for free.
My personal preference is with WordPress. It seems to have the largest user community, which means more answered questions, more plugins, more places to find cool themes, etc.
If you have PHP experience, it's probably your best bet.
As far as WP being a CMS, it has definitely goot the tools you need for a fully functioning website. A lot of the times I use WP as a CMS for clients, because it's so easy for them to catch on, and there is always a way for them to google any question they might have and find an answer without having to contact me for support.
Additionally, WP is great if you know some PHP code and can write your own custom plugins.
There are TONS you can do with it. Take a look at the most recent change log. It's got some great stuff.
http://wordpress.org/ for more info and download.
As far as ASP CMS, I've used Sitefinity in the past (only because I HAD to for work). I didn't find it to be nearly as intuitive as wordpress, and frankly I just don't like ASP. I find it to be clunky and not nearly as easy to modify and theme as PHP. Just my personal opinion of course.
Also, I'm not sure Sitefinity is free, so there is always that to consider. I'm not sure there are many free ASP CMS options as there are for PHP.
Although for simply blogging WordPress is the leading choice, for a CMS I would go with Joomla. There are many extensions that you can use with Joomla, the templates are very easy to edit if you have past experience with PHP, and the native CMS that it comes with is very verbose. Joomla has a strong community behind it, and they support many different aspects of a CMS and are constantly adding new features. Implementing a Blog in Joomla is very easy.
WordPress is certainly the leading choice... if you weren't wanting to use your developer skills. Writing a plugin for WordPress is rather agnostic to programming style (or ability), and is great for entry-level designers, but if you're looking to apply your MVC skills, of the two Joomla would be the choice.
The reason I say this is that Joomla more or less forces extensions to be MVC compliant. They also have a very strong and healthy community (the WP community in comparison is cut-throat, dog-eat-dog, the loudest-jackass-wins kind of a thing) and recently have abstracted the PHP framework layer away from the CMS, so if you're into really hardcore architectural web application coding, you can play with just its framework independently.
WordPress == get it done fast, elegantly (novice & designer focus)
Joomla == get it done right, with some work (business, programmer, and hobbyist focus)
Drupal == build every function of your site from the ground up, then rebuild it again when the next version comes out (engineer focused)
Bottom line is that you won't find good MVC driven CMS at this point in time. I have done very similar research and went through a range of vendors (both commercial and open source).
Yes, Orchard is available and based on your requirements it might be up to the job, however, I'd say that it's mainly for small size businesses that want some basic content management functionality.
What is the quicket way to pick up Joomla? Books, training etc? We want to train 10 Mid-to-Senior level Java developers in Joomla.
If u are trying to save time, dont start with official joomla documentation. Go to http://www.scribd.com/search?cat=redesign&q=joomla and read some short basic tutorials for a basic understanding. After that, the best approach is to install Joomla on local machine and play around for few hours, installing/modifying modules, components, installing templates and etc. Practice and only practice makes learning efficient. After that, when you will want to go deeper into specific topics, start reading more advanced documentations, forums, try to understand Joomla from the code behind. You may also use video tutorials for a basic understanding. Any developers won't have problems learning Joomla,as it's has fast learning curve.
a good source of video tutorials is Lynda
For backend development, I like taking the core components and examining them.
Joomla Component, Module, Plugins Development Video Tutorial Playlists
Joomla 2.5 Custom Plugin Development
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7kkxuLFYIDPI3OmqbpQ05--24cAfJa2y
Joomla 2.5 Custom Component Development
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7kkxuLFYIDOrj395REpd0golrCV7XLcY
Joomla 2.5 Custom Module Development
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7kkxuLFYIDMUAfxq1aT-SkE3DW8N5IUk
Joomla Miscellaneous Video Tutorials
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7kkxuLFYIDMGYYo7B1oDNSFluBiOpRx8
JMM Joomla Mysql Manager Extension
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7kkxuLFYIDOroSTgEskA1Gr8CW13O0u3
I find that I pick up new a framework fastest by reading tutorials and watching video screencast.
http://www.joomlatutorials.com
http://docs.joomla.org has a ton of info. Im not sure what you are looking for but there are tutorials and documentation for all aspects (webmaster, programmer, etc). Here are some other good resources...
Great beginner tuts
http://www.siteground.com/tutorials/joomla/
Beginner to advanced
http://www.youjoomla.com/youjoomla-blog/joomla-tutorials.html
Create custom extensions
http://docs.joomla.org/J2.5:Developing_a_MVC_Component/Developing_a_Basic_Component
http://www.techguywebsolutions.com/create-a-custom-joomla-2.5-module.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvx_tN_mcss
I'm looking into doing a project for someone, and they want to implement a wiki into their site. I plan on building the site using Code Igniter, and I was hoping there was some kind of Wiki Application available, but I have not yet been able to find one. Does anybody know of one, or have any suggestions?
I understand that you might want to learn to implement a large-scale app in CodeIgniter. However, in the case of a wiki, don't re-invent the wheel! There are tons of already available wiki software for you to use.
A few of the best that are written in PHP include:
PmWiki
dokuwiki
MediaWiki (used by Wikipedia)
This way you can integrate these well produced systems, which have a wealth of documentation to your advantage. Instead of wasting time creating the entire wiki from scratch, you can just integrate the rest of your CodeIgniter application into one of these ready-made offerings. Saving you some time, learning about their inner workings and giving your client/friend a better overall system.
Expression Engine is built on CodeIgniter and includes a wiki module.
It's not in CodeIgniter, but you can include the classes in the Text_Wiki PEAR package.
The PEAR page has almost zero documentation, but there seems to be a lot of information here.
This will just do the conversion of wiki markup to html. You have to do the image uploads, page views, permissions, etc yourself.