Drupal 7 First Look

Mark Noble

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Overview

Table of Contents

The Author

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Get to grips with all of the new features in Drupal 7
Upgrade your Drupal 6 site, themes, and modules to Drupal 7
Explore the new Drupal 7 administration interface and map your Drupal 6 administration interface to the new Drupal 7 structure
Complete coverage of the DBTNG database layer with usage examples and all API changes for both Themes and Modules
Also includes an Appendix that introduces the beta release for Drupal 7. It is not a part of the book (print or e-book) but only available for free download

Appendix

Book Details

Language : English
Paperback : 288 pages [ 235mm x 191mm ]
Release Date : November 2010
ISBN : 1849511225
ISBN 13 : 978-1-84951-122-3
Author(s) : Mark Noble
Topics and Technologies : All Books, Content Management (CMS), Drupal, Open Source, Web Development

Preface
Chapter 1: What's New In Drupal 7?
Chapter 2: Installation and Upgrades
Chapter 3: Site Building with Drupal 7
Chapter 4: Drupal 7 Administration
Chapter 5: Drupal 7 for Themers
Chapter 6: Drupal 7 Database Changes
Chapter 7: Drupal 7 for Developers
Index

Preface

Chapter 1: What's New In Drupal 7?
- Goals of Drupal 7
- Key new features in Drupal 7
  - Improved installation
  - New administration toolbar and overlay administration
  - Improved interface for creating content
  - Improved interface for creating new content types
  - New Field API
  - Additional support for files and images
  - Improved filter system
  - Added context information to messages during translation
  - Built-in automated cron functionality
  - Improved security
  - Added a new plugin manager
  - Added the Seven theme for administration
  - Added the jQuery UI to core
  - Allows additional preprocessing of themed information
  - Added the New Stark theme
  - Rewritten database layer (DBTNG)
  - Improved node access system
  - Added the Queue API for long-running tasks
  - Added a new test framework
  - RDF capabilities
- Unmet goals
- Key changes to Drupal 7
- Removed functionality
- Contributed modules
- Minimum requirements for Drupal 7
- Summary

Chapter 2: Installation and Upgrades
- Installing Drupal 7
  - Obtaining Drupal
  - Selecting an installation profile
    - Minimal profile
    - Standard profile
  - Language selection
  - Requirements check
  - Database configuration
  - Configure site
  - New home page
- Command-line installation
- Upgrading from Drupal 6 to Drupal 7
- Creating custom installation profiles
  - Components of an installation profile
    - The .info file
    - The .profile file
    - The .install file
- Summary

Chapter 3: Site Building with Drupal 7
- Creating content
  - Selecting a content type to create
  - Content UI
    - Creating node summaries
    - Formatting text
    - Additional node properties
- Creating new content types with custom fields
  - Creating a custom content type
    - Additional content type properties
  - Field API
    - Boolean fields
    - Numeric fields (Decimal, Float, and Integer)
    - File fields
    - Term Reference fields
    - Text fields
  - Field display
- Taxonomy changes
- Image styles
- Comment changes
- Removed functionality
- Summary

Chapter 4: Drupal 7 Administration
- New administration interface
  - Administration toolbar
  - Dashboard
  - Overlay window
  - Appearance section
    - Installing and updating themes and modules
  - People section
  - Modules section
  - Configuration section
    - Configuring settings
  - Shortcuts
  - Edit Anywhere
- Configuring Date and Time display
- User management
  - Account settings
  - User fields
  - Password strength meter
  - Login rate limitations
- Search
- Changes to the cron system
  - Protection from unauthorized access
- Reports
  - Field list report
- Summary

Chapter 5: Drupal 7 for Themers
- Template changes
  - Everything there is to know about .info files
  - html.tpl.php
  - Rendering the entire page with page.tpl.php
  - Theming individual regions with region.tpl.php
  - Theming individual nodes with node.tpl.php
  - template.php
  - Other changes
- New JavaScript functionality
  - jQuery tools
  - AJAX framework from CTools
  - Including other JavaScript libraries
- CSS changes
  - System classes
  - Classes array
  - Hiding information
- Theme API changes
  - Signature changes
  - Alter hooks
  - New methods
    - template_preprocess_menu_tree(&$variables)
    - template_preprocess_username(&$variables)
    - template_process_username(&$variables)
    - theme_admin_block($variables)
    - theme_confirm_form($variables)
    - theme_container($variables)
    - theme_dashboard($variables)
    - theme_dashboard_admin($variables)
    - theme_dashboard_disabled_block($variables)
    - theme_dashboard_disabled_blocks($variables)
    - theme_dashboard_region($variables)
    - theme_filter_guidelines($variables)
    - theme_form_element_label($variables)
    - theme_form_required_marker($variables)
    - theme_forum_form($variables)
    - theme_html_tag($variables)
    - theme_image_anchor($variables)
    - theme_image_crop_summary($variables)
    - theme_image_resize_summary($variables)
    - theme_image_rotate_summary($variables)
    - theme_image_scale_summary($variables)
    - theme_image_style_effects($variables)
    - theme_image_style_list($variables)
    - theme_image_style_preview($variables)
    - theme_link($variables)
    - theme_locale_date_format_form($variables)
    - theme_locale_languages_configure_form($variables)
    - theme_locale_translation_filters($variables)
    - theme_menu_link(array $variables)
    - theme_menu_local_action($variables)
    - theme_rdf_metadata($variables)
    - theme_rdf_template_variable_wrapper($variables)
    - theme_shortcut_set_customize($variables)
    - theme_system_compact_link()
    - theme_system_date_time_settings($variables)
    - theme_system_modules_fieldset($variables)
    - theme_system_modules_incompatible($variables)
    - theme_system_run_cron_image($variables)
    - theme_system_settings_form($variables)
    - theme_system_themes_page($variables)
    - theme_text_format_wrapper($variables)
    - theme_update_last_check($variables)
    - theme_update_manager_update_form($variables)
    - theme_user_admin_permissions($variables)
    - theme_vertical_tabs($variables)
  - Removed methods
- Upgrading Drupal 6 themes to Drupal 7
- Summary

Chapter 6: Drupal 7 Database Changes
- What is DBTNG?
  - Background
- Key concepts in DBTNG
  - Drivers
  - Connections
  - Statements
  - Queries
- Using select statements
  - Static queries
    - Limiting the data returned
    - Adding parameters to static queries
    - Query options
    - Saving query results to a temporary table
  - Dynamic queries
  - Working with fields
  - Ordering results
  - Joining tables
  - Preventing duplicate records
  - Retrieving summary information
  - Using expressions to retrieve and manipulate data
  - Limiting the data returned
- Dynamic query extensions
  - Paging records
  - Sorting data
  - Custom extensions
- Adding conditions to a query
  - Condition method
  - Where method
  - Chaining conditions
- Working with result sets
  - fetch and fetchAll
  - fetchObject
  - fetchAssoc
  - fetchAllAssoc
  - fetchField
  - fetchAllKeyed
  - fetchCol
  - Direct iteration
- Tagging queries
- insert statement syntax
  - Inserting single records
  - Inserting multiple records
  - Inserting records from another query
  - Delayed inserts
- update statement syntax
- merge statement syntax
- delete statement syntax
- truncate statement syntax
- Transaction support
- Master/slave replication
- SQLite support
- Summary

Chapter 7: Drupal 7 for Developers
- .info file changes
- Drupal hook changes
  - Hooks split by op code
  - Other changed hooks
    - hook_load
    - hook_system_info_alter
    - hook_view
  - New hooks
    - hook_admin_paths
    - hook_admin_paths_alter
    - hook_archiver_info
    - hook_css_alter
    - hook_dashboard_regions
    - hook_dashboard_regions_alter
    - hook_date_formats
    - hook_date_formats_alter
    - hook_date_format_types
    - hook_drupal_goto_alter
    - hook_library
    - hook_library_alter
    - hook_modules_disabled
    - hook_modules_enabled
    - hook_modules_installed
    - hook_modules_uninstalled
    - hook_openid
    - hook_openid_response
    - hook_path_delete
    - hook_path_insert
    - hook_path_update
    - hook_registry_files_alter
    - hook_overlay_child_initialize
    - hook_overlay_parent_initialize
    - hook_shortcut_default_set
    - hook_system_info_alter
    - hook_url_inbound_alter
    - hook_url_outbound_alter
    - hook_username_alter
    - hook_xmlrpc_alter
    - module_hook_info
  - Removed methods
- Menu system changes
  - New hooks
    - hook_menu_active_handler_alter
    - hook_menu_contextual_links_alter
    - hook_menu_delete
    - hook_menu_insert
    - hook_menu_local_tasks_alter
    - hook_menu_update
  - New methods
  - Changed methods
    - menu_execute_active_handler
    - menu_get_names
    - menu_local_tasks
    - menu_router_build
    - menu_tree_all_data
    - menu_tree_data
    - menu_tree_page_data
  - Removed methods
- Form API changes
  - New Form API hooks
    - hook_element_info
    - hook_element_info_alter
    - hook_form_system_theme_settings_alter
    - hook_node_prepare
  - Changed methods
    - form_type parameter renamed
    - drupal_rebuild_form
    - drupal_redirect_form
    - form_builder
    - form_set_error
    - form_type_image_button_value
  - New methods
  - Removed methods
- File handling system
  - New file hooks
    - hook_file_copy
    - hook_file_delete
    - hook_file_insert
    - hook_file_load
    - hook_file_mimetype_mapping_alter
    - hook_file_move
    - hook_file_references
    - hook_file_update
    - hook_file_url_alter
    - hook_file_validate
  - Changed hooks
  - New and changed methods
    - PHP method wrappers
    - File IO
    - File information
    - Stream wrapper implementations
    - URI and URL handling
    - .htaccess file protection
  - Removed methods
- Field API
  - Entities
  - Field types
  - Field instances
  - Field bundles
  - Displaying fields in forms with field widgets
  - Displaying field data
  - Saving, retrieving, and deleting field data
  - Getting information about fields
- Node access and permission changes
  - Added methods
    - hook_node_access
    - hook_node_access_records_alter
    - hook_node_grants_alter
    - hook_user_cancel
    - hook_user_cancel_methods_alter
    - hook_user_role_delete, hook_user_role_insert, and hook_user_role_update
    - node_list_permissions
    - node_permissions_get_configured_types
    - user_role_permissions
    - user_role_grant_permissions, user_role_change_permissions, and user_role_revoke_permissions
  - Changed methods
- Text filter changes
  - hook_filter_format_delete
  - hook_filter_format_insert
  - hook_filter_format_update
  - hook_filter_info
  - hook_filter_info_alter
- Removed methods

Taxonomy changes
- hook_taxonomy_term_delete
- hook_taxonomy_term_insert
- hook_taxonomy_term_load
- hook_taxonomy_term_update
- hook_taxonomy_vocabulary_delete
- hook_taxonomy_vocabulary_insert
- hook_taxonomy_vocabulary_load
- hook_taxonomy_vocabulary_update

Removed methods

Searching changes
- Added methods
  - hook_search_access
  - hook_search_admin
  - hook_search_execute
  - hook_search_info
  - hook_search_reset
  - hook_search_status
  - hook_node_search_result
  - hook_node_update_index
  - hook_ranking
- Changed methods
- Removed methods

Cron changes
- hook_cron_queue_info

Tokens
- hook_tokens
- hook_token_info
- hook_token_info_alter
- token_info

Image handling
- hook_image_default_styles
- hook_image_styles_alter
- hook_image_style_delete
- hook_image_style_flush
- hook_image_style_save
- hook_image_effect_info
- hook_image_toolkits

Trigger changes
RDF API
Translation API changes
- hook_language_fallback_candidates_alter
- hook_language_negotiation_info
- hook_language_negotiation_info_alter
- hook_language_switch_links_alter
- hook_language_types_info
- hook_language_types_info_alter
- hook_multilingual_settings_changed
- hook_node_prepare_translation

Coder module
Testing framework
- Setting up SimpleTest
- Running tests
- Creating Tests
- Available hooks
  - hook_test_finished
  - hook_test_group_started
  - hook_test_group_finished
  - hook_simpletest_alter

Summary

Index

Mark Noble

Mark Noble has worked in software development and website design for over 13 years in a variety of capacities including development, quality assurance, and management. He takes pride in developing software and websites to make businesses run more effectively and delights in helping users to get their jobs done more easily.

Mark currently works developing websites to help libraries manage their books. He also does occasional contract work for clients in a variety of industries.

When he isn’t in front of a computer, Mark enjoys playing with his family, photography, and geocaching.

The book would definitely be a great companion to getting started with Drupal 7.

The author (Mark Noble) made good mileage with each chapter for each tasks/specialization (theming, administration, development ...).

Sample chapters

You can view our sample chapters and prefaces of this title on PacktLib or download sample chapters in PDF format.

Find your book in our support section to find errata and to download code samples.

What you will learn from this book

Automatically process images and attach them to your content
Explore the new administration interface and figure out where all of your favorite tools are to be found in the new layout
Utilize the new Drupal 7 Fields API functionality, which incorporates functionality from CCK into Drupal core
Check out the new security features for Drupal 7
Learn about the RDF support in Drupal 7
Get in depth information on DBTNG including examples of working with DBTNG
Install Drupal 7 and create installation profiles for Drupal 7
Explore the new methods available to themers and upgrade your Drupal 6 themes to Drupal 7
Upgrade modules to Drupal 7 and take advantage of the new Drupal 7 API for module developers

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In Detail

Drupal 7 contains features for which site administrators have been clamoring for years, including support for fields, an improved administration interface, better database support, improved theming, and more. You could of course make a laborious search on sites, blogs, and many online tutorials that would promise to update you about every new feature, but there's an even better way to know all about Drupal 7's new features: Drupal 7 First Look is the first and only book that covers all of the fantastic new features in Drupal 7 in depth and covers the process of upgrading your Drupal 6 site to Drupal 7. If you've used Drupal 6 and want to use Drupal 7, you need this book.

Drupal 7 First Look takes an in-depth look into all of the major new features in Drupal 7 so you can quickly take full advantage of Drupal 7. It also assists you in upgrading your site to Drupal 7. Some of the new features in Drupal 7 include:

Fields API, based on Drupal 6 CCK, which allows you to easily build your own content types
Improved user interface for administering your website
Built-in support for working with images and files
Improved security for the site and users of the site
Completely rewritten database layer DBTNG to make working with the database easier and more secure.
Improved API for custom module development and user interface theming

This book is your one-stop shop to know and utilize all of the major new features of Drupal 7

Approach

This hands-on guide takes a look at the main functional areas of Drupal that have significant new features. It explains these new features and how to use them, drawing attention to significant differences from how things used to behave, and giving the reader an idea of the kind of consequences these changes will bring to them.

Who this book is for

Drupal 7 First Look is written for site administrators, themers, and developers who have some experience with Drupal 6 (or even Drupal 5) and want to upgrade their sites, themes, or modules to Drupal 7 or just learn more about Drupal 7. No programming experience is required, but several code examples are covered for readers that want more in-depth information about building themes and modules.