Programmer's Guide to Drupal: Principles, Practices, and Pitfalls

If you’re a web programmer new to Drupal, this book shows you which programming techniques you can use—and which you should avoid—when building custom web applications with this content management framework. Drupal has its own set of programming principles that require a different approach, and many programmers make mistakes when relying on skills they’ve used for other projects. The guidelines in this book help you through the transition by demonstrating which programming practices conform to the “Drupal way,” and which don’t.If you’re familiar with PHP, you’ll quickly learn how to take advantage of the powerful Drupal API.Get a complete overview of Drupal, including Drupal core and add-on modules and themes Learn Drupal’s basic programming principles, such as the ability to customize behavior and output with hooks Discover common Drupal programming mistakes—and why hacking is one of them Explore specific areas where you can put your programming skills to work Learn programming tips and tools to help you perfect and debug your applications If you’re a web programmer new to Drupal, this book shows you which programming techniques you can use—and which you should avoid—when building custom web applications with this content management framework. Drupal has its own set of programming principles that require a different approach, and many programmers make mistakes when relying on skills they’ve used for other projects. The guidelines in this book help you through the transition by demonstrating which programming practices conform to the “Drupal way,” and which don’t.If you’re familiar with PHP, you’ll quickly learn how to take advantage of the powerful Drupal API.Get a complete overview of Drupal, including Drupal core and add-on modules and themesLearn Drupal’s basic programming principles, such as the ability to customize behavior and output with hooksDiscover common Drupal programming mistakes—and why hacking is one of themExplore specific areas where you can put your programming skills to workLearn programming tips and tools to help you perfect and debug your applications "If you're a web programmer new to Drupal, this book shows you which programming techniques you can use--and which you should avoid--when building custom web applications with this content management framework. Drupal has its own set of programming principles that require a different approach, and many programmers make mistakes when relying on skills they've used for other projects. The guidelines in this book help you through the transition by demonstrating which programming practices conform to the "Drupal way," and which don't. If you're familiar with PHP, you'll quickly learn how to take advantage of the powerful Drupal API."--Page 4 of cover If you're a web programmer new to Drupal, this book shows you which programming techniques you can use - and which you should avoid - when building custom web applications with this content management framework. Drupal has its own set of programming principles that require a different approach, and many programmers make mistakes when relying on skills they've used for other projects. The guidelines in this book help you through the transition by demonstrating which programming practices conform to the "Drupal way," and which don't. When experienced web programmers start working with the Drupal content management system, the instincts and knowledge that have served them well in creating stand-alone web software can get in the way of learning how best to use the Drupal framework. This book will help programmers get past this obstacle.