Book Image

Drupal 8 Module Development - Second Edition

By : Daniel Sipos
Book Image

Drupal 8 Module Development - Second Edition

By: Daniel Sipos

Overview of this book

Drupal 8 comes with a release cycle that allows for new functionality to be added at a much faster pace. However, this also means code deprecations and changing architecture that you need to stay on top of. This book updates the first edition and includes the new functionality introduced in versions up to, and including 8.7. The book will first introduce you to the Drupal 8 architecture and its subsystems before diving into creating your first module with basic functionality. You will work with the Drupal logging and mailing systems, learn how to output data using the theme layer and work with menus and links programmatically. Then, you will learn how to work with different kinds of data storages, create custom entities, field types and leverage the Database API for lower level database queries. You will further see how to introduce JavaScript into your module, work with the various file systems and ensure the code you write works on multilingual sites. Finally, you will learn how to programmatically work with Views, write automated tests for your functionality and also write secure code in general. By the end, you will have learned how to develop your own custom module that can provide complex business solutions. And who knows, maybe you’ll even contribute it back to the Drupal community. Foreword by Dries Buytaert, founder of Drupal.
Table of Contents (20 chapters)

Introducing Drupal (for developers)

Out of the box, Drupal traditionally has all the standard functions of a web-based content management system:

  • Visitors can view published information on the site, navigate through menus, view listings, and individual pages and so on
  • Users can create accounts and leave comments
  • Administrators can manage the site configuration and control the permissions of users
  • Editors can create, preview, and then publish content when it is ready
  • Content can be syndicated to RSS, where feed readers can pick up new articles as they are published
  • With several built-in themes, even the look and feel of the site can be easily changed

However, Drupal 8 improved on these and introduced some more powerful capabilities. For example, advanced multilingual support, content moderation, layout building, REST API and many other features are now available out of the box.