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Friday, 18 April 2014 00:00

Introduction

This documentation is updated to jBackend version 3.6.0.

jBackend is a Joomla extension that introduces a set of APIs for access to all Joomla's content and features, and easily integrate any Joomla site with any external system. It extends the power of Joomla allowing you to use your site as a "backend system" to serve and feed any kind of client (mobile apps, news channels, affiliate sites, and any other external system).

jBackend also provides a full push notifications platform for iOS and Android mobile apps. It is possible to manage multiple apps, to register devices for each app, and to schedule push notifications sending on registered devices, filtered by app and platform type.

jBackend is designed to be "extensible" via plugins. Adding new plugins means to add new APIs to support new Joomla extensions. The basic package already includes three plugins, the User Module (that supports Joomla users and ACL), the Content Module (for the standard Joomla content, categories and articles), and the Push Module (to work with push notifications). New plugins are on the way, to add support for the most used Joomla extensions (e.g. K2, Zoo, VirtueMart, HikaShop, and so on). Additional plugins can be installed separately, so you can install and use only the necessary modules, and keep your CMS lightweight and efficient.

jBackend access is possible through an "end-point", that can be published like a menu item. It is possible to publish several end-points and configure access rules separately for each one. The access can be free, or restricted with a standard user login or through the use of an API Key. API Keys can be generated and configured (e.g. in terms of limitations like expiration or daily access) in jBackend panel. This allows full control on API access provided to clients.

It is possible to enable requests tracking for each endpoint separately. In this way all requests received from the endpoint are stored in the database and can be used for security audit or for statistical analysis.

It is also possible to enable specific modules for each endpoint separately. This increase the control level on the pool of functions or services to expose for each endpoint.

End-point channels can be accessed through HTTP, requests can be compliant to RESTful pattern, and responses are JSON encoded. In the future is expected to support the ability to provide XML responses.