Overview

This week you will download and install Joomla! If you download Joomla and unzip it you will see that it is just a folder with other folders and files within it, these files consist of php, css, html, javascript, xml, jpg, and png files amongst others.  A Joomla website starts with that folder and all of the folders and files contained therein. 

A Joomla! website is essentially a folder with all of Joomla's files and folders located inside, connect it to a MySQL database and you have a Joomla website. When you download Joomla, you are downloading the whole thing (minus the database) in one compressed folder, which you then have to decompress (unzip). Once the folder is unzipped, you can rename the folder to anything you like to differentiate it from other sites (folders) on your webserver. Each Joomla! website is another instance of this complete folder or directory. In computer lingo, the word "directory" is often substituted or preferred over the word folder. Repeating this concept, if you decided to host multiple Joomla websites on your server, each website would need its own directory, uniquely named and containing all of the Joomla files and directories within them as well as a MySQL database to go with it. 

Week 2 Assignment - Download and Install Joomla

Steps

1. Read Chapter 2: Downloading and Installing Joomla! In the Barrie North textbook
2. Watch my video tutorials posted below and at http:youtube.com/danscourses 
   
3. Go to http://joomla.org and download the latest version of Joomla. A new version of Joomla, version 1.6  was just released, but I recommend searching for the stable full version of 1.5.22 (eg. 1.5.22 stable full package zip file) because it will be more compatible with currently available extensions and plugins. After a few months, you will want to use the 1.6 version, because by then developers will have migrated most of their Joomla extensions and plugins.
4. Through Wamp go to "phpMyAdmin" which opens in a webbrowser and enables you to create a database for your Joomla site.
   
5. Using a web browser or Wamp go to the Apache "www" directory (http://localhost/<the name of the folder where Jooma is located> where the folder for Joomla has been unzipped and saved. This will run the installation script in the browser and you will be prompted to configure Joomla.
6. My video tutorial below demonstrates the entire process.
   

Watch my video tutorial on installing Joomla!: