joomla

Professional Joomla! (Programmer to Programmer)
$39.99
The book provides a reasonable review of the main technologies that allow you to customise components of the Joomla System. There is probably a bit too much padding (e.g. pp.53-54 - a list of default Joomla CSS styles takes up 2 pages) but the main drawback is the large number of errors in the code examples. For example, on page 166 there is a blatant omission of "joomla" from the url used to test a basic Ajax component. Also there are many other errors arising from updates to the Joomla code itself, some of which are corrected in the downloadable code provided on the website. For example, the class JMenuBar on page 151 is now JToolBarHelper. So far, having reached the end of chapter 7, I have been unable to get more than a couple of the simpler examples to work as printed in the book. Most of them require adjustment, which is good in the sense that it teaches you how to program Joomla, though not in the way intended by the author. On the other hand I doubt that too many readers will have the patience to fix everything that is broken in this book. In a nutshell I think this book is already out of date and is carelessly written.

Joomla!: Visual QuickStart Guide
$29.99
I needed this book! I was struggling with Joomla! for a couple of months before I decided to get an instructional book. Joomla! Visual QuickStart Guide did just about everything for me. Not only is the book instructive; but the authors were always ready to answer questions in a more personal way. I am now running as fast as I can with Joomla! thanks to the 'QuickStart' that this book provided. I highly recommend this for anyone who is beginner or beginner/intermediate Joomla! user.

Beginning Joomla!, Second Edition (Beginning from Novice to Professional)
$44.99
Joomla has been around for awhile now but until recently (past year or so) has gained a lot of popularity. People are finally realizing what a stable, easy to use CMS (Content Management System) it is.

With al the other CMS out on the market (open source and commercial), Joomla has risen to the top of the food chain so to speak in how it is perceived by the community. It really has become one of the most popular small to medium sized content systems on the market today.

This book by Dan Rahmel (author of over 20 computer books) has written one of most easy to follow and understand books on Joomla. He assumes no prior programming or development knowledge and steps you through installation to administrations to customization of your Joomla website.

Joomla can be used to create a fully functioning website, blog or a full user community. Its flexibility is its greatest feature and Dan goes through all the different scenarios of creating these different web sites.

The first real chapter (chapter 2 & 3) goes through a complete installation and also goes through all the different customizations that can be done based upon what operating system or web server setup you are using. These are two great chapters and the author uses plenty of screenshots and simple explanations to make sure you are up and running as painless as possible.

A chapter that I really like is chapter 5 which talks about Administering Joomla which can be a little tricky for setting up users and account permissions. I always find myself coming back to this section time and time again. Another great chapter I like is chapter 6 which explains how to create your own page templates. Joomla gives you existing templates for which you can create you website with but there are always customizations that will be necessary for your specific site. The author goes through a whole bunch of "real-life" examples that you can use for your own website. You have to get your feet wet with some HTML and CSS but it is explained very nicely if you are a newbie.

The rest of the chapters:

Chapter 4: Adding Content
Chapter 7: Joomla! Extensions
Chapter 8: Web Community Features

These will help you create any type of site you may need.

Bonus chapters such as chapter 11 (E-commerce)and chapter 12 (Search Engine Optimization - SEO) help complete the book giving you professional-grade advice on setting up an ecommerce site that will accept payment (credit card), configure taxes and organizing your products into categories as well as making sure your site (whatever type it is) is seen on top search engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN).

After reading this book, you should have your site up and running and almost be an expert in using Joomla yourself. But of course Dan has also written and Advanced Joomla! book that will take your expertise to the next level.

A great book and worth buying ASAP.

Advanced Joomla!
$49.99
With several million documented downloads, Joomla! is being deployed worldwide for everything from personal web sites to mission-critical web business applications. Joomla! is the most popular and successful open source and cross-platform (Windows, Linux, and MacOS) content management system in the world, hands down. Written by bestselling Beginning Joomla! author Dan Rahmel, Advanced Joomla! provides you with the technical know-how and bonanza of information that allows you to take your Joomla! sites to the next level. Advanced Joomla! allows you to study beginning and advanced Joomla! topics back-to-back without requiring any additional outside knowledge. Moreover, it offers you advanced techniques for customizing a Joomla! CMS, including creating templates, administration, and building extensions. Integrate advanced Web 2.0 features into you Joomla! site, including social networking, blogging, and Google and Yahoo web services. Construct advanced Joomla! templates that use multiple stylesheets; third-party frameworks including MooTools and Yahoo! User Interface (YUI) Library for interactive display; specialty definitions for mobile users; and more! Learn advanced administration, including various site-backup methods, integration of logins with other systems, Joomla! site security, data mining techniques for MySQL information, deployment to a remote server or servers, and adding quality control using automated testing with the free, open source tools such as Apache JMeter and Selenium. What you'll learn Advanced Joomla! assists content providers and web developers in all aspects of Joomla! content creation. For graphic artists and web designers, the professional template techniques and site organization information will prove invaluable. For developers who are weary of the often Byzantine documentation and hunger for clear organized information, Advanced Joomla! holds the key to unlocking the treasures of this advanced CMS system. How to use the advanced, additional, or extra Joomla! tools, features, and techniques Advanced techniques for Joomla! use and configuration How to do advanced template constructions, administration, and development Who is this book for? This book is for Joomla! or web developers/users who have read Beginning Joomla! Advanced Joomla! Is for hobbyists, web designers, web developers, small and medium businesses, e-commerce merchants, and nonprofit organizations. The content of the book targets bloggers, corporate content creators, and support specialists. Anyone with access to a web-hosting site that allows PHP/MySQL content deployment (which includes GoDaddy.com and SiteGround.com) will be able to deploy a Joomla! site with all of the features shown in the book. Like Beginning Joomla!, this book does not require actual PHP programming experience, although PHP code will be presented and explained.