Joomla Database Table: assets

Assets table in Joomla is added for ACL from version 1.6. It Includes a row for every component and contains a row for every item that has ACL permissions.

This table includes a "Root Asset" for global permissions, a row for every component, plus a row for every component category, and finally a row for every article. It has almost everything, so it is very important table in Joomla.

The root is in record 1 and have a parent_id of 0 and a level 0. It is the only item with a parent_id of 0 and a level of 0. Components have parent_id of 1 (the root is their parent) and level of 1. Articles have a level of 3 or more as it is one greater than the category they are in.

The "rules" column stores the group permissions in JSON format (JavaScript Object Notation). This table is used whenever Joomla has to check if a user is authorized to perform an action.

Joomla database assets table uses nested sets for storing and retrieving hierarchical information. This system is used in the implementation of menus and categories in the core Joomla CMS from version 1.6 onwards.