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.

What is a framework ?

Torkil starts with defining the term framework and the benefits of using a framework in general :

• Saves time. By eliminating the need to code repetitive tasks. You can focus on what’s important: Finishing the application and making sure it meets the requirements.
• Less bugs. The parts handled by the framework have been used and tested earlier. The more framework code you use, the less bugs you will experience.

Which frameworks for Joomla exist ?

He then moves on to explain the difference between extension frameworks, like Nooku and template frameworks, like Gantry.

“Nooku and Joomla try to accomplish the same thing: To make developing Joomla components, plugins and modules easier. This is primarily stuff happening under the hood you might say. Gantry however is a framework made by Rockettheme to make developing Joomla templates easier.”

In recent months many different template frameworks have emerged, Morph, Wrap5, Motif, Rumi, JA T3, … to name a few.

To date however, Nooku Framework is the only community driven open source framework for Joomla extension development. Something we are very proud of !

Why choosing for Nooku Framework ?

Finally Torkil explains why he prefers Nooku Framework over the Joomla Framework.

• It’s reduces code. It reduces the amount of code I need to write by something close to 80%.
• It makes me better. Nooku reuses solutions to common problems (design patterns) to a greater extent, and unlike Joomla it forces me to adhere to conventions and standards.
• It’s Joomla compatible. Any Joomla website that needs custom functionality can start using Nooku to build that functionality, today. It installs like any other extension, and does not interfere with Joomla or your installed extensions.
• It’s the second generation. Yes, literally the second generation. Both the Joomla and Nooku Frameworks were built by Johan Janssens. Today, Johan is still considered to be the largest contributor to the Joomla codebase
• It’s got a developer community. Unlike Joomla, development at the framework level is moving forward at a rapid pace, there is lots of activity, and developers are sharing and contributing code between themselves.
• It’s cheaper. I know; too obvious. Less time spent programming + Less bugs = Lower development and maintenance costs.

Torkil’s concludes : “If you’re a programmer yourself, go check it out at http://www.nooku.org/framework.html. If not, you should talk to whoever does the programming for you and make sure that they do.”

I couldn’t agree more !

So being offered the chance to play with the hottest yet-to-be publicly released component before most have.. was well shall we say a fat kid with candy.
[...]
Translating content is a breeze, it’s again as easy as creating a content item in the first place, you can see all of what’s going on and upon publishing everything is updated so you can move straight onto the next item no more wasting time on these things.

So along with the screenshots the things that I did notice was:

• It’s fast, very fast
• Informative
• Easy, very easy
• Does what it says it will do
• Flexible

UPDATE : A second review was added recently.

You can check out some pool photos, uploaded to Flickr, where Belgium Local Police representative Marc Allen was explaining his Nooku Content and Joomla! 1.5 integration and experiences so far.

We are very excited by the response to Nooku Content and are working hard to make it the something really special — something that just works.