Introducing the Joomla! CMS

The Web Server is where your website's directories and files are stored.

Each directory contains either:

1. logic files which control the way your website works, or
2. files which you have uploaded, for example, the images used in your website.

All files related to the operation of the Joomla! CMS are held in sub-directories of the:

• htdocs,
• httpdocs, or
• public_html

depending upon what kind of server is used to host your website.

The default Joomla! CMS (Joomla! 4.1.3) comprises 16 sub-directories - see image below.

The Database Server is where your website's database tables are stored.

Database tables hold all your website's data.

Some of this data is used by the logic files (stored on the web server).

The remainder is presented in the body of your website when viewed in a web browser.

The default Joomla! CMS (Joomla! 4.1.3) database comprises 71 tables.

The image below shows some of them.

The Joomla! CMS may be described as a dyamic website.

In the Joomla! CMS:

• images are stored in a directory on a web server, whilst
• text is stored in a database on a database server.

When a visitor selects a link in a Joomla! website, a request is sent for content to be brought to the screen:

• images from the directory on the web server, and
• text from the database on the database server.

In a traditional static website, when visitors select a link they are taken from the page they are currently viewing to another one.

Traditional static websites may comprise hundreds if not thousands of separate HTML files, each one a separate web page.

Dynamic websites on the other hand consist of one page which loads in the visitor's browser when they visit the website.

When the visitor selects a link, a request is sent for text, images and other media to be brought to the screen.

It is the content of the page being viewed which changes and not the page itself.