Learning Joomla! 1.5 Extension Development

Table of Contents

• Preface

• Chapter 1: Joomla! Extension Development: An Overview
  • Why extend Joomla!?
    • Customization versus extension
  • How to extend Joomla!
    • Components
    • Modules
    • Plugins
  • Topic overview
    • Creating toolbars and list screens
    • Maintaining a consistent look, and reducing repetitive code by using HTML functions
    • Accessing the database and managing records
    • Security, and the preferred way of getting request variables
    • Menu item control
    • Controlling the logic flow within a component
    • Configuration through XML parameters
    • Packaging and distributing
  • Our example project
  • Summary

• Chapter 2: Getting Started with Component Development
  • Joomla!'s component structure
    • Executing the component
  • Joomla!'s division of frontend and backend
  • Registering your component in the database
  • Creating toolbars
    • Creating a second toolbar
    • Available toolbar buttons
  • Summary

• Chapter 3: Backend Development
  • Creating the database table
    • Creating a table class
  • Coding with MVC
  • Creating the review form
  • Processing the data
  • Creating a list screen
  • Editing records
  • Summary

• Chapter 4: Frontend Development
  • Listing the reviews
  • Displaying a review
  • Generating search-engine-friendly links
    • Building URL segments
    • Parsing URL segments
  • Adding comments
  • Displaying comments
  • Summary

• Chapter 5: JTable, JHTML, and JUser
  • Overriding JTable methods
    • Adding a check() function
    • Overriding the bind() function
  • Adding ordered records
  • Recording traffic
  • Checking out and checking in records
  • Getting user information
  • Generating elements with JHTML
    • Pre-filled lists
    • Running content plug-ins
    • Using JHTML in the backend
    • Setting access
  • Setting ordering
  • Summary

• Chapter 6: Module Development
  • Registering the module in the database
  • Creating and configuring a basic module
  • Recruiting some helpers
  • Trying some different layouts
  • Mixing it up
  • Summary

• Chapter 7: Expanding the Project
  • Publishing records
    • Unpublishing reviews
  • Deleting records
  • Adding Apply
  • Requiring specific fields
  • Using pagination to break up long lists
  • Searching
    • Adjusting the model
    • Adjusting the view
  • Migrating toolbars to views
  • Managing comments
    • Linking the comments controller
  • Summary

• Chapter 8: Using JavaScript Effects
  • Modal boxes
    • Configuring the modal box
    • The raw format and MVC
  • Tool tips
  • Sliding panes
  • Customizing Google Maps
    • Interactive maps
  • Using jQuery
    • Writing jQuery code
    • Using jQuery with MooTools
    • Always load MooTools first
  • Summary

• Chapter 9: Behind the Scenes: Plug-ins
  • Database queries
  • A simple link plug-in
  • What events can be registered?
    • System
    • Search
    • Authentication
    • User
    • Editor-xtd
    • Editor
    • Content

• An information box plug-in
• Searching the reviews
• Summary

• Chapter 10: Configuration Settings
  • Adding parameters to extensions
  • Parameters for modules
    • What parameters are available for use?
  • Parameters for plug-ins
  • Parameters for components
    • Adding parameters to the list view
    • Adding parameters to the single view
    • Adding component global parameters
  • Summary

• Chapter 11: Email, Languages, and JFile
  • Sending emails
    • Linking the form
    • Sending email
    • Adding a success message
  • Managing languages
  • Creating translations
    • Debugging languages
    • Translating the frontend
  • Handling file uploads
    • Using the original filename
  • Summary

• Chapter 12: Packing Everything Together
  • Listing all of the files
  • Packaging the module
  • Packaging the plug-ins
  • Packaging the component
  • Including SQL queries
  • Creating backend menu items
  • Extra installation scripts
  • Distribution
  • Summary

• Index

Joseph L. LeBlanc

Learning Joomla! 1.5 Extension Development is an approachable and useful resource for any developer who wants to maximize the functionality of their own Joomla-based Web sites. Michael J. Ross, Web developer

If you want to learn to build Joomla 1.5 extensions, or if you just want to get a better understanding of how Joomla 1.5 works, this book will get you started.

Sample chapters

You can view our sample chapters and prefaces of this title on PacktLib or download sample chapters in PDF format.

Find your book in our support section to find errata and to download code samples.