August 2008

Joomla! 1.5 GPL Extensions for August 2008

More great extensions to enhance your Joomla experience

Written by Toni Marie

The most exciting new extension released in the Joomla Extensions Directory in July will never show up on your Joomla! website. No user will ever interact with it. It doesn't change your content, your site's appearance, or add a cool flashing button. And yet PS Joom Updater will revolutionize how you manage your Joomla! 1.5 website. Released in the first week of July, this extension description targets itself at extension developers and their need to repeatedly install new packages as they work on bugs. When I realized what this extension can actually do, however, it was clear this component will be of use to every Joomla! site administrator.

The PS Joom Updater is a clone of the Joomla installer. What it does differently, though, is allow you the opportunity to install a component, plugin or module that is already installed, without going through the uninstall routine. Yes, this is important for people who are developing extensions... but what about the rest of us who need to install new beta copies of our GPL extensions, security releases, bug fixes, etc? I updated an entire suite of six components in two minutes, without touching the existing database tables. The component doesn't stop at allowing us to install updates to our versions, it also has selections for keeping the current database tables, backing the current up but installing new tables, or dropping the old tables completely.

I was quite impressed with the simplicity, but as of this writing the extension does require the legacy plugin for installation (but can be turned off immediately after).

For those looking to show people a taste of content to entice users to register, look no further than Login to Read Full Text. With this simple plugin, only registered users can see beyond "read more". Combining this plugin with a pay-for-registration model will monetize a website with minimal layers of complexity.

We've had lots of questions in the JED blog area of community.joomla.org about what component is being used for comments and votes. We're using JXtended Comments by Jxtended.com. JXtended is a commercial extensions provider of GPL extensions. The comments are Ajax powered, support Gravatar avatars, and have spam controls and moderation. The extension itself was released in April but since there have been recent questions (and a recent update) I'm detailing it in this column for August. JXtended Comments is an excellent value for adding social bookmarking, comments and ratings to Joomla! 1.5.

The folks at the new Joomla Layouts have released a new ad module. Joomla! site owners are always looking for ways to monetize their Joomla! sites, but cramming a bunch of ads onto a website is rarely attractive. With Joomla Layouts Ad Spot, site owners can now fit a number of sponsors, advertisers or partners into a relatively small space. While selecting and viewing the tooltips seems a bit cumbersome on the live demo, bestofjoomla.com, this is certainly a viable option for those trying to make the most of their Joomla! site space.

Since Joomla! websites are so easy to duplicate, many site owners have "sister sites" that share a common thread but differ in template, language, or other details. Multiple site owners will be interested in two new extensions published in the last week of July. The only two extensions for running multiple websites that are both GPLv2 *and* Joomla! 1.5 Native have been released within hours of each other. The approaches differ but both end up being viable options for different types of multiple site configurations.

Joomla Multi Sites / Multiple Joomla Configuration is an addition by "Edwin2Win" at jms2win.com that covers a comprehensive master/slave relationship sharing a single Joomla database over multiple domains. Sold commercially but retaining the GPLv2 license, this extension already contains several patches/fixes for users of popular GPL components that may not readily accept the multi-site configuration at first. At a price of 24.99 Euros for the download, this multi-site extension is an affordable way to branch out. Because it's also GPL, there's no need to worry about Ioncube encoder conflicts that have been a problem in the past for some other multiple site options.

A different approach to running multiple sites affects those who want to have a common userbase but have widely different site structures and content. SYNK by Dioscouri Design allows site administrators to synchronize users across multiple databases. Sharing user tables between sites possibly not even owned by the same administrator but by, for example, partners or affiliates, will open up new horizons for community in Joomla! by offering an easy way to share logins over multiple sites. Anything that makes it easier for a user to register or login to a site encourages participation.

At $49.99US for a 6 month membership to support (and subsequently downloads) for Sync, Dioscouri's option isn't inexpensive, but it is potentially a very powerful tool worth a look.

Overall, I'm encouraged by the number of new extensions embracing the commercial application of the GPL license, as well as established extensions and developers who are converting to a GPL-compatible model. I've had nothing but good experiences with my subscriptions and purchases of GPL extensions, and I hope that trend continues.

Want your extension featured in a future column? I choose the extensions arbitrarily but you can help your case by making sure your extension is Joomla! 1.5 Native and has a GPL-compatible license.

Add Comment