Joomla 1.7 Stable has been released. Here are the highlights:
One-Click Updating
This is a long overdue feature, but I'm glad the developers took the extra time to make an updater that not only updates extensions, but also the Joomla core. What am I talking about? In the past, if you wanted to upgrade from, say, Joomla 1.5.22 to 1.5.23 you had to download the patch update, load it via FTP (or SSH or Cpanel) to your server, extract the file using unzip or gzip, then go into Joomla and check to see if the update worked. A rather tedious process.
Now you can simply search for Joomla core patches and updates in your Joomla admin panel, and if any are found, click the "install" button and you are done. Nice! This simple procedure also works with compatible third-party extensions.
For those of you reading this and trying to decide between Wordpress, Drupal, and Joomla as your CMS of choice, Wordpress and Joomla allow both core file and extension / plugin updates via the one-click process. Drupal allows for module updates via the one-click process, but not core file updates which still must be uploaded to your server and extracted, etcetera, etcetera.
Wordpress still leads the way in one regard, however ... it does allow you to search for and install extensions via the admin control panel. Joomla still requires you to find extensions on their extension directory, download them, then install them via the Admin control panel. One day, with luck, Joomla will also have a search and install system built right into the Admin CP.
Six-Month Release Cycle
Rather than wait years for major updates, the Joomla team has committed to releasing on a six-month cycle. This is an obvious improvement because enhancements to the Joomla core will actually not be obsolete when the updates are released.
Improved Multi-Language Support
This is mainly an improvement in how the menus and language picker work. Good to see Joomla is still committed to this important feature.
Other Improvements
- Ability to pick a unique user name for the super admin during installation (used to be forced to use "Admin")
- Improved search menu options
- Better example code to assist extension developers
- New form validation features to protect against hackers
- Submit article form improvements
- Batch processing (copy & move) of articles is now available in the same way as it is for categories and menu items.
For further details on all of these improvements, be sure to visit the official announcement page.
