Chapter 21: Customizing Joomla! Functionality
IN THIS CHAPTER
Finding the right tools for extension development
Understanding component architecture
Building your own components
Reviewing modules and how they work
Creating your own modules
Understanding the architecture of plug-ins
Creating your own plug-ins
Joomla! is extensible and customizable by design. The system's various components, modules, and plug-ins are easily identified and can be targeted for customization. Components, the system's most complex element, employ the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture that cleanly segregates the business logic from the presentation layer. Although the MVC architecture helps make the planning and creation of new components simpler, component creation remains a challenging and sometimes complex task suited more to experienced programmers. Modules are the most commonly modified element in the system. Managing the customization of modules is relatively easier than working with components and can be done by anyone with basic programming skills and an awareness of the system requirements and architecture. Plug-ins are used to provide narrow functionality that enables other extensions. And, although creating a plug-in may require more knowledge of the underlying Joomla! framework, the actual process of creating a plug-in is relatively easy.
In this chapter, I take you through the key elements and anatomy of components, modules, and plug-ins, and discuss how to create new versions of ...
