Wow! eBook – Blog

Book Description

Learn how to customize websites with XOOPS, the open source CMS that helps non-developers build dynamic community websites, intranets, and other applications. This concise book shows you how to use XOOPS themes and modules to design everything from simple blogs to large database-driven CMS portals.

Web designers and current XOOPS users will learn how to create a site theme with CSS and jQuery libraries, including techniques for making additional modules conform to the site’s look and feel. Although XOOPS uses the PHP-based Smarty templating system, all you need is a bit of XHTML and CSS experience to get started.

• Learn the workflow for turning an idea into a full-featured website
• Become familiar with XOOPS’ theme-building tools, and set up PHP and MySQL environments
• Port an existing XHTML template to XOOPS
• Create themes with the 960 Grid System to save time and reduce code
• Use jQuery-based UI libraries to achieve complex effects
• Blend new modules into your theme with the template override function
• Go beyond traditional block layouts to customize your homepage

Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Before the Journey
Chapter 2 Elements of a XOOPS Theme
Chapter 3 Converting an Existing XHTML Template Download Now »

Book Description

PDO is lighter, faster, and more powerful than existing PHP data abstraction interfaces. PDO is a common interface to different databases that must be used with a database-specific PDO driver to access a particular database server: the PDO extension does not provide a database abstraction by itself; it doesn’t rewrite SQL, emulate missing database features, or perform any database functions using by itself. It performs the same role as other classic database abstraction layers such as ODBC and JDBC: it’s a query abstraction layer that abstracts the mechanism for accessing a database and manipulating the returned records; each database driver that implements the PDO interface can also expose database-specific features as regular extension functions. ¬ PDO ships with PHP 5.1, and is available as an extension for PHP 5.0; it requires the new object-oriented features of PHP 5, and cannot run with earlier versions of PHP.

This book will teach you how to use the PDO, including its advanced features. Readers need to be aware of the basics of data abstraction and should be familiar with PHP.

This book starts with an overview of PHP Data Objects (PDO), followed by getting started with PDO. Then it covers error handling, prepared statements, and handling rowsets, before covering advanced uses of PDO and an example of its use in an MVC application. Finally an appendix covers the new object-oriented features of PHP 5.

This book will guide you through the data layer abstraction objects in PHP.

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Book Description

Learn to set up, manage, and administer a Drupal Web site

Drupal offers unparalleled flexibility for content-managed Web sites, but most Drupal books are written for expert developers. Drupal For Dummies shows you the fast, fun and easy way to get going with Drupal, set up a site, apply templates, use modules, and more, even if you have no programming experience.

Drupal For Dummies shows you how to take advantage of everything in Drupal that is ready to use, demystifying what may appear to be a complex set of tools.

• Drupal is a free, open source modular framework and content management system designed for content-managed Web sites
• Learn how to download Drupal, install the LAMP stack, and set up a site; no programming experience required
• Organize and create your site’s content; apply templates, and get your first site up and running
• Use modules and third-party templates
• Follow plain-English instructions for site management, including making changes across the site and managing user access and privileges

Drupal For Dummies is designed to help the non-programmer who simply wants to turbocharge a blog or is responsible for administering a content-managed site.
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Book Description

The book will show people that they can build and manage a Joomla! 1.6 or 1.7 website without a technical background. Starting with an introduction to Joomla and how to install it, the book will detail how to add content, control users, make links and then add extra features to a Joomla! site. The book simplifies things to avoid difficult tasks that are unnecessary for beginners to understand. Written in plain English, the tutorial offers clear instructions, simple explanations, real-life examples, plenty of screenshots and humor. The book is aimed at busy people who want to understand Joomla in a fun, readable and straightforward way.

From the Back Cover
Master Joomla! hands-on, step-by-step, through easy, practical examples!

Joomla! now powers tens of millions of websites of every size and type. But many beginners find it confusing, and most Joomla! books are too complex to help. Joomla! Explained is the solution. Top Joomla! trainer Stephen Burge teaches everything beginners need to know–and nothing they don’t need to know!

Joomla! Explained requires absolutely no experience with Joomla! content management, website construction, programming, scripting, or even HTML. Stephen Burge has taught thousands of beginners–and thousands more who’ve experimented with Joomla! but haven’t mastered it yet. Nobody knows more about guiding Joomla! users up the learning curve–from confusion to results! Download Now »

Book Description

Building on the first edition of Joomla!: Visual QuickStart Guide, this task-based guide is the perfect tool for those just starting with Joomla, as well as, seasoned professionals who want to know how to use the latest version of the software to its fullest. It shows how to create, customize, and maintain a dynamic Joomla 1.6 website starting with fundamental concepts for using Joomla and then walks the user through every function of the system. It details the requirements for operating a secure and efficient Joomla website, including server configuration and website planning. The reader learns not only the functions of Joomla, such as adding content and structure, creating menus, using components, modules, plug-ins, and templates, but also how each function integrates as a whole. Each chapter ends with increasingly advanced topics, such as installation and configuration of the administrative back end, using 3rd-party extensions to create a portfolio, a blog, an e-commerce site, magazine, or news portal, as well as, how to use content construction kits, create custom templates, and integrate social media.

New features covered in this edition include: how to use the redesigned admin interface; new menu systems, including advanced functions for developers; how to use the category-article structure of content; the ability for users to create their own groups and assign access control levels; and control and customization of templates.

About the Author
Marni Derr is a writer, developer, designer, trainer, and consultant helping people build successful Joomla websites over the past 4 years. A technical writer for over 16 years, Marni currently writes and blogs about Joomla daily. Download Now »

Book Description

VirtueMart is the best shopping cart solution around for the Joomla! CMS. A VirtueMart template is a Joomla! template that is designed to create the overall look of a store. It puts in things such as a shopping cart bar, more shop-like graphics, more readable colors, and so on. A VirtueMart theme only impacts the area of the site actually controlled by the VirtueMart component. Themes work inside the overall framework. Applying custom templates and themes to give a unique look and feel to your VirtueMart web store will really attract customers! This book will guide you to build VirtueMart custom themes and templates.

Joomla! VirtueMart 1.1 Theme and Template Design explains how the VirtueMart theme and template system works and points out ways to configure the default theme. It then goes on to look at each of the major templates with an emphasis on how to customize them. It then discusses individual page groups such as product list, product details, shopping cart, checkout, and invoice e-mails in the order they appear to your customer. After-sale services like invoice e-mail, account management, and order list are also discussed.

The book also discusses the different components of a VirtueMart theme and will teach you how to build a theme from scratch. You will also learn advanced features like child products, advanced attributes, custom attributes, and product types. Topics like integration with Joomla! plugins and AJAX functions are also included. An Appendix provides a comprehensive template reference of the use and available fields of every template. Download Now »