A Joomla screenshot, showing the newly-added support for Microsoft SQL Server
(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Open source content management system Joomla announced on Tuesday that it had released Joomla 2.5, introducing a range of new features that includes multi-database support and advanced update notification tools.
Joomla is one of the most popular open-source CMS tools in the world – currently powering more than 1.5 million websites – and one of the most commonly-deployed plug-in tools installed by hosting customers, widely distributed by hosting providers. Back in September, Joomla announced that it had hit the 25 million download mark.
Perhaps the key improvement in the new tool is the multi-database support. Version 2.5 supports Microsoft SQL Server, whereas previous Joomla versions were only compatible with MySQL databases.
“Multi-database support is a huge step forward for Joomla, which is already powering more than 1.6 million websites worldwide. It ensures companies and organization, both large and small, will save even more money and time by adopting Joomla,” said Ryan Ozimek, president of Joomla-supporting non-profit Open Source Matters, quoted in the press release. “No longer will Joomla developers be tied down to a particular database or have to spend more money and time integrating other software to get Joomla to communicate with their database. This enhances Joomla’s scalability immensely.”
Along with the increased database support, the new version includes automatic notification for Joomla or extension updates via buttons imbedded in the control panel, as well as a better natural language search engine in the Joomla core.
“We literally received thousands of pieces of input at ideas.joomla.org into what functionality should be added to Joomla 2.5, and overwhelmingly enhanced notifications and more elegant search topped the list,” said Mark Dexter of the Joomla production leadership team, also quoted in the press release.
A full list of the new features is available in a posting on the Joomla blog.
The new release adheres to the six-month release cycle, which began with the release of Joomla 1.7 back in July of 2011.
Joomla version 2.5 can be downloaded from the organization’s website.
