As indicated by the title, this brief but fast-paced tutorial is designed to allow experienced PHP programmers to quickly begin programming in Joomla! by creating extensions. The book is fast paced, and it covers a variety of introductory topics.

LeBlanc does not give any real assessment of the new Joomla 1.5 application programming interface (API). Readers need basic PHP skills and familiarity with the general operation of Joomla!, but do not need any prior experience with developing Joomla! extensions.

The book consistently uses an example of performing and managing restaurant reviews, beginning at the end of chapter 1. Each of the extensions mentioned in the book title are introduced and developed to a sufficient degree, thus allowing an experienced PHP programmer to get a running start with the tool.

There are no exercises or additional references cited in this book, but the restaurant reviews example used throughout serves the first role admirably. The instructions for acquiring and accessing the product are adequate and reasonably complete.

A chapter on developing components, followed by chapters with titles such as “Backend Development,” “Frontend Development,” and “Module Development,” lead the reader through the various steps in the development process. Finally, chapters 7 to 9 give a behind-the-scenes look at plugins and “packing everything together” by using Extensible Markup Language (XML) to complete the material provided.

All in all, this is a useful and clear introduction to the material, as indicated by the book’s title. Obviously, this book will not be of value to the sophisticated user nor to anyone who has proceeded beyond this introductory level, nor as a reference later.