Document database workflows for basic node operations

Administrators often have reason to look directly at the database tables and make certain trivial changes or review consequences of the action but non-developers will find it difficult to figure out what tables are affected by basic Drupal operations such as saving a node. For instance, to find out that the content of a node is stored in the node_revisions table rather than the node table one has to search the forums and happen to find the right thread. This becomes even more difficult when using CCK. A better documentation of what goes on in the database might make things better for non-developer administrators and also might help expand the pool of people who commit/review patches. The documentation in Pro Drupal Development is still too technical for this and is scattered across the book.

Task:
- Make a list of most common Drupal node operations (saving a node, deleting a node, creating a content type, deleting a content type, assigning a category, changing node access permissions, changing node author, creating users, adding a CCK field, deleting a CCK field, etc.)
- Describe what tables are affected by these operations and how
- Describe under what circumstances a site administrator might benefit from performing operations directly on the database (point out pitfalls)
- Compile a list of commonly used database snippets

Deliverables:
- A handbook page describing the database structure from the perspective of node operations (note differences between 4.7, 5.0 and 6.0)
- Additional SQL snippet pages

Resources
- http://drupal.org/node/41586
- Pro Drupal Development (book) - http://www.amazon.com/Pro-Drupal-Development-John-VanDyk/dp/1590597559