Do we speak the Joomla!® language?

It is very easy to confuse the concept of the words upgrade and migration as they can apparently have the same meaning or, at least, a very similar meaning.

Let's start with a bit of history: from the advent to the development of the CMS, in order to understand the difference between the various terms and understand the recent changes with Joomla!® versioning.

Some historical notes: from the advent to the development of Joomla!®

The first series of Joomla!®, 1.0.x, was born in 2005. It was a safe version that ended the development cycle in July 2009.

The next series, 1.5.x, was born in January 2008 and has been the most widespread to date, probably thanks to the numerous templates and extensions available and the many years of support. This version was declared the "LTS series" by the community and the end of support was reached in April 2012. This version was followed by a series of versions called "standard releases" whose development cycle lasted six months each and are the 1.6 and 1.7 series.

The 2.5.x series was released in 2012 and billed as "LTS". This version continues the work done with versions 1.6 and 1.7 and implements many fixes to the multiple security flaws. Version 2.5.x finished its development cycle last December 2014, 18 months of honorable service!

Version 3.0 was introduced in September 2012. To date, the latest version of Joomla!® is 3.4.1, considered "LTS". Support for this version is until 2016 or in any case until the release of version 3.5.

What is the exact meaning of the abbreviations "STS" and "LTS"? These two abbreviations refer to the support given to Joomla!® versions, i.e. short-term support (Short Term Support) or long-term support (Long Term Support).

An official announcement from joomla.org recently came out, confirming the change in the release cycle of the Joomla!® versions: the "STS" and "LTS" versions have disappeared and, starting from last April 2014, there will always and only be one major release, for example 3, and minor releases, for example 3.1-3.2 etc.. all compatible with each other.

This change in the Joomla!® versioning cycle has led, and will certainly lead in the future, to easier and faster management of CMS updates.

Let's now go back to exploring in detail the terms related to CMS and their meaning, starting from the difference between the terms "upgrade" and "migration". Are we sure we are using CMS-related terms such as update and migration appropriately? Let's find out together below.

When to talk about upgrade and when about migration? UPDATE – By update we mean moving to a subsequent version of the same "major" (the major is for example version 2, 3 or the future 4). This operation can be delegated to joomlahost.it via the active JSP in the "active services" area under manage/jsp. For example, going from version 3.3 to 3.4.1 is an upgrade. Therefore, moving from version 1.5.25 to 1.5.26j is an update like from 1.6.x to 1.7.x and from the latter to 2.5.x.

MIGRATION – By migration we mean moving from a "major" (minor versions are for example versions 3.4.3 – 3.4.4) to a subsequent one for example from 1.5.x to 2.5.x or from 2.5 to 3.x. Migration is NOT managed by joomlahost.it as it is a delicate operation which may lead to loss of compatibility with the templates and extensions used.

You can carry out a MIGRATION by following the instructions in some TUTORIALS (e.g. HOW TO MIGRATE A JOOMLA SITE). We would like to point out that before carrying out any operation of this kind it is a good idea to make a backup (for example using the Joomla!® component "Akeeba backup") and to check that each template, extension or component is compatible with the new version. If you are not an expert, rely on a Joomla!® professional (soon published on joomlahost.it) who will be able to advise you in the right direction.

There are also specific TUTORIALS for migrating from version 2.5 to version 3 of Joomla!®.

We also remind you that we offer the possibility of activating free Try&Buy hosting with a third level domain (for example prova.joomlahost.it) for 30 days directly by accessing your customer area under Hosting/Joomla!® Cloud hosting/free. This way you will have the possibility to carry out your tests or migration without risk to your site.

Below we show you the table of Joomla!® versions extracted from the joomla.it website, which shows all the versions from 1.0 to the future (if released) 3.5.

The state of development - Joomla CMS versions How many of you knew the difference between upgrade and migration?

We hope with this article to have clarified the difference between the two operations. We remind you that the joomlahost.it technical staff remains at your disposal for any clarifications.