Glossary Specifically for Joomla! version 1.0.12.

This Glossary has been created to ensure compatibility with core Help Screen files in the 1.0.12 and to restore broken links.

Admin Templates

Templates used to define the layout of the Administrator (Back-end) area of your Joomla! web site. See also: Site Templates and Templates.

Administrator

User level within Joomla with access to some Administrator (Back-end) and all Site (Front-end) functions. See also: Manager and Super Administrator.

Alt attribute

Author-defined alternate text for an image. The browser displays this text rather than the image, and it describes to the reader what they are missing on a page. It is a good practice to include the alt attribute for each image on a page to improve the display and usefulness of your document for instances in which the browser cannot load images, for users unable to view images due to sight impairment, or for people who have text-only browsers. See also: Image Tag.

Apache

An Open Source web server project. Joomla! is optimised to function fully on an Apache web server. Visit the home of the Apache Web Server Project. Over 70% of the world's Internet sites are run from Apache web servers! See also: IIS, PHP, MySQL

Archive

Content Items can be archived and managed through the Administrator (Back-end). The Archive Module provides a way of displaying archived items on your web site.

Article

The new name for Content Item under Joomla! 1.5.x versions.

Author

User level within Joomla! with access only to Site (Front-end) functions. See also: Editor, Publisher, and Registered.

Back-end (Administrator Back-end)

Administrator's Control Panel, where Managers, Administrators, or Super Administrators log in to manage all aspects of their web site, including both features and content. See also: Front-end (Site Front-end).

Banners

Joomla! core Component which allows you to display and manage banner ads for your web site. In the Administrator (Back-end), you can set up banners, input and associate clients with their specific banners, and specify impressions as a number or unlimited. The number of impressions seen and clicks are recorded and displayed in the Back-end under Components/Banners/Manage Banners. Banners are displayed on the Site (Front-end) using the banners module.

Blog

Style of content presentation within Joomla!, displaying some or all Content Items in a certain section or category. The tile may appear as a link or both the title and the introductory text, with a Read More link displayed. Often the News page is written in Blog style.

Browser

Software program used to view and interact with various types of Internet resources available on the World Wide Web. Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari are three common examples.

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) provide the ability to separate the layout and styles of a web page from the data or information. Styles such as fonts, font sizes, and margins can be specified in one place, then the web pages feed off this one master list, with the styles cascading throughout the page or an entire site. Cascading Style Sheets are contained in a .css file.

Category

Collection of related Content Items; for instance, the category Airplanes may contain the Content Items Biplanes, Fixed wing, and Jets. Within the Content hierarchy, Section is the top level and is a container for Categories. Category is the next level and is a container for the third level, Content Items. See also: Article and Section.

Category Name

The long name to be displayed in headings (Ex: Contact Our Corporate Headquarters in Virginia).

Category Title

The short name to appear in Menus (Ex: Contact Us).

Check Out (an item)

When a user edits a file, they check it out. This prevents other users from being able to edit the item at the same time, thus preventing loss of data upon saving.

Check-in

This function, available from the Site (Front-end) for registered users with editing privileges, allows a user to make the items they were working on, previously locked and uneditable, available again. See also: Global Check-in.

Client-side Scripting

Class of computer programming on the web which is executed client-side, by the user's web browser, instead of server-side (on the web server). This type of computer programming is an important part of the Dynamic HTML (DHTML) concept, enabling web pages to be scripted; that is, to have different and changing content depending on user input, environmental conditions (such as the time of day), or other variables. See also: Server-side Scripting.

CMT

Acronym for Components, Modules, and Templates.

CMMT

Acronym for Components, Mambots, Modules, Templates.

CMTP

Acronym for Components, Modules, Templates, and Plugins.

Components

Content elements, or applications, that are usually displayed in the centre of the main content area of a template. This depends on the design of the template in use. Components make up much of the core elements of Joomla!'s functionality. These core elements include Banners, Contact, News Feeds, Polls, and Web Links. Members of the Joomla! community produce third party Joomla! Components on a continuous basis. They are freely available to download from Joomla! Extensions Directory and a number of other web sites. See also: Modules, Mambots.

Configuration File

The configuration.php file, found in the joomla_root/ directory of your installation, contains Global Variable and Parameter settings specific to your web site. In addition there are various other controls, for example: the information needed by Joomla! to interact with the MySQL database.

Contact 

Content Item

A 'document' within the Joomla! hierarchy, which may be associated with a particular Section/Category combination (or may be a Static Content Item that is not associated with a Section/Category combination); usually displayed in the main body of your page. Within the Content hierarchy, Section is the top level and is a container for Categories. Category is the next level and is a container for the third level, Content Items.

Content Management System (CMS)

Software for dynamically managing web site content via a web browser.

Core

Database

An organized collection of records that you can search, sort, and analyze rapidly. Joomla! is database-driven software, which means you can add, edit, or delete content that is stored in the Joomla! database. See also: Record.

Document Object Model (DOM)

Form of representation of structured documents as an object-oriented model; the official World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standard for representing structured documents in a platform, and language, neutral manner. DOM is also the basis for a wide range of application programming interfaces, some of which are standardized by the W3C. See also DOMIT.

DOMIT

An XML parser for PHP based on the Document Object Model (DOM) Level 2 specification. It is lightweight, fast, and written purely in PHP. See also DOM.

Dynamic Hypertext Markup Language (DHTML)

An extension of HTML, enables, among other things, the inclusion of small animations and dynamic menus in Web pages. DHTML code makes use of style sheets and JavaScript.

Editor

User level within Joomla! with access only to Site (Front-end) authoring and editing functions. See also: Author, Publisher, and Registered.

Extensions

Components, Modules, Mambots, Templates, Plugins, or Languages that extend your Joomla! installation. Many of these elements are already bundled into the Joomla! Core release and they can be third-party add-on elements.

Front-end (Site Front-end)

Web site that your visitors (or Registered Users) see. See also: Back-end (Administrator Back-end).

Front Page

Built-in Component, which shows all the published Content Items from your site marked with the parameter Show on Frontpage. You may configure the display of the Frontpage by editing the menu item associated with it, usually the Home menu item. The ordering of your Frontpage Content Items is done using the Frontpage Manager option under the Content menu option.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

Global Check-in

When an item is checked out and it is not saved or cancelled correctly (such as with a connection error or the use of "back" on the browser), it will remain checked out, and thus uneditable for all other users. Performing a Global Check-in will make those items available again. This option is only available in the Administrator (Back-end) or as a User Menu item for logged-in users.

Group

Collection of user levels, classified as either Site (Front-end) or Administrator (Back-end). See also: Administrator (Back-end), Site (Front-end).

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

The authoring language used to create documents on the World Wide Web. See also: JavaScript and PHP. 

Image tag

In HTML, images are defined with the <img> tag. See also: Alt attribute.

Internet Information Server (IIS)

Microsoft™ IIS is an alternative web server that, with an amount of modification, Joomla! can also be run upon. For details Microsoft IIS. See also: Apache, MySQL, PHP

Intro Text

Required field that must be completed when creating a new Content Item or editing an existing Content Item. If text has been added to the Main Text field and the Content Item is checked to Show on Front Page, a Read More link will be shown, pointing to the full Content Item. Intro Text and Main Text only are used in Content Items in the Section/Category hierarchy but not in Static Content Items. See also: Main Text.

Installers

Menu option allowing access to Component, Language, Mambot, Module, or Template screens from which new examples in ZIP compression files can be uploaded for installation on your Joomla! Web site. This option is only available to Super Administrators.

Item

An individual piece of content within the Joomla! hierarchy; can be a Content Item, a Content Category, a Menu Item, or a Web Link.

JavaScript

Common computer programming language developed by ECMA for use in web pages. JavaScript is relatively small and fast and is used for providing interactivity on web pages. See also: HTML, PHP.

Joomla!

One of the finest, and multi-award winning, Open Source Web Content Management Systems(CMS) available today.

Joomla! Administrator (Back-end)

Administrator's Control Panel, where Managers, Administrators, or Super Administrators log in to manage all aspects of their web site, including both features and content. See also: Front-end (Site Front-end).

Joomla! User

User Group with access to the Site (Front-end), including Public, Registered, Author, Editor and Publisher. There are also three levels with additional access to the Administrator (Back-end): Manager, Administrator and Super Administrator.

Main Body

Defined in the PHP code as <?php mosMainBody(); ?>, this displays content from Joomla! Components, e.g. calendar of events and Content Items, etc.

Main Text

When creating or editing a Content Item, the Main Text box contains the text you do not want to show on the Front Page. It shows up after clicking the 'Read On' link in the Front-end of your site. See also: Intro Text.

Mambot: 

Small, task-oriented function that intercepts content before it is displayed and manipulates it in some way. Joomla! provides a number of Mambots in the Core distribution, such as WYSIWYG editors, 3rd party Component and Module searchers, etc.

Manager

User level within Joomla! with access to some Back-end and all Front-end functions. See also: Administrator, Super Administrator.

Mass Mail

Core Joomla! Component that allows e-mails to be sent to all User Groups, a single Group, or a User Group and its Child Groups.

Media Files

Files such as .gif, .jpg, .png, or .bmp which can be used in Content Items and are organised via the Media Manager. Media files can be included in Content Items via Image tab on Edit Content Item pages, WYSIWYG editors' include Media Managers, third party Components, etc.

Menu

Menu Item 

Modules

Small display Items with content that can be displayed anywhere that your template permits. Modules are, generally, very easy to install in the Administrator (Back-end). The Joomla! Core includes: Main Menu, Top Menu, Template Chooser, Polls, Newsflash,and Hit Counter amongst others. Members of the Joomla! Community also produce Joomla! Modules on a continuous basis. They are freely available on Joomla! Extensions Directory for download. An example of a Module PHP code is <?php mosLoadModules ( 'module position' ); ?>. See also: Module Position.

Module Position

Names for the placement of Modules within a template. There are 27 pre-named positions, e.g. left, right, top, bottom and 23 author-defined positions. Module positions are not confined by their name. Thus, the left Module position, coded as <?php mosLoadModules ( 'left' ); ?> may be placed anywhere in the template. See also: Modules.

MySQL

An Open Source database project. Joomla! needs this database in order to function. Joomla! has not been developed with any other database in mind.

News Feed

A Core Component of Joomla! Tool for sharing Content between different web sites, with code produced by the DOMIT parser, and utilizing the types of News Feeds currently available to display and produce (RSS versions, Atom, etc). This sharing method is meant for creating a news introduction in the way the provider wants it and normally has a link to the provider's web site. Joomla! offers you the ability to both offer and display News Feeds.

Newsflash 

Open Source (OS)

General term describing several parts of the Free Software Licence movement, which allow anyone to freely access the source code. All the source code for Joomla! is open source and is readable and changeable by any user. 

PHP

Hypertext Preprocessor is an open source server-side programming language extensively used for web scripts to process data passed via the Common Gateway Interface from HTML forms etc. PHP can be written as scripts that reside on the server and may produce HTML output that downloads to the web browser. Alternatively, PHP can be embedded within HTML pages that are then saved with a .php file extension. See also: HTML, JavaScript.

patTemplate

System within Joomla! to help create Site Templates.

Parameters

Settings used to alter the presentation of specific Content Items, Menus, or Modules.

Plugin

The new name for a Mambot under Joomla! 1.5.x versions. Plugins are also used by Third Party Extension Developers and their supporters to add extra functionality to a developed Component.

Polls

Joomla! Core Component that allows a poll (also known as a survey) to be displayed on your Joomla! web site. 

Preview

Option available in the Administrator (Back-end), which displays from the Back-end what your Content Item would look like in the Front-end of your site.

Projects

Components, Modules, Templates, Plugins, and scripts that are freely set up and managed by their authors in the Joomla! Extensions Directory. In addition Joomla! is inextricably linked to the Apache, MySQL, and PHP Open Source Projects among others.

Publish(ed)

One of the 'states' available for various parts of your Joomla! installation, indicating whether that particular piece is visible on the site or operational (very much like an on-off switch). For example, installed elements will not be displayed on your web site if they are unpublished. Content Items can be managed with a start and end date of publishing. See also: Unpublish(ed).

Publisher

User level within Joomla!, with access only to Site (Front-end) functions, but with permission to publish content on the Site. See also: Author, Editor,Registered.

Quick Icon

A visual Menu displayed on the Administrator (Back-end) Workspace that provides one-click shortcuts to often used functions in the Back-end. For example: User Manager or Content Items.

Record

Description of a single item as stored in a database. In a relational database, each row of each table is a database record. See also: Database, MySQL.

Registered User

User level within Joomla! with access only to Site (Front-end) functions, though with permission to access parts of the Site that are not accessible to Public users. See also: Author, Editor, and Publisher.

RSS

Search Engine Friendly (SEF)

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) 

Section

Collection of Categories that are related in some way. A Section might be called 'Transport', Categories in this section might be 'Boats', 'Cars' and 'Airplanes'. Within the Content hierarchy, Section is the top level and is a container for Categories. Category is the next level and is a container for the third level, Content Item. See also: Category, Content Item.

Server-side Scripting

Programs interpreted by the web server when a page is requested. Scripts have special extensions such as .php, .asp, and .jsp. When the server finishes processing a script, it usually sends a HTML page that can be viewed in any web browser. See also: Client-side Scripting, JavaScript, PHP.

Site (Front-end)

Web site displayed to your visitors or users, containing all the Content Items, functionality, and styling managed in the Administrator (Back-end).

Site Templates

Templates that define the layout of your Joomla! web site's Front-end. See also: Admin Templates and Templates.

Static Content Item

Content Item that does not belong to the Sections/Category/Content Item hierarchy. 

Super Administrator

The top User level within Joomla! with access to all Administrator (Back-end) and Site (Front-end) functions. See also: Administrator, Manager.

Syndication

Process, using a News Feed, by which a web site is able to share information, such as Content Items, with other web sites.

Templates

Defining the layout of your Joomla! web site, templates can be created for the Site (Front-end) of your site (called Site Templates), as well as for the Administrator (Back-end) called Administrator Templates. You can assign different templates to various pages of your web site. See also Administrator Templates and Site Templates.

Title

Name given to an Content Item, which may be displayed above it in the Site (Front-end).

Title Alias

Alternative title for Content Items, used by SEF scripts and dynamic title/meta scripts.

Unpublish(ed)

State of various parts of your Joomla! installation, indicating whether that particular Item is visible on the site or operational (very much like an on-off switch). For example, installed elements will not be displayed on your web site if they are unpublished. Content Items can be managed with a start and end date of publishing. See also: Publish(ed).

URL

Web Links

Core Component that manages and displays hyperlinks to other web sites, organized into Categories.

Workspace

Section of the Joomla! Administrator (Back-end) where the business of configuration and Content publishing takes place. The workspace dynamically updates as you select tools and menu options. The workspace can include: HTML editor, Content Item and Web Link management, and many other features.

Wrapper

Built-in Joomla! Core Component, used to pull in and display any URL page into your web site. This can be used to wrap an application (like a forum or a gallery), individual pages, or even an entire web site. An alternative name is an Iframe.

WYSIWYG Editor

Editing tool which uses a WYSIWYG (an acronym for What You See Is What You Get) interface to allow easy editing of items in a non-code format.

XML

XHTML

ZLIB

An Open Source project that provides a lossless data-compression library that in the case of Joomla! assists PHP with the process of uploading and unzipping new Components, Mambots, Modules, Templates,