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Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish the difference between a component, module or mambot. For example, many components use modules to display their information to the user. Please try to determine if your question is about the component itself or the module or mambot. The definitions are as follows.
From http://help.joomla.org/component/option ... temid,213/
Component
ModuleComponents are Joomla!’s content elements or applications that are usually displayed in the center of the main content area of a template. This depends on the design of the template in use. Components are core elements of Joomla!’s functionality. These core elements include Banners, Contact, News Feeds, Polls and Web Links. Members of the Joomla! community produce third party Joomla! components on a continuous basis. They are freely available to download from http://developer.Joomla.org and a number of other Web sites.
Mambot (name changed to Plugin in 1.5)Modules extend the capabilities of Joomla! giving the software new functionality. Modules are small content items that can be displayed anywhere that your template allows it to be displayed. Modules are very easy to install in the Admin Section. Joomla! modules may include: Main Menu, Top menu, Template Chooser, Polls, Newsflash, Hit Counter, etc. Members of the Joomla! Community produce Joomla! modules on a continuous basis. They are freely available on http://developer.joomla.org for download. An example of a module PHP code is .
A Mambot is a small, task-oriented function that intercepts content before it is displayed and manipulates it in some way. Joomla provides a number of Mambots in the core distribution. Some examples are such are WYSIWYG editors, 3rd party component and module searchers, etc.