Glossary
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Article
In Joomla! an Article is a piece of content usually consisting mainly of text, but may contain other resources too (for example, images). An Article is most often regarded as the third level in the hierarchy Sections -> Categories -> Articles. For example, a website might have Sections called "Animals" and "Plants". Within the "Animals" Section, the website might have Categories such as "Birds" and "Mammals". In the "Birds" Category there might be Articles called "Parrots" and "Sparrows" which describe the relevant birds in detail. However, it is possible to have Uncategorised Articles that exist without being associated with any Section or Category.
Articles are maintained using the Article Manager (help screen) which can be reached in the Administrator (Back-end) by clicking on the Content menu, then the Article Manager menu item.
Category
In Joomla! a Category is a collection of Articles. It is the middle level in the hierarchy Sections -> Categories -> Articles. For example, a website might have Sections called "Animals" and "Plants". Within the "Animals" Section, the website might have Categories such as "Birds" and "Mammals". Within the "Birds" Category, the website might have Articles such as "Parrots" and "Sparrows".
Categories are maintained using the Category Manager (help screen) which can be reached in the Administrator (Back-end) by clicking on the Content menu, then the Category Manager menu item.
Component
A component is a kind of Joomla! extension.
See also: Module, Plugin, Template
Extension
An extension is a package that extends your Joomla! installation in some way. A small selection of extensions is included with the default Joomla! installation but many more are available from the Joomla! Extensions Site.
The term "extension" is generic and the following specific extension types are available (listed alphabetically):
- Component
- Language
- Library in Joomla! 1.6 onwards
- Mambot in Joomla 1.0.x only (in later versions Mambots are referred to as Plugins)
- Module
- Package in Joomla! 1.6 onwards
- Plugin from Joomla! 1.5.0 onwards (formerly known as Mambots)
- Template
Legacy Plugin
Version 1.5 of Joomla! changed the way that third-party Extensions work with the Joomla! core programs. Extensions written for version 1.0 need to be modified in order to use the new 1.5 methodology. To allow for backward compatibility with existing 1.0 Extensions, a Plugin called "System - Legacy" is included with Joomla! 1.5. This Plugin allows many Extensions developed for version 1.0 to work with version 1.5. This Plugin is disabled by default and must be enabled before you can use any Extensions in "Legacy" mode. It can be enabled from the Plugin Manager screen.
Extensions that have been tested by the Extension provider to work using the Legacy Plugin are labeled as "1.5 Legacy". Extensions that use the new 1.5 methodology are labeled as "1.5 Native". In general, "1.5 Native" Extensions will perform somewhat faster than "1.5 Legacy", because the Legacy Plugin requires one extra layer of processing. Over time, it is expected that the majority of Extensions will be available in "1.5 Native" mode.
Mambot
Module
Modules are lightweight and flexible extensions used for page rendering. Sometimes modules are linked to components such as the “latest news” module which links to the content component (com_content) and displays links to the newest content items. These modules are mostly visible as the “boxes” that are arranged around a component on a typical page, for example, the login module. Modules are assigned per menu item, so, for example, you can decide to show or hide the logon module depending on which component (menu item) is used. However, modules do not need to be linked to components; they don't even need to be linked to anything and can be just static HTML or text.
Modules are managed in the Administrator by the Module Manager (help screen).
See also: Component, Plugin, Template
Patch
A patch in Joomla! is a bunch of bug fixes which might or might not include fixes for security issues. The patch announcement will always tell you if a patch has fixed any security issues. A patch is a minor upgrade. For example, there is a patch to upgrade your website from Joomla! 1.0.0 to Joomla! 1.0.7. Patches are generally not available when bigger upgrades are involved. For example, there is no patch available for upgrading from Joomla! 1.0.14 to Joomla! 1.5.0. Before applying a patch you should always read the release notes and the Upgrade Instructions relating to the patch.
PHP
PHP is a computer scripting language designed for creating dynamic web pages. PHP is widely-used for web development and can be embedded into HTML. It generally runs on a web server, taking PHP code as its input and creating web pages as output. Joomla! is primarily written using the PHP language. For more information see: Where can you learn about PHP?
Plugin
A plugin is a kind of Joomla! extension.
See also: Component, Module, Template
Section
In Joomla! a Section is a collection of Categories. It is the top level in the hierarchy Sections -> Categories -> Articles. For example, a website might have Sections called "Animals" and "Plants". Within the "Animals" Section, the website might have Categories such as "Birds" and "Mammals".
Sections are maintained using the Section Manager (help screen) which can be reached in the Administrator (Back-end) by clicking on the Content menu, then the Section Manager menu item.
Template
A template is the type of Joomla! extension that changes the way your site looks. There are two types of templates: Front-end Templates and Back-end Templates.
