Organization
Joomla! has two interfaces, one for the public and one for administration.
An example of the public front end.
The Admin Area or Back End
Code->Database->Template
Every call for a page runs code that selects the information asked for from the database and presents it through a template.
Different parts of the code build queries for various modules that have been activated, and for the content area itself.
Extensions
Joomla defines various extensions including:
- components (generally for the content area)
- modules (for areas on the sides, top and bottom)
- plugins (to run special code at various places in the process)
- templates (to present the data)
- languages
Components
Components manage aspects of your site. A major component that comes with Joomla! is called "Content" and is referred to in the code as "com_content". Others that come with Joomla! include "Banners", "Contacts", "News Feeds", "Polls" and "Web Links".
Modules
Modules generally do something special for parts of your site. Joomla! comes with about 20 modules that include "login", "banner", "latest news", "search" and "menu". Joomla! defines menus as modules. Modules can be set to show in certain positions on the site, or to show only on certain pages.
Plugins
Plugins run code for special functions. For example, the editor in the admin area is a plugin whose function is allow you to edit pages over the web.
Templates
Templates set the style of the text and the colour scheme and define positions for things to be presented. These positions have names like
"banner", "top", "left", "right" and "footer". The template designer can name them as they please.
Languages
Joomla! has been translated into dozens of languages. A free component called "JoomFish" lets you serve your site in multiple languages. Unfortunately, it does not do the translation. There are extensions that use google's translation service if that suits your needs.
Many More Extensions
Joomla! developers are writing their own extensions and thousands can be found at http://extensions.joomla.org.
Many are free but some must be purchased.
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