Joomla has numerous extensions that use Javascript to create a rich user experience. We use the MooTools Javascript framework that comes with Joomla! as the base for all our extensions.

We offer a very handy script for fixing the script5022 invalid_character_err for IE9 (Internet Explorer 9). This script fixes an issue when displaying  a web page with Javascript in the IE9 browser. It is a handy workaround that works for all websites, Joomla! or not. If your website doesn't work as expected in IE9 take a look. It may fix your problem. script5022

Javascript is a great way to create native effects like image rollovers, special menus, and other effects. The script is loaded into the browser by the web page and executed after the page has loaded. It can also create elements on a page, be triggered by user events(such as clicking a link), or by many other control elements.

Javascript is a terse loosely structured language. This makes it very powerful but also makes it hard to maintain. Script created by others can be quite challenging to read and follow. Because the Javascript runs in the browser it must work the same regardless of which browser your user is running. Each software vendor interprets the Javascript standards a little differently which creates a lot of cross browser problems. There are several Javascript framework libraries that try to deal with cross browser support as well as provide a little structure to improve maintainability. Joomla! uses the MooTools framework. Other popular frameworks are jquery and prototype.

Frameworks were a big improvement but also introduced some additional problems. One of the biggest problems is having two frameworks on the same page. They do not play nice together and usually break each other and whatever script that you have written. That is why we feel that it is important to use only Joomla! extensions (components / modules / plugins) that use the Joomla! provided MooTools framework. If you for example have a page the has one Joomla! module that uses the MooTools framework and another Joomla! module that uses the jquery framework both modules will likely fail. So watch out for Joomla! extensions that use a non-standard framework.

We try to provide Joomla! extensions that use the minimum amount of Javascript to minimize these problems while providing the best functionality and interoperability. We also name-space all our code so that it will play nice with other parts of your website.