hi all!

this time i am up with something i made regarding my project this will help more in understanding the project and i thought its worth mentioning here! its a dummy Joomla! addon generator, it is not in more functioning but will show how the process would like be!

then here is the image of toolbar that webmaster will get for their website using this addon generator!

Give comments how useful it is!

thanks

Hi

Before I start writing about my project I would like to thanks people@ Joomla! for providing me with this opportunity of working on my project as an unfunded GSoC Student, and Sam for trusting me!

In this very first post I would not go much Technical, rather I would like to share my thoughts that what make me take this project and why I am eager to make it happen. I was thinking of project for GSoC, taking a look at ideas list, and since firefox was in my mind, I wanted to make something that can be widely used, and find that a site specific toolbar, the custom toolbar really give a feel that your site is rich, of high quality I thought why not make it available for all Joomla! users, thus it give birth to this idea. I want to make one thing clear that its not about administrating toolbar, its for end users. I was googling about custom toolbars and here is what i find about how custom toolbars can be of great use for your site, here are the selling points of this extension:

1. Increase site appeal                                                                                                                                           Providing a professional, full-featured toolbar to your users enhances your brand image and your site appeal, making it more likely that users will visit your website.

2.Attract more users
Providing a feature-rich toolbar attracts users by providing them with a powerful tool for internet searching, popup-up blocking, navigation, and accessing cutting-edge Web 2.0 features.

3. Drive traffic to your website, application, or intranet
Directly reaching users with news, information and special offers reminds them of your presence and motivates them to visit your website, web application or intranet. One-click access from the toolbar makes it easy for them to visit.

• Live Events and Content Management
  Keep your users' interest and keep them informed with news, alerts, weather, and dynamic menu content
• Monetize your toolbar
  Incorporate 3rd party feeds to generate revenue with your toolbar
• Superb Visual and Branding Elements
  Create a custom look for your toolbar with advanced graphic elements and branding tools
• Protect the Security and Privacy of Your Users
  Filters and blockers give your users control over their web experience
• Helpful Navigation Aids
  Make it easier for your users to navigate the web with tools and information

*source=besttoolbars.net

My motive behind putting these stats here is that, to tell that this extension is worth making, there is a complete industry that is working on making custom toolbars, making this extension will really make a buzz every where! and competition as well,

Shree Kant Bohra *embodies* the spirit of a hacker. His proposal was not selected as one of 15 projects funded by Google, but, this minor detail did not stop him. Shree is continuing as an unfunded participant with great enthusiasm and a positive spirit, qualities that help ensure success in life.

Shree is a second year Information Technology student pursuing his Bachelor of Engineering degree at Engineering College, Bikaner, India. He is interested in Web application development and design, rich Internet applications, PHP and Ajax, and has won a number of prizes in various programming challenges. Shree is also involved in technology festivals and organizations at his college. We warmly, and with great respect, welcome Shree to the Joomla! GSoC group.

Mentor: Sam Moffatt works for the Toowoomba Regional Council in Queensland, Australia where his responsibilities include application and Web development, server and database administration. Sam has a long history dating back to 2003 with Mambo and was a student in the first GSoC program in 2005. Due to his success, Sam was invited to join the Joomla! core and development teams where he advanced such initiatives as JoomlaCode, Migrator, and authentication. This is Sam's third year as GSoC mentor.

Proposal for a Joomla! extension which will auto generate Mozilla Firefox add-on for any site created by any user based on Joomla!. Many features can be there in the add-on, during the installation site administrator will choose few useful features from the available features. The project at the initial stage may consist of few essential features but will certainly grow with the contribution of the community.

This will be implemented by integrating a feature at the installation process, to ask the site administrator if he/she wants a Mozilla Firefox add-on for his/her site then it will ask further details about what features user wants to add in the add-on. The add-on will be using Joomla!’s API, since API is same in all case, a common process will enough to make site specific addon.

The project when completed will make it possible for site administrators to add a unique feature to the website as his/her visitors will be able to download and install the add-on through which they can be kept updated with the content of site without browsing the site.