Joomla! 1.5 - Key Features and Benefits
Joomla! provides a unified and easy-to-use framework for delivering content for websites of all kinds. To support the changing nature of the Internet and emerging web technologies, Joomla! required substantial restructuring of its core functionality.
Joomla! 1.0.x was based upon the Mambo code base, whereas Joomla! 1.5 was completely rewritten from scratch. Joomla! 1.0.x was written with "freedom of use" in mind; with Joomla! 1.5, it was expanded and added "ease of use". Freedom of use refers to the unlimited possibilities you have when building web-sites, and with ease of use means making life simpler for the end user, the web administrator and third party developers.
Site Administrator User Interface
The Joomla! 1.5 Administrator is more refined and the main menu simplified. The global configuration was substantially reworked for simpler presentation and greater control. An important improvement for international community is having Joomla!'s entire Administrator available in one's own language using language packs.
A single installer is available for all extension types, including languages. The media manager is improved visually and functionally. Images, documents, presentations, and more, can now be stored. Other improvements include multi-delete capability, batch file uploads, and an ability to view media in icon and list formats.
The core article manager is simpler. Now, a single editor with a "Read More" button for separating the introduction from the full article, supports a more natural writing process. A very popular improvement is Joomla!'s new image manager enables you to browse media folders to select and insert images directly into your article as you write. There is also more control of article pagination than before.
The complexity of choices and steps in the menu manager for Joomla! 1.0 have been completely redesigned for 1.5 in favor of simplicity and elegance. Usability improvements, such as the ability now to change the menu type, make changing your site much simpler. Any menu item can now be used to designate the default page. Selecting menu types is now an elegant drill down process supported by a new navigation tree; collapsible parameter sections simplify choices and increase productivity. Other helpful interface improvements include contextual tool tips and the ability to sort any menu manager column.
One of the more significant functional improvements are search engine friendly URLs, easily implemented within the global configuration. With SEF URLs in place, system generated duplicate content is eliminated, greatly improving site search engine optimization.
Improved Joomla Code for Designers
The code base was better organized by separating program logic from presentation logic. This empowers designers with 100% control over how Joomla!'s content is presented.
Now, template designers can use custom layouts, often referred to as template overrides, instead of the typical table heavy output from Joomla! core.
Another new addition for template designers is an ability to create custom module chrome. Module chrome is how module output is wrapped in a template. While Joomla! 1.0 has a handful of ways to render modules Joomla! 1.5 gives the designer ultimate freedom in the ability to create whatever chrome is appropriate.
With 1.5 the need for end users to manually edit variables and settings in template files is ancient history. Template parameters are a new feature that allow designers ability to construct templates in such a way that users can change settings from within the template manager interface. The template manager has also been freshened up with features such as the ability to edit any CSS file for the template.