Arnold Berger said
What a disappointment!
I've been developing websites for years, mainly using MS Front Page 2003, but only as an WYSIWYG editor (no extensions) and tweaking the HTML just a little as needed. That's my perspective. Now perhaps the other reviewers, all of whom gave this book 4 star ratings, had very different backgrounds and expected whatever it is that this book delivers.
But for me, this book was of no value. It gave me no understanding as to how Joomla does the job. It gave me no clues as to how to design web pages, how to get done through Joomla what I've done with Front Page.
Hopefully there is such a book out there.
Joatmon said
I'm very technical, but was not familiar with Joomla. I wanted something to get me going quickly. Reading this book was much easier for me than trying to read the info scattered around [...] and on the net. It introduces you to the key Joomla terminology and topics in a useful order. It was great at getting me going quickly, and it gave me enough info to then start experimenting with the joomla admin tool. Once I did that I could really start grasping the concepts. It is a well written book to get you going quickly. Don't expect this book to teach you advanced techniques for Joomla. It is exactly what the title says, "Beginning Joomla".
James S. Hafner said
I've used Joomla and Mambo since the early days. Throughout the years I've picked up quite a bit of a working knowledge of Joomla, though there were always things in and about Joomla that I couldn't explain. Cory's book takes a user all the way from installing Joomla for the first time through advanced Joomla tricks, all without being wordy or overly-in-depth.
Other Joomla books lose my attention too quickly because they either teach you the skills through lengthy exercises or through multiple paragraphs-worth of details. Cory does a good job of laying out practical advice and straight-forward techniques that are considered best practices for anyone who utilizes Joomla professionally or as a hobby.
This book won't replace the Joomla API manuals sitting on my shelf, but I have dog-eared and highlighted more in this book than in any other Joomla book I own. It has really helped me round out my knowledge of the 'little things' about Joomla and has helped explain some of the Joomla quirks I've always wondered about. It is highly recommended for new and advanced Joomla users alike.
Christopher Raymond said
As a Web developer, I've had a chance to work with many proprietary and open source CMS systems. When I decided to advance my knowledge of Joomla 1.5, I picked up a copy of this book. Cory does a great job of explaining each component of Joomla and best practices when working in this CMS framework. I particularly like the "Try it out" and "How it works" sections of each chapter. Overall an easy to follow book to learn the ins and outs of Joomla and highly recommend for anyone looking to learn Joomla.
Steven N. Schuler said
I came at Joomla with a lot of "technical" experience,... just not a lot with Joomla. I found this book was a great "quick step" to getting started.
One of the problems with Joomla is that it isn't the most intuitive CMS. This book gets you up and running quickly with easy to follow steps.
Take in mind that this book isn't super deep. It is just enough to get you up and running quickly. If you are looking to get deeper, I suggest that you may want to check out "Professional Joomla!" by Dan Rahmel.
If you want to get into using Joomla quickly, then check out this book!
Comments