Immersing deeper through Joomla - I

As I have posted earlier, I installed Joomla, the content management software. It is not to launch my web site immediately, but to learn web development. I am running the software in my own PC as a localhost. Since I do experiment and learn, this can not be a public hosted site.

The picture above shows original Joomla page cropped to show the top portion. The picture below shows the modifications I carried on Joomla template. 

I started from the front page. I did change the news flash items that appear on the right top of the site. This news flash changes randomly with loading or reloading of this page. I changed the names of the top menu that appear below news flash. I did not change the contents of these menu items. I changed the logo of Joomla. I used Inkscape program to create my emblem. It is a simple one. Later I embedded in the logo using Gimp and incorporated my motto and my site name.

I am not content with just changing the contents. I started poring over the codes and learning the bare bones of a complex web sites like this. It is interesting and absorbing. In the process my web development learning has accelerated. Now, I am more comfortable with php and database administration. I use phpMyAdmin for administration of the data base. It is an enormous task, since I have to pore over a thousand files with probably a million code. I am not fazed by the enormity of the task, since I have structured my learning properly.

I am really happy on the progress, especially after installation of Joomla.

PS: I am using all open source software in this project.

• Platform - Ubuntu
• Web server - Apache
• Data server - MySQL
• Scripting Language - PHP
• Code editor - Gedit
• Graphics editor - Inkscape
• Image editor - GIMP

Happy New Year

Happy new year to all of you. Though COP15 meeting failed evolve a consensus on climate control, I still hope that nations would shed politics in favor of the future of humanity. As a citizen of earth, I take a vow to make earth greener by using energy saving methods and devices. My contribution may be a drop in the ocean, but beginnings are need to be made at this level too. This is the message of my new year greeting card pasted below. I request you all to make a beginning and contribute to a greener earth.

This picture was created using latest version of Inkscape. I used text and rectangle objects with gradient functions for special effects.