Chapter 11. Adding Extensions to Joomla!
WHAT'S IN THIS CHAPTER?
Installing extensions
Configuring new extensions
You've had a good overview of all the great extensions included with Joomla. You should be happy, but of course, you're wondering: Where's the shopping cart? How about a slideshow? Can I add comments to my blog?
Fortunately, Joomla was built so that anyone can add to its structure quickly and easily via an extension. Extensions, as you've seen, include components, modules, and plug-ins. These are all different ways of adding functionality to Joomla without tampering with any core code. (Changes to core code could potentially be lost in a version upgrade.)
In addition to Joomla's extensions, more extensions are available via third-party developers. Some are free, whereas some cost a little money. (Most are in the $5–$45 range, though some cost more.) Some are well documented and come with great support, whereas others are undocumented and confusing. Some are well maintained and others appear to be abandoned. And some work, whereas others crash your system!
Extensions are available for download as a finished product. On occasion, though, you might want to add your own specific functionality to Joomla. You can write your own extension, or you can hire an engineer to write it for you. Writing extensions is beyond the scope of this book, but plenty of great books are available that describe the process in detail.
The Joomla Extensions Directory (JED) is located at extensions.joomla.org ...
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