NYCPHP Meetup

[Scott Wolpow]

Thanks Gary. I think that helps many people understand what is going on.


Scott Wolpow

On 6/9/2011 11:47 AM, Gary Mort wrote:
> When you download Joomla currently you get 3 application in one.
>
> Firstly, in the include and library directory, you get all the code that
> is used to build a Joomla application to begin with.  The database code,
> the table code, sessions, plugins, etc
>
> Then in the main directory is a file called index.php, and the
> directories: administrator, components, modules, plugins, templates, and
> media
> These files constitute the  joomla application - what the general user
> sees when he goes to your website.  They are built using the "base"
>
> Then in another folder called "install" is yet another Joomla
> application which basically is JUST a set of screens to gather data,
> create a Joomla database, and create a Joomla website
>
> It is possible to take the base code and create a completely different
> set of code which will function like Joomla in many ways, but have a
> different interface for controlling it, etc.
>
> One of the things to understand is that there are certain common tasks
> when building a PHP website.  A PHP website often has to connect to a
> MySQL database for data.  It has to provide a system to allow a user to
> logon and a way to check to make sure the user has permission to do
> various things[edit content, post comments, etc] on the website.  It
> frequently needs some form of skinning/templating so the design can be
> changed without changing code.  It needs some way to send system
> generated emails to users.
>
> There are thousands of ways to do all of that.  And every coder
> developes his own 'favorite' way to do it.   For some things there are
> "best practices" on how to do things.  On others, it is very up in the
> air.
>
> So freelance PHP developers that go from project to project are often
> having to learn what the "right" way for doing something is in that bit
> of custom code.
>
> That's where "frameworks" come into play.   A framework basically means
> a collection of functions to do some of that stuff.  Frameworks can be
> developed independently of any application[CakePHP, Symfony, Zend, etc]
> - and they can be developed specifically for an application[Joomla,
> Wordpress, Drupal].  Frameworks are documented, so instead of having to
> work through the code to figure things out, you can look at the
> documentation.  And wheras there may only be three or four people in the
> world that understand all the functions and such in a custom application
> so users are locked into them - with frameworks you can find many more
> developers.
>
> The independent frameworks generally suffer from having too many
> features for things which are rarely done, and being somewhat overly
> complicated.
>
> The application frameworks generally have a problem in that often it is
> not possible to separate the framework from the application[you can't
> just use the User/ACL system from Wordpress, you have to have an entire
> wordpress site].
>
> Joomla sits somewhere in the middle.  About 60-80% of the "framework"
> for Joomla lies in the include directory.  Depending on what pieces of
> Joomla you consider base[the file management system for images is
> managed by the media component for the most part - which is stored
> outside include.  The user system also has a lot of needed code outside
> of include.  Same with the content component, but it is debatable
> whether or not you /need/ a content component.  And the same with the
> template component.
>
> Using frameworks frees developers from a lot of the "boring" bits of
> code and let's them focus on what they like.  It saves time and money.
> The more familiar with a framework, the more time and money that can be
> saved[or alternatively, spent on extra features]
>
> All your Joomla Core developers also code PHP for a living.  They either
> do so as freelancers, or serial entrepreneurs, or other processes.  So
> even if a project their hired for is not a right fit for Joomla the CMS,
> it is still often economically efficient for them to use Joomla the
> Framework and build code on top of that.
>
> So as time goes by, with each new version of Joomla, they aim to provide
> a clearer separation between the framework and the CMS.
>
> Also keep in mind that, in my opinion, the core developers make most of
> their money through other projects.  So while they have a need for a
> strong Joomla Framework...they really don't care so much about the CMS.
> Their main economic benefit of having a CMS is name recognition and that
> more people using it means more weird esoteric bugs are found which may
> be in the framework.
>
> It's one of the reasons why there is such a long dev lag between
> versions at times.  The core team have economic motivation to keep
> improving the Framework, but none on building the CMS.   So once the
> Framework is done, they only devote their spare time to the CMS. [In my
> opinion, this means Joomla has reached a point where they need to split
> into 2 teams, CMS development and Core development..]
>
> By splitting releases/updates into the 2 streams as they are doing, I
> think there is a good chance that both will benefit.  It means major
> changes to the CMS can now be made without having to wait for the
> Framework changes to be ready to be released....and vice versa.
>
> On 6/9/2011 6:16 AM, Helvécio da Silva wrote:
>> Great news on version 1.7 Steve!
>>
>> It sure looks great improvements are under way. I just did't quite
>> understand when they say "One of the major goals of Joomla 1.7 was to
>> separate the Joomla Platform (...) into it’s own product." What does
>> that mean exactly?
>>
>> The Joomla Team is sure working fast now! :-)
>>
>> BTW, Joomla Day NYC 2011, happening May 22 and 23? Have I missed it? LOL
>>
>> Cheers!
>>
>> 2011/6/8 Stephen Britton<sbritton at gmail.com>:
>>
>>> Also, Alpha 1 of the long-awaited Joomla 1.7 is now available for download.
>>> I haven't had a chance to try it out yet, but I like the news so far.
>>> According to the release notes, you will be able to upgrade directly from
>>> Joomla 1.6 to Joomla 1.7 through the control panel. It sounds similar to the
>>> WordPress upgrade method.
>>>
>>> http://www.joomla.org/announcements/release-news/5372-joomla-17-alpha-released.html
>>>
>>> And while I have your attention, I also want to plug Joomla Day NYC 2011,
>>> happening May 22 and 23. You can register right now at www.joomladaynyc.com
>>> and sponsorships are available.
>>>
>>> Also, if you haven't visited the newly redesigned JoomlaNYC.org website, you
>>> should. Marion of Gothamwebsites.com had done a fantastic job freshening up
>>> the site.
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