Book Review: Mastering Joomla 1.5 Extension and Framework Development

Written by Jeremy Wilken 22 Jul2010

For people looking to learn a lot about programming for Joomla 1.5, then this is the best book available to you. Mastering Joomla 1.5 Extension and Framework Development, by Chuck Lanham and James Kennard (PacktPublishing is the publisher) should become a book on your shelf. I have had the first edition (by James Kennard) for quite some time as a handy resource, but recently a second edition (updated by Chuck Lanham) has come out with a lot of positive improvements. The second edition boasts around 70 additional pages, better print formatting, more information, and an improved set of examples.

This book is for people who have some general PHP experience and are familiar with Joomla at least in some capacity. For people with experience with design patterns and OOP (Object Oriented Programming), they will be able to breeze through some of the more difficult areas. People who are less familiar with these concepts will be greeted with more detailed explanations on the programming concepts that are applied in 1.5.

Why would you buy or read a book rather than using the resources online? Simple, it provides a clear path through the process and gives you a great foundational knowledge before putting you through some of the more technical aspects of the framework.

The book just came out in May, and with the Joomla community trying to finish 1.6, it would seem this book might be out of date quickly. That is not true, because most of the book will still be relevant. Sadly, the major changes in 1.6 are not included (it would have certainly delayed the book further), but it would be great if there could be a short companion to the book that could explain the differences and how to make a 1.6 extension. I don't think people should abandon 1.5 for some time yet, because it is so widely used that people should be making 1.5 and 1.6 versions until it is clear that people have adopted 1.6 in force.

This is a strong book, especially now it is in its second edition. I refer to my copy regularly just to refresh my memory on various items, so it has the ability to be a teaching and reference book. It does come with an index in the back with some API documentation, but I find its generally easier to just search on the Joomla websites for API notes that comes with examples.

My biggest complaint about the book would be not placing enough emphasis on security throughout the book, as well as not bringing up the topic sooner. Chapter 11 (of 12) is the main security talk, and while it comes up through the book I think its a particularly sensitive issue that should be brought up at the start of the book. So if you read the book, I'd read Chapter 11 after Chapter 3 or 4. All in all, a pretty minor complaint, as the book does cover quite a few security issues and how to properly handle them.

Anyone who has a serious interest in developing for Joomla and has some basic PHP skills should have a copy of this book in their library. For people interested in a thinner book that just runs into programming head on without as much 'big picture', check out Learning Joomla 1.5 Extension Development by Joe LeBlanc.