Taking Joomla Forward
I write code, so I care mostly about what’s happening to the Joomla Framework. Or should I say not happening? The Joomla project needs more coders and less talkers, to put it bluntly, much like a boat won’t get anywhere with just captains and no rowers. More and more people in the Joomla community seems to realise this and are taking up responsibility and working outside the core code to make the improvements needed in various areas. Let’s take a look…
The frameworks and the CCKs
The Joomla Framework and the Joomla content component are two of the most vital parts of Joomla if you ask me. Now, look at the number of extensions that exists that are replacing these core parts in improved ways:
K2, jSeblod, FLEXIcontent, Sobi2 and others are dominating in the CCK/ACL section of things, improving content management in Joomla greatly. Gantry, Morph and T3 are template frameworks looking to make template production easier and templates more stable and feature rich. And for the core framework itself there are multiple replacements available, like Nooku, which is Joomla flavoured and my favourite. Others again, like JomSocial, are just to replacing the Joomla core framework with something entirely different.
So what am I really saying here?
This shows that Joomla is not providing the functionality that the community needs. It is not able to keep up with the pace of which the world is moving, so people go elsewhere to get their fix, or they create their own solutions to scratch their own itch. Joomla is, as Hannes Papenberg points out, already years behind in development, and while Joomla 1.6 may and may not be too far away, it is still outgunned by solutions already available to us. Even by Joomla extensions.
So, development is too slow. What can we do?
A clear choice, as suggested by Daniel Chapman and others, is for Joomla to pick up existing best-of-breed GPL frameworks that are Joomla compatible, and integrate them into the core, to make up for lost time.
This would bring J! up to date almost overnight, and reduce the confusion and bloat of having different fw’s for every major extension you install.
- Daniel Chapman
Don’t get me wrong: I’m a supporter of the idea of a slim and light core. Today’s core is packed with outdated extensions that have passed their expiration date a long time ago. When the framework changes, very often all the components have to be changed too. I hardly ever even use them personally. They have become a burden, and should be removed:
The content component is poor on features compared to most of the CCKs, and don’t get me started on com_contacts or com_weblinks. Com_search does an awful job at searching and does not prioritise the search hits at all. Routing is a pain, even for seasoned developers. Com_mailto, com_newsfeeds, com_contact, com_banners… They all have extensions that does the job better.
I’m not saying we should pack Joomla with cool new extensions, just that we need a solid foundation to build on and make it easier to create cool, quality extensions. And that’s where frameworks come in handy.
So why won’t Joomla adapt external frameworks?
Volunteer contributions are worthless
I am no Deep Throat insider, but in my opinion, the decision to give a salary to two core developers and not any other contributors at all, was a landmark in Joomla history. With this, Joomla effectively put a price tag on the projects estimated value of volunteer community contributions, and the value was $0. If I had still been a working group member and contributor, and then suddenly seeing Open Source Matters decide that two people should be paid for their work while the rest of us were deemed unworthy, I would not be very happy.
Paying developers like this can also get in the way of the natural flow of contributors in FOSS projects. A paid developer suddenly has lots of reasons to cling on to his job and shut other contributors out. Instead, lead developers should be encouraged to open things up, or even pass on their responsibility at some point to someone with new ideas and loads of fresh motivation. Money just may be too good of a motivation not to do so.
I think this is part of the cause of Joomla’s low bus factor. The decreasing community contributions is a problem that is beginning to sink in with the leadership too. Strength may not necessarily be in numbers, but a lack of numbers is taking it’s toll.
Community is taking charge
This and other things, for instance the Joomla leadership’s deliberate ignoring of the first community organized international Joomla event, J and Beyond 2010, is truly a sad turn of events for the project itself. Not only was the JAB10 event ignored, it was also officially and directly counteracted, by joomla.org promoting other events instead.
If someone decided to take it upon themselves to host an event to promote my product, and pay for it themselves too, I would make sure that they got as much attention and credit for their work as I could possibly give them.
On the bright side for Joomla though, community is stepping in where leadership is having issues. Like with ATAAW, JAB10 (see also #jab11!), JFWD, JCM and J!UX, consisting of volunteers aiming to contribute to Joomla in various ways.
Your turn
If you made it this far, you’re obviously interested in Joomla, and probably using it already. What are your hopes for the future? Do you thing there is still hope for even the most zealous Joomla fans out there? In which direction would you like the project to go?
Pingback: JoomStew Radio – August 18, 2010 – Template Series 1.6 Updates and Features « JoomStew