Introduction to Drupal

This week we'll be checking out some distributions. What are they? These are products with a specific use case in mind; made of pre-configured packages of modules to download and install.

Comparing Drupal to systems like Wordpress leads to quite a bit of confusion. Drupal makes very few assumptions out of the box: users, roles, the generic 'node', publish states... these do not comprise a blogging system. Good CMSs make assumptions about a use case, and deliver ready-to use functionality. Because Drupal is flexible, the community has found a way to avoid forking, by creating distributions which package common features together, pre-configured. Drupal can then suit needs out of the box while still being very flexible.

There seem to be new distributions coming out each month. There might be one right for you. Find out more: Drupal distributions on Drupal.org or Drupal Distributions on Groups.Drupal.org

To discuss: What are the advantages or limitations of the distributions? What do you want to do with your site, and would an existing distribution help?
Webinar: How distributions work. How to upgrade them. Things to watch out for.
Guest Guide! Ryan Price of Drupal Easy

Try distributions and compare

Web Enabled offers a selection of these distributions which are stable and ready for use. Try out 2 or 3 of the many distributions available on Web Enabled. These are just a few that I am most familiar with.

Each one makes a different set of assumptions for a specific need. It is a smart way to start a project, and get you 80% of the way there.

In addition to robust distributions, the Drupal community also publishes Installation Profiles and Features. In fact, the definition of "distribution" versus Installation Profile is a bit fuzzy. To put it simply, these are various ways developers can package pre-configured modules and content. From one perspective, these packages help others reach their goals, and from the developer perspective, well they can also create revenue (money in your pocket) by complementary services & consulting.

Most of the companies that released these distributions freely have complementary services, such as support, development, or hosting. Check out:

Depending on your "Budget to Elbow Grease" ratio, hiring these companies to extend your site could save you time.

How to keep on top of the Drupal Planet

Each week, hundreds of blog posts are written about Drupal. How to find the best stuff? If you don't fancy reading, you can also check out the free online webinars and podcasts with the latest techniques and news.

Read

An aggregated feed of community blog posts. The blogs included go through a vetting process, and it's a very good signal to noise ratio.
http://drupal.org/planet

Watch

Check out Drupal Dojo Webinars - community submitted and presented
http://drupaldojo.com/
Acquia Webinars - presentations and interviews
http://acquia.com/resources/recorded_webinars
See upcoming http://acquia.com/webinars

Listen

Drupal Easy Podcast - chatty friendly show, usually guests on the show
http://drupaleasy.com/podcast
Lullabot's Drupal Voices - super quick interviews, usually recorded at DrupalCons, and feature some of the personalities in the Drupal community:
http://www.lullabot.com/ideas/podcasts/drupal-voices

Week 3 Log file
During the live webinar, you can join in a conversation in the chat window.

Here is a transcript of 07/Oct/2010

[17:01] == heatherjames [59643fc0@gateway/web/freenode/ip.89.100.63.192] has joined #p2pu-webcraft/introduction-drupal

[17:01] <benji___> Testing: hello from Benji.

[17:06] <dougvann_> drupal.org/project/devel

[17:07] <dougvann_> http://drupal.org/project/installation+profiles

[17:16] <mlangfeld> My understanding is that one contains only Drupal parts, the other can contain parts that aren't Drupa, such as FCKEditor.

[17:17] <benji___> Is there any difference between distributions and installation profiles when it comes to upgrading to a new version?

[17:20] <dougvann_> installations and distributions contain more than just Drupal Core. As such you have multiple items to keep uptodate. When you download and install a distribution or installation profile you may discover immediately that core and a couple contributed modules are already out of date

[17:20] <dougvann_> so really... it becomes the responsibility of the user [you and I] to keep things updated..

[17:22] <benji___> What about updating the profile or distro?

[17:25] <benji___> Darth Vader!

[17:39] <dougvann_> usually the profile or distro will come out with updates. when this happens you DEFINTELY BACKUP everything and install the update.

[17:39] <mlangfeld> I've tried Managing News and Drupal Commons.

[17:39] <jillt> do distributions also include a database with content. I'm confused by the last example

[17:40] <eric_sea> Open Atrium is a good one to point out for PM even for small projects

[17:40] <mlangfeld> The two I've tried do install a database.

[17:41] <benji___> It looks as though a lot of the content is generated by Devel. You should be able to delete it all from the Devel module.

[17:41] <eric_sea> sometimes better to unpublish rather than delete...

[17:41] <ryanprice> I have tried Tattler before - it is sort of a "web scraper" that helps you find out who is talking about a topic you care about. Another example of a similar concept is Managing News

[17:41] <mlangfeld> The problem with upgrading is that some distributions include patches, so upgrading is complicated. Simply updating modules does not always work.

[17:43] <dougvann_> very true mlangfeld ideally the distros that live off of patches will state that clearly so that users don't undo the patch

[17:44] <dougvann_> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patch_(Unix)

[17:46] <dougvann_> never update open atrium contributed modules :-)

[17:47] <eric_sea> but not to scare people away from OA... its a great tool to have on the side for managing your projects.... discussion threads and an entry level task / case manager... very limited but works well for many things

[17:48] <khmilhollin> Some modules don't work well with OpenPublish

[17:49] <jillt> Are you going to talk about the best procedure to migrate content to a new distribution?

[17:50] <khmilhollin> I installed a lot of them- I'm not sure which one corrupted it, but I suspect it was something I didn't need anyway

[17:51] <dougvann_> http://drupaleasy.com/

[17:51] <mlangfeld> Hi all, mlangfeld=Marilyn, btw. How would we update an full installation like Drupal Commons? Will there be an automated method?

[17:51] <dougvann_> LISTEN TO THEIR PODCASTS! :-) and check out the archives as well. LOTZA good stuff there.

[17:53] <dougvann_> mlangfeld: as Drupal Commons has updates they will release them. you then update your site the same way you do with Drupal core.

[17:53] <mlangfeld> Great, thanks.

[17:55] <dougvann_> and to clarify... never place the newest [or any] version of DRUPAL CORE on top of an installation profile OR a Distribution. Only update your site with the newest version of the software you originally used. [make sense?]

[17:56] <benji___> the metaphor is looking in the horse's mouth ...

[17:56] <mlangfeld> Yes, I've heard that. Makes sense.

[17:57] <dougvann_> i thought it was "straight from the horses mouth" :-)

[17:57] <mlangfeld> May be regional. I know "straight from the horses mouth" too.

[17:59] <benji___> Darth Heather!

[17:59] <Ida> I'm interested in this question of posting video (and other visual media).

[18:00] <dougvann_> i use http://www.techsmith.com/download/jing/ for quick screen shots and small videos :-)

[18:01] <eric_sea> VoiceBox looks to be fantastic http://drupal.org/projects/voicebox just released an Alpha

[18:02] <eric_sea> Kristen: this is one you would be interested in

[18:02] <dougvann_> i created a nice video on why i like JING and how i use it.http://www.cmsquickstart.com/blog/share-your-drupal-screenshots-jing

[18:03] <dougvann_> http://acquia.com/resources/webinars/drupal-commons-demo-1012 a VERY nice Acquia webinar on Drupal Commons

[18:04] <dougvann_> the link above is for an upcoming webinar

[18:04] <dougvann_> for a previous Drupal Commons webinar by Acquia go tohttp://acquia.com/resources/webinars/drupal-commons-open-source-alternative-social-business-software

[18:07] <Ida> So, for the beginners, what are some good skills to come in with? I know some HTML and CSS, and can build sites from scratch with them. That doesnt' seem like enough though

[18:08] <dougvann_> the demo for the "beginners profile" that Tom spoke of is athttp://essentials.leveltendesign.com/

[18:10] <dougvann_> drupal.org/project/voicebox is the newest distribution... it is in ALPHA now so check it out and test it out and FILE ISSUES and BUGS that you find. :-)

Course Material

Week 3 - Tasks

Try distributions and compare

How to keep on top of the Drupal Planet

Week 3 Log file
During the live webinar, you can join in a conversation in the chat window.

Here is a transcript of 07/Oct/2010

Comments

Another distro site:

Introduction to Drupal

Course Material

Week 3 - Tasks

Try distributions and compare

How to keep on top of the Drupal Planet

Week 3 Log file During the live webinar, you can join in a conversation in the chat window. Here is a transcript of 07/Oct/2010

Comments

Another distro site:

Week 3 Log file
During the live webinar, you can join in a conversation in the chat window.

Here is a transcript of 07/Oct/2010