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2008

JED Will Phase Out Joomla 1.0 Extensions in June 2009
Written by Steve Burge   

Back in mid-October, the Joomla team announced that they would be slowly phasing out support for Joomla 1.0. The official "end-of-life" date was set for July 22, 2009.

Today we're taking another step on that path. We're planning for the day when Joomla 1.0 extensions will be phased out of the Joomla Extensions Directory (JED).

Timeframe

  • October 13th 2008: Joomla 1.0 end-of-life date was announced.
  • March 31st 2009: No more Joomla 1.0 extensions will be accepted into the JED.
  • June 30th 2009: Joomla 1.0 extensions currently in the JED will be unpublished.
  • July 22nd 2009: Joomla 1.0 end-of-life.

Why Wait Six Months?

  • The date is very close to the "end-of-life" date for Joomla 1.0 itself.
  • We're aiming to give as much as advance warning as possible to Joomla users and developers. Hopefully half-a-year will allow you to make plans and adjustments.

Reasons for the Move

  • Security. Older extensions are often built using older and potentially unsafe coding methods.
  • Support. 1.0 has a large number of older and unsupported extensions.
  • End-of-life. Joomla 1.0 won't be maintained after the July end-of-life date, so it is a logical step to also stop supporting 1.0 extensions.
  • Focus. Allow Joomla developers to concentrate on developing for the current Joomla 1.5 version and also for 1.6.

Questions

  • Must I upgrade to Joomla 1.5?
Absolutely not. Personally I have several 1.0 sites that will likely never be upgraded. Migrating a large and complex website isn't a straightforward task and many Joomla 1.0 sites may continue to run happily for years. As the saying goes: "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".
  • Should I upgrade to Joomla 1.5?
That is a more difficult question. Yes, if you have the time, money and expertise. The codebase for Joomla 1.0 was written in 2003 and so the features and extensions available for 1.5 are several years more advanced than those available for 1.0. Also, because there is no such thing as a totally secure application, it is inevitable that new vulnerabilities in 1.0 will eventually be discovered. With the end of life there will no longer be official releases to address these. There will also be no location from which to download an official copy of Joomla 1.0.x if you ever need to replace yours.
 
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