drupal overview prepared by : agustin d. gumogda jr. instructor
TRANSCRIPT
Drupal Overview
Prepared by : Agustin D. Gumogda Jr.Instructor
Content Types
• ‘Node’ is the basis for all content types
• All ‘nodes’ contain title, body, create date, published, etc.
• CCK Module allows the addition of any kind of field (text, radio, select, checkbox, image, date, etc)
• New modules can be created for content types by using the Node API.
Modules
• Modules are extensions or add-ons to Drupal that add a specific feature or features
• Modules can easily integrate with Drupal core or other modules by using the Drupal API (http://api.drupal.org/) - An application programming interface is a specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other.
Blocks
• Blocks allow the placement of secondary content in various regions on the page
• Out-of-the-box Drupal allows 5 regions (left column, right column, header, footer and content)
• Modules can provide blocks with specific functionality
• Custom blocks can be created
Users, Roles, Permissions
• Drupal provides a very flexible authentication system (far above other CMS’s)
• Users can be created by an admin or can self-register
• Each user can be placed into 1 or more groups called a ‘Role’
• Each role can define very specific permissions for users
Taxonomy
• Taxonomy is a method of categorizing your content in a flexible way
• Taxonomy is usually the most confusing aspect of Drupal for the uninitiated
• Category groups are defined as “Vocabularies”
• Categories themselves are defined as “Terms”
URL Aliases
• Makes Drupal sites easily SEO friendly• URLs typically have variables embedded
in them that are required by PHP to process the page request correctly
• URL alias mask these url variables with any URL of your choice
• The PathAuto module allows logical rules to be used in automatically creating path alias’ for content
Menus and Navigation
• Drupal allows the creation of unlimited menu groups, each with it’s own hierarchy
• Menu items can be tied directly to a content page or be unattached
• Menu system is tied to permissions, so menu items will only appear for users with permission to view that page
Theming
• Themes involve HTML templates, CSS files, and a template.php file for custom theme code and theme function overrides
• HTML templates use PHP snippets for inserting variables and control structures
• Zen theme is a great starting theme for creating custom designs