As already mentioned within a few articles before Joomla! represents a very popular and free content management system (CMS). In this context it has to be added that Joomla! was not developed as a single and stand-alone content management system. Strictly speaking Joomla! emerged from the open source project called Mambo.
Its purpose consists in publishing content, strictly speaking text, articles, photos and videos, on the World Wide Web (WWW). Joomla! is very easy to handle and also suitable for people without any technical knowledge. Its backend resembles to a normal Word editor including functions and buttons such as “bold”, “underline”, “font size”, “font colour”, “italic”, “tables” and many others more. Furthermore it is possible to insert pictures and photos very easily as well as to change their size and positioning.
There exists a variety of users that have created and developed useful extensions, modules and components for Joomla!. These extensions are generally made available to the whole user community of Joomla!. Consequently everybody has to chance and possibility to use Joomla! with a wide range of different functions. In this way, Joomla! provides a remarkable collection of enhancements which virtually covers all common and useful applications. In spite of all in the past these extensions have continuously caused a variety of security problems. This is one of the main reasons why users of Joomla! should exercise caution. In addition to the wide range of free extensions, Joomla! also presents some commercial products and applications.
Joomla User Groups are local groups consisting of Joomla! users and developers who come together regularly in order to share know-how, general knowledge as well as information about Joomla!. They do also plan new projects and workshops and of course maintain the social component of open source software. Joomla User Groups do exist in cities such as Berlin, Cologne, Nuremberg, Regensburg, in Hessen, in the Ruhr, Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein as well as in other countries like in Switzerland and Austria.
The name “Joomla” derives from the word “Jumla” (Swahili language) and originates from the Arabic. It means “the whole” or “as a whole” – a meaning which tries to stress the general role of the WHOLE development community of Joomla!.
Considering the official logo of Joomla! it can be said that it consists of two main parts – the logo image and the Joomla! lettering. Strictly speaking the logo image represents the union of the Joomla! community. It consists of four “J” which are mutually twisted together. This logo is not copyright free and may only be used under certain conditions. The altering of the Joomla! logo is in most cases not allowed. It is only permitted to use the logo in publications if the logo maintains the original Joomla color scheme.