A gentle introduction and overview to Drupal. Intended for a more technical audience

1. A Tech-lite Overview of
Drupal
Robert Carr
@robertgarr
rob@cognimatic.com
Drupal - Technical Introduction 1

2. 20-ish slides:45 minutes
Overview
Technical structure
Customizing
Performance
Getting started
Q&A
Drupal - Technical Introduction 2

3. What is it?
Drupal is a free,
community-built
website
development tool
used across the
world.
Mostly software
written in PHP
language.
Currently powers
about 1 in 50
websites.
Drupal - Technical Introduction 3

4. No licensing costs.
Drupal is open-
source software: no
acquisition or
licensing costs.
Built on other open-
source projects
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5. Build Websites Quickly.
Assemble websites
with the simple UI, or > drush dl drupal --drupal-project-rename=example
a powerful shell > cd example
> drush site-install standard --db-
url=mysql://[db_user]:[db_pass]@localhost/[db_name] --site-
interface. name=Example
>
Out-of-the-box
distributions for
complete solutions.
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6. Flexible.
Add functionality with [10K+] plug-in
modules.
Writing custom code with versatile API.
Huge worldwide development
community.
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© Drupal Association 2011

7. Customise the look.
Hundreds of templates can be freely
downloaded to customize the appearance.
Use custom HTML and CSS for unique
design.
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8. Scalable and Deployable
Out of the box, can drive simple
websites or blogs.
Can be scaled-up > 1000s
pages/sec.
Re-use single codebase for
multiple sites.
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9. Secure.
Code written to high standards.
Dedicated security team.
Patches and advice easily
available.
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10. Social Publishing Platform
Multiple users can
publish content
Tunable access
controls
Open logins
Allows people to connect
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11. Let’s Get Tinkering
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12. Drupal Stack
PHP
Database abstraction layer
MySQL/PostgreSQL/SQLite/SQL Server/…
Apache/lighttpd/IIS/nginx/…
Linux/BSD/OSX/Windows/Solaris/…
• Pre-configured DAMP stack
(Win/OSX/Debian/Ubuntu)
network.acquia.com/downloads
• Virtualbox package:Technical Introduction
Drupal - drupal.org/project/quickstart 12

13. Fundamental Drupal
Architecture
1. Data - Nodes
(entities).
2. Functionality – core
and contrib
modules.
3. Blocks – data
output
4. Selective access
5. HTML/CSS output
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14. Entities
• Nodes (data)
• Users
• Taxonomy
• Comments
Can create custom entities.
Can add custom fields + relationships to
entities.
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15. Modules
Core Contributed
drupal.org/project/modules
Optional in default install
Examples: Some of most popular:
• Blog • Views
• Token
• Forum • Pathauto
• Locale • WYSIWYG
• Date
• OpenID • Webform
• Search
10,000 modules + sandboxes
• RDF Reviews at drupalmodules.com
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16. Site Building
DRUSH (Drupal Shell)
drupal.org/project/drush.
Drush Make.
SSH.
Git.
Distributions (off the shelf).
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17. Drupal
Themes
Each webpage has
regions for content
and blocks.
drupal.org/project/t
hemes
Base themes
Sub-theme
hierarchy
Drupal (7) not quite
HTML5-ready.
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18. Template File Content
*.tpl.php
Template files – mix HTML and PHP snippets.
Can override base theme templates.
Custom templates for specific node types.
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19. Theme Developer
Contrib module for page inspection (Firebug style)
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20. Caching Start
Block caching (core)
Bootstrap
Page caching - for anonymous
users: Load node by path
• Core (anon) argument
• Boost (anon > static HTML) Builder the render
array for loaded
node
Memcached – DB + page cache
Generate markup
for whole page
Pressflow – High Performance
Drupal distro Sends
rendered
• Varnish + APC page
End
Drupal - Technical Introduction 20

21. Drupal 8 – Addressing
Problems
Code freeze early 2013,
release within 12 months
• Use of Symfony
• Web services: REST
• HTML5 ready
• Mobile/responsive themes
• Configuration/staging
• Drag and Drop UI
• Change to core
functionality (-Blog,
+WYSIWYG…)
Drupal - Technical Introduction 21

22. Getting Started
drupalgardens.com.
DAMP stack.
drupal.org/start:
• Downloads/distributions
• Documentation
• Books
• Issue queues
• IRC
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23. Going Solo – Drupal
Installation
Download via drupal.org/start and
unpack to server directory Navigate to new site root in browser
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24. Basic Configuration
DB config – need to create new
database apriori.
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25. Get Started
Start adding content, download modules (via
browser) or configure structure, appearance or
module settings.
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26. or… Drush Install
> drush dl drupal
> mysqladmin –u rob –p create drupal7
> drush site-install standard --account-name=admin --
account-pass=letmein--db-
url=mysql://rob:letmein@localhost/drupal7
(One or two steps missed out..!)
Install Drupal with Drush via SSH:
bit.ly/JB68oq
Drupal - Technical Introduction 26

27. Where next?
DrupalCamp Scotland
25-26 May – Edinburgh
camp.drupalscotland.org
drupal.org
groups.drupal.org
Drupal Association:
• DrupalCon
– Europe: late summer
– N America: spring
– S America: winter
• Local meetups:
– Glasgow (monthly)
– Edinburgh (monthly)
– Tayside?
The Community is here to
help Drupal - Technical Introduction 27

28. Why Drupal?
• Open Source => free
• Rapid build
• Customise functionality &
appearance
• Scalable & deployable
• Secure
• Designed for the social world
• Community support
Drupal - Technical Introduction 28

29. Questions?
Robert Carr
@robertgcarr
rob@cognimatic.com
Drupal - Technical Introduction 29