| phpBB3 Integration Can Be The Joomla 1.5 Killer App |
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| Wednesday, 26 March 2008 | |
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Now that 1.5 has officially launched, I tend to point the non-technically minded to 1.0 and those who don't mind dealing with a few bugs to 1.5.
I've had the chance to do some reading about the direction of other projects. I found one theme in common ... lots of other projects also aiming to provide a great CMS together with a great forum.
The Forum and CMS Integration Projects
I can see Joomla coming out on top in this battle. Joomla and Simple Machines have and advantage because they will be available for free whereas a full VBulletin installation can easily cost over $500. Joomla then has the upper-hand over Simple Machines because SMF will need to build their CMS from scratch.
I'm tempted to think that that a successful integration with phpBB3 will become the killer app that persuades a large number of people to upgrade to Joomla 1.5.
Update, a Challenge and Free LinksOK, Barrie from CompassDesigns has answered and he thinks that Joomsuite Content can be the killer app for Joomla 1.5. This is my challenge to you ... post what you think will be Joomla 1.5's killer app. Then drop a link in the comments and I'll add an additional link to your site right here.
Update 2The developers of one bridge are asking for donations to help finish the project. More at Rocketwerx.com.
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Comments (17)
  written by Barrie North, March 26, 2008
There is this one too:
http://www.elearningforce.biz/bridges/joomphpbb-forum.html  written by Steve Burge, March 26, 2008
Hi aravot - good question. Both are getting close to stability. Rokbridge might be a good first bet.
Barrie - thats true. Didn't realise it now also worked on 1.5  written by Rex Gambill, March 26, 2008
I bet I was the client who asked Steve about Joomla 1.5 back in October 2006! I'm still asking...when should my site migrate to Joomla 1.5? I dread it primarily because I fear Hot Property will self-destruct under the weight of the new system combined with the mods and scripts we've applied. Are my fears unwarranted?
written by Steve Burge, March 26, 2008
Hey Rex
 Nope - they are very well-founded. I'd recommend any site with a substantial amount of custom work to stay with 1.0. written by Steve Burge, March 26, 2008
The developers of one bridge are asking for donations to help finish the project. More at http://www.rocketwerx.com/foru...=22&t=479.
written by Cory Webb, March 26, 2008
Great topic, Steve. I think you're probably right about phpBB, but I have to say that the 1.0 component I used most was FacileForms. Since the developer seems reluctant to rewrite it for 1.5, I had to find a new option. I looked into Phil-a-Form, but it is not ready yet. Then I found RS Forms, and I actually really like it. It is very powerful and a lot more intuitive than FacileForms was. Here is the link: http://www.rsjoomla.com/index....onent.html
written by Terp, March 26, 2008
I totally with you, sir; having migrated over from DNN recently, I find that the lack of viable (bridged) forums is the biggest weakness of the Joomla platform, not to mention the lack of blogging extensions (MyBlog amd Jom Comments is now filling this gap for me, though).
PHPBB3 is one of the best forum scripts with which I have played, so I was delighted to see the RokBride guys turn it into overdrive to crank this bad boy out. I'm giving to the cause...'cause Joomla needs a forum platform!   written by aravot aravot, March 27, 2008
Joomsuite Content would have been the killer app for J!1.5 if it wasn't encrypted, (I don't use any encrypted app)
 written by Good Web Practices, March 27, 2008
Hi everyone.
As a general rule, I now actually recommend developing in Joomla 1.5. Simple reason being for future compatibility with extensions that are being and will be made. And that the feedback we've had from clients is that Joomla 1.5 is much more user friendly. I have just finished developing a very simple static site in Joomla 1.5 (www.peacewithgod.co.uk)which is now online, for that clients site I didn't miss any extensions that I could have had in Joomla 1.0.1.... I will also be putting another site online in the coming days www.kontzlandscaping.com which is made in Joomla 1.5. Otherwise we're currently working on putting a static site http://www.hadrians-wall-bed-and-breakfast.co.uk/ into Joomla 1.5. http://www.hadrians-wall-bed-and-breakfast.co.uk/ definitely should be made in Joomla 1.5 in my opinion as some online booking systems are available in Joomla 1.5 and I'm sure more will come. I like to think long term, and if we think long term, Joomla 1.5 is the way forward. written by Steve Burge, March 27, 2008
Thats a very good point David - its not just the technical ability that decides whether people go with 1.0 or 1.5 .... its also their time horizon.
I've had some very smart clients say that they'd rather think 2 or 3 years down the line and take a few bumps in the short run to avoid larger problems in the future. written by Good Web Practices, March 28, 2008
I forgot to say that I think SITEMAN is going to be a killer app for Joomla 1.5... The demonstration that I saw of it was absolutely fantastic and I think it's going to add a lot to Joomla! I think it will also make it much simpler for clients to update their websites which is a big consideration...
written by guido, March 31, 2008
did you notice how much were they able to get from contributors, in so limited time? (it seems they even raised the amount from 1000$ to 2500...) http://rocketwerx.chipin.com/rokbridge
It could be a good idea for many lingering components!! written by Steve Burge, March 31, 2008
Thats a great idea Guido.
The "please buy us a beer" method doesn't work at all. Something definite and easy-to-understand like this might be a much better option. Wikipedia does the same thing every few months.  written by Brian Teeman, March 31, 2008
I think the major difference between this and the "buy us a beer" is that you know exactly what you are paying towards.
This sort of openness should be applauded. Have a look https://www.bountysource.com/ for another example of this in action written by guido, March 31, 2008
Elaborating further on lack of development time/will (which very often goes together with money at stake), bear in mind that one week ago there were 17 bugs related to the phpbb3 bridge, then the contribution burst and Johan/Jinx put some effort on it = 8 bugs still to be corrected as of now = 9 bugs in 2-3 days...
Do you want me to say what's terribly lacking to 1.5? It's joomfish 2.0, which is being left in alpha state for a month, that would require a contribution effort!! Since the power of this component relies on compatibility with other components, time is precious indeed. Not only because I'm needing it, but also because there is no equal in the open source CMS world as Joomla/fish regarding easiness of use and features. written by aravot aravot, April 01, 2008
Similar to SiteMan but available now is S4J Remote Admin
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During conversations with clients over the last few months, one key question keeps coming up: "
