Learning Joomla! 1.5 Extension Development, by Joseph L. LeBlanc / PACKT Publishing, is a good introduction the Joomla Framework and to building Joomla Components, Joomla Modules, and JoomlaPlugins.
Learning Joomla! 1.5 Extension Development is a well written and edited book about Joomla 1.5 extension development. I highly recommend it with one warning:
In order to understand the information in this book, you will need at least basic knowledge of Joomla, software programming, HTML, PHP, and SQL.
Readers with the requisite intermediate to advanced skills are the target audience for this book. Readers with the requisite beginner skills can begin to see how Joomla works, but they will probably have lots of questions that are not answered in the book.
Although LeBlanc discusses the code used in each example, it is only a cursory explanation to show how the code works with Joomla; he rarely explains the how and why of the PHP or SQL, and this book is not the place to do this.
If you want to learn to build Joomla 1.5 extensions, or if you just want to get a better understanding of how Joomla 1.5 works, this book will get you started:
- The writing is clear, concise, and focused
- The books uses a restaurant review project to explain the Joomla framework and how to build Joomla components, modules and plugins.
- The code is accurate and works. Plus, you can download all of the code examples from the PACKT Publishing website.
- Each lesson builds on the previous lessons and helps you gradually build an understanding of the material.
What’s more, you can instantly download an electronic version of the book and start to learn Joomla 1.5 extension immediately!