Nooku Framework a CCK for developers
A year ago Steve Burge from Alledia wrote a blog post titled : Joomla Goes CCKrazy taking a closer look at the CCK explosion in the Joomla ecosystem. In his post Steve defines a CCK as :
- any extension which allows to move beyond the text and title options provided by Joomla’s com_content, and choose your own fields and options.
- any extension which also moved beyond the section/category hierarchy of Joomla 1.5 and 1.5.
Today the Joomla extensions site counts not less then 10 GPL licensed CCK solutions. All of which add advanced content management capabilities to Joomla. In a sense, each of the CCK solutions are mini CMS systems wrapped inside a Joomla extension.
Are CCK’s the answer to innovating Joomla ? I don’t believe so. One of the reasons I choose Mambo for my first web project back in the days was because it was easy to use and easy to extend. As a user I could set it up in 5 min, just running through the installer, and as a developer I could extend it in 5 min, just looking at the code.
Announcing Nooku Code Jam Manila
Nooku is going Asia and will be setting up camp in Manila on the 20th of September. Together with our friends from the Joomla and PHP communities in the Philippines, we are organizing our first Asian Nooku Code Jam.
If you are a PHP developer looking to learn how to build better Joomla extensions faster you don’t want to miss this. Nooku Framework is one of the most interesting developments in the Joomlasphere of the last year.
Not only because of the spectacular code reduction (up to 80% in some cases), but also for the many features that were previously unavailable to Joomla developers:
- Near-zero-code MVC
- Domain Driven Design
- Object Relational Mapping
- Out of the box security features
- Extensibility through CoC, DI, …
And not to forget extreme re-usability: already a number of extensions are being built that can be plugged right into your own, such as user, trash and taxonomy (tagging and categories) management.
The Code Jam will take place on the 20th of September at the University of the Philippines from 8:30 until 17:00. To help us cover our cost we ask a small registration fee : 500 PHP for professionals and 250 PHP for students. We have only 45 seats available, so register fast!
Find real estate in Rome using Nooku
Nooku Content 0.6.8 released
We are pleased to announce the release of Nooku Content version 0.6.8. This version is a maintenance release that addresses a regression issue introduced in the 0.6.7 release.
This release also includes the following fixes :
- Fixed redirection issues in the administrator when switching language after using the items view.
- Fixed problem when trying to delete existing or none-existing tables
- Fixed issue with custom flags not being rendered properly
We also introduced front-end user language support. When trying to determine the preferred language Nooku Content now takes the frontend language setting into account for logged in users. The new sequence is : session -> cookie -> user (only if logged in) -> browser -> primary.
Together with the release of Nooku Content 0.6.8 we are also releasing Nooku Framework 0.6.8 which includes a number of smaller fixes. Nooku Framework is available through our Nooku Developer Portal, for a direct link to the 0.6.8 SVN go here.
Nooku Content is only available to our partners. By supporting us, you helps us to build quality open source software. In return you get a great extension, personalized support, and a voice in the development. If you want to learn more, discover our Partnership Program.
Nooku Extension Showcase Video
More and more Joomla developers are starting to use Nooku Framework for building powerful, extendible and secure Joomla extensions. The first generation of extensions is in beta and more extensions are being worked.
Just like the Joomla 1.5 framework caused a wave of innovative extensions, we believe Nooku Framework is going to cause a shift: It changes how you create and use extensions, how extensions work with each other or with external data, and how you customize extensions.
At J! and Beyond 2010 we, together with some of our Nooku Community Contributors and Partners showed some of the promising Nooku-powered extensions that are being built right now. Check out the video and take a sneak peek into Joomla’s future !
Nooku Framework, why should you care ?
Us developers are inherently lazy. Yes it true ! New technologies we greet with the needed scepticism. After all, why should we adopt a new technology if our existing tools work fine ?
The public release of Nooku Framework, now almost a year ago, was no different. Some people were very excited while others welcomed the framework with some reservations.
A few days ago Torkil Johnsen, Nooku Community Contributor, wrote an excellent blog post titled : “What is this Nooku Framework thing really ? And why should I care ?”
In his post Torkil does a great job explaining what Nooku Framework is all about, how it differs from the Joomla Framework and why he thinks you should care.
Read the rest of this entry »
Nooku Content 0.6.7 released
We are pleased to announce the release of Nooku Content version 0.6.7. This version is a maintenance release that addresses a number of issues reported by our partners. A few smaller features where also added :
- Module translation improvements. We have further optimized the way Nooku Content deals with syncing of module translations and improved Nooku Content’s module translation workflow. Modules are no longer listed in the items overview and are also no longer taken into account for the statistics.
- Improved compatibility with K2. We have done extensive testing with K2 and fixed a number of smaller issues related to translating a K2 powered Joomla site. We are happy to announce that we now fully support K2.
Together with the release of Nooku Content 0.6.7 we are also releasing Nooku Framework 0.6.7 which includes a number of smaller fixes. Nooku Framework is available through our Nooku Developer Portal, for a direct link to the 0.6.7 SVN go here.
Nooku Content is only available to our partners. By supporting us, you helps us to build quality open source software. In return you get a great extension, personalized support, and a voice in the development. If you want to learn more, discover our Partnership Program.
The Nooku Team grows
We’d like to introduce two new members in the Nooku Team. First of all there’s Stian Didriksen, from Norway, our new javascript whiz kid. You may have heard of him: he’s one of the rising stars in the Joomla community. He is working with Prothemer on the Morph template engine, and with Ninjaforge on the Ninjaboard forum extension.
While Stian was working on the alpha version of Ninjaboard, he started submitting patches to the Nooku Framework, and especially to the javascripts parts. We liked it so much we decided to hire him for one day a week.
Daniel Chapman, Ninjaforge CEO, said: ”
For us this collaboration is working out great: several of our products are based on Nooku Framework, so having Stian work with the Nooku team for 20% of his time, is very beneficial for Ninjaboard, Ninja Content, Ninja Video Gallery, and Ninja Journal.”
Gergo and Stian at J! And Beyond. Photo by David Deutsch
Gergő Erdősi
Gergő Erdősi, from Hungary, has been working with us for a while now, but we never properly introduced him. He’s definitely no stranger to the Joomla community. Gergő got involved with the Joomla Sites and Infrastructure Team in 2007. He participated in the Google Summer of Code, and wrote an advanced Joomla survey extension for that. He moved up to the Joomla Bug Squad and the Joomla 1.6 Development Team.
Always on the lookout for interesting developments, Gergő joined the Nooku Mailing List very early on, and displayed an amazing hunger for knowledge and capacity for learning quickly. We flew him over to Belgium to train him for a week, and got him started on building a Scientific Reference management application for our customer, the Italian Institute of Technology. As Gergő wrote on Twitter:
“One of my best decisions was to leave the Joomla core team and join the Nooku community.”
Strong Team
We’re very happy to have Stian and Gergő on board, as we need the manpower to build our new Joomla- and Nooku-based multisite platform for the Belgian Police. The team is now nine people strong, and ready for even bigger challenges!
Jack Bremer interviews Mathias Verraes
During our three days at J! And Beyond, the International Joomla Conference, I was interviewed about Nooku Framework. Jack Bremer did an excellent job (it’s hard to believe he’s not a professional interviewer!)
We talked about the growing Nooku Community and the origins of Nooku Content and Nooku Framework. In the middle it gets a bit technical, but hold on, after that there’s some fun stuff about the Joomlasphere’s obsession with Swahili names.
The interview was taped by Zohar Babin. He was at J! And Beyond in his role as Director of Developer Relations and Community for Kaltura, the open source video platform, as they were sponsoring the event. Zohar decided to take the opportunity to learn more about Joomla, by interviewing a number of people in the community. I’m proud to have been one of them. Check out his technology blog for more interviews here and here.
Jack Bremer, the interviewer, runs 3B Digital in London, a full-service digital marketing agency who specialise in Joomla projects, SEO and social media.
Play the MVC Roulette!
We’re working on the final preparations for J! And Beyond, the International Joomla Conference. Don’t miss the Nooku Framework workshop on Tuesday June 1st 2010!
Do you have the stomach to play the MVC Roulette?