Installation Manual

Nightly Build and SVN
Whilst Joomla! 1.5 is still in its development stages (currently RC3) changes are made to the code to correct
bugs and to improve stability on an almost hourly basis sometimes. The following methods (other than the
"Fresh Installation" do require some considerable patience at times to get working properly and should not
be followed unless you are sure you want or need the latest versions available.
Nightly Build
We strongly recommend therefore that as a minimum you keep right up-to-date by using the latest Nightly
Build.
Be aware that the Nightly Build is an automated process. It is created at the same time each day. The Nightly
Build does not include an automatic updater program, nor can you link directly into the Nightly Build and
have it add itself to your installation.
Caution: Before overwriting any of your files or making any related changes you should backup your existing
database, directory, and file structure so that you have a rollback point if things go wrong! You must make a
copy of your configuration.php file and any .htaccess or php.ini files together with images, media,
documents and other files you may have added and reintroduce these where appropriate.
You have a number of choices when using the Nightly Build as to how to use it:
Fresh Installation
You simply download the latest Nightly Build and install it as you would the "standard" Joomla!
package from Joomla! Code. If you are working on a local test environment it is a good idea to use this
method as you can always refer back to other installations if checking what has changed, and it is
ultimately possible to install as many versions as your computer has space for!
Overwrite the existing installation
You download the Nightly Build and unpack it from the compressed (zip) file, remove the installation
directory as it is not required and copy the remaining directories and files over you existing
joomla_root/ directory tree. This method is fine but has a number of drawbacks.
• You will lose any manual changes you have made to the core code,
• You might cause problems with any Extensions such as Components or Templates you have
added where these will only function with the original code.
• There may also be issues with regard to any files, images, other media, or documents that
have been uploaded and these
• Care needs to be taken when using this method as any files that may have been removed
from the core package due to them becoming redundant will be left behind and may well
cause problems if left in situ.
This method does allow you to continue to use the database already created as part of the RC3
original installation where appropriate.
Delete the current directory/file tree and upload the new directory/file tree
You delete the existing directory and file structure in joomla_root/ directory and, having uncompressed
the package and deleted the installation directory, you simply upload/copy the directories and files
from the Nightly Build into the joomla_root/ directory. You then return the backup copies of your
configuration.php, .htaccess, php.ini, images, media, documents and other files that you
created as per the warning above, and you should be good to go. Obviously this is the most disruptive
method if you have already installed Extensions or made adjustments to the core code as these will all
need to be added back in.
This method also allows you to continue to use the database already created as part of the RC3
original installation where appropriate.
The Joomla! User Documentation Team 39 The Joomla! v1.5 Installation Manual