Search-engine friendly URLs. Refers to URLs that are descriptive in a way that search engines can understand. Normal Joomla! URLs look something like this: http://www.yoursite.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&id=3&Itemid=41

You can optionally have URLs display to look like static HTML pages like this: http://www.yoursite.org/faq.html

Joomla! 1.5 has built-in optionos for SEF URLs. These are enabled by changing the ""SEO Settings"" in the Site tab in the Global Configuration screen in the Joomla! back-end. There are also third-party extensions that create SEF URLs for Joomla!.

Reference: http://docs.joomla.org/Glossary

A user level on a Joomla site that is the same a Public except for the Allow permission for the Site Login action. This means members of this group have access only to the front-end access to the site. Should you wish it, a registered user is able to see additional content to that seen by casual visitors to your site.

jdoc statements are included in every Joomla template and indicate where the output from other parts of Joomla or its extensions should be positioned in the overall web page. A typical jdoc statement looks like this:

<jdoc:include type="component" />

See the jdoc statements article for more information.

Languages are perhaps the most basic and critical extension type. Languages are packaged as either a core language pack or an extension language pack. These packages consist of INI files which contain key/value pairs. These key/value pairs provide the translation of static text strings within Joomla! source code. This allows both the Joomla! core and third party components and modules to be internationalised. Core language packs also include an XML meta file describing the language and providing information about the fonts to use for PDF content generation.

Reference: http://docs.joomla.org/Glossary

A user level on a Joomla site with access only to the front end. Publishers have permission to write, edit, and publish site content.

A scripting language that runs inside the client browser, used in many web applications. In Joomla, JavaScript has become an important part to enhance the user interface and provide AJAX functionality.

An abbreviation for “Linux Apache MySQL Perl/PHP/Python.” These group of free and open source programs are used to run many dynamic websites. Most Joomla sites run with Apache and MySQL. All run with PHP. In addition, JavaScript is now an important part of the Joomla “stack.”

A Joomla extension that displays the results of a survey conducted on your site.

The term patch file is used for two different file types. The term patch file is sometimes used to refer to archive files that allow you to upgrade from one Joomla! version to another (for example, from version 1.0.0 to version 1.0.7). These upgrade files are also referred to as upgrade packages.

The other meaning for a patch file is a file created by source code version control software -- for example, Subversion or SVN, which is used for the Joomla! source code. This type of patch file contains instructions for changing the contents of one or more source code files. The SVN software reads the patch file and then can automatically change the source code of the files being patched.

Patch files are used by the Bug Squad to test proposed bug fixes. They can also be used to contribute proposed new features to the version under development.

For more information about the structure of SVN patch files, read Learn more about patch files.

RSS (which stands for, among other things, Really Simple Syndication) that allows you to syndicate your site content. It defines an easy way to share and view headlines and content through newsfeeds. You can find RSS feeds in hundreds of thousands of places on the Internet which allow you to stream their articles into RSS readers - or your Joomla site.

The Feed Display module allows you to display other sites’ RSS feeds on your site, which is a great way to keep your content from being static.

A plugin is a kind of Joomla! extension. Plugins provide functions which are associated with trigger events. Joomla provides a set of core plugin events, but any extension can fire (custom) events. When a particular event occurs, all plugin functions of the type associated with the event are executed in sequence. This is a powerful way of extending the functionality of the Joomla! Platform. It also offers extension developers a way to allow other extensions to respond to their actions, making extensions extensible.

The Joomla! plugin architecture follows the Observer design pattern. The JPlugin class provides the means to register custom plugin code with core or custom events. The JDispatcher class (JEventDispatcher in Joomla 3.x) is an event handler which calls all plugins registered for a particular event, when that event is triggered.

Reference: http://docs.joomla.org/Glossary

The fifth revision of the HTML standard. It is still under development but is expected to become a new standard for web pages that eventually is expected to replace XHTML. It provides improved processing of audio and video files and is supported by most mobile devices.

Annually events for Joomla community organized around the world. Joomla.org has a brief list of major Joomla Day since its early days at http://docs.joomla.org/Joomla!_Days/History

The official directory for all components, plugins and modules available for use with the Joomla platform. This database is maintained by the Joomla developers.

Records the number of times a specific page or item is accessed. Joomla tracks hits for many item types, for instance, an article or a banner ad.

In Joomla, a program that associates a path (URL) with internal Joomla queries. Normally a router contains two methods, build() and parse(). The build() method takes an array of commands and returns a JURI object. The parse() method reverses this and turns a JURI object into an array of commands.