Building Websites with Drupal by David Mercer from Packt Publishing Announced.
Book Link : http://www.packtpub.com/drupal/book
A complete guide to every aspect of creating a variety of different websites using Drupal. A trove of well-considered and practical information is presented in a logical and intuitive manner so that you can either build up your site step by step by reading from cover to cover or, alternatively, focus on your specific needs by diving into each chapter as required. This book takes your from intial set up through site design and creation in a series of carefully structured steps.All of the core stages of creating a website using Drupal are covered in detail.
Comments
Will there be a sample chapter available for download ?
It looks like a thorough book, but to get a better preview a sample chapter would be very nice ...
Am I bad minded ?
I may not be the only one to think that the flowers of the cover have some kind of weird shape. ... if you know what I mean ...
[aka]marvin
Sorry, it's just you.
Sorry, it's just you. Bleeding Hearts are a popular, old-fashioned kind of garden plant.
I thought the same.... :-)
I thought the same.... :-) what was the cover designer thinking about at the time...?
--
Drupal consultancy
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Ixis (UK): Drupal support, Drupal hosting.
What's its worth?
Will this book provide the information on creating many different kinds of websites such as dating website and job search website?
If it is, then I make sure I will be one of those who will order first. I wonder if the author is using Drupal in his websites - does he?
What version of Drupal is this book about?
The information page is, possibly purposely, not mentioning anything about which version of Drupal the book is addressing. It would be great to have a good general introductory book about Drupal, but if it's about Drupal 4.6 or older, then what's the use.
Does anyone know what version it explains?
It's the forest, not the trees...
I think this book has to do more with the methodology of using Drupal for building web sites; it's not a cookbook based on a specific version.
Since 4.7 isn't even in RC level yet I doubt this book will cover that version.
ZoneV
Drupal 4.7
I decided to do the smart thing and contact the author of the book and here is what he wrote in his reply.
Ah, thanks for following up
...with the author while answering your own question in the process. Also thanks for sharing witht the rest of us.
ZoneV
There's a lot of use
There's still use for older versions of Drupal. I have a client who wants to keep his current web host, which has an older version of PHP and MySQL installed. So, we went with an older version of Drupal as well.
And everything is now ... perfect.
Who is the author?
I haven't heard of the author (David Mercer) before. Has he made himself a part of the Drupal community in any way? Has he contacted any of the key members of the community? From looking at his biography on the page linked to above, it seems that he's a professional author rather than a dedicated Drupaller. It will be interesting to see how his book compares to that of Robert Douglass, who as we all know is a dedicated part of the Drupal project.
Then again, perhaps it will simply be a different kind of book, with a different perspective, but not necessarily of a lower standard.
Jeremy Epstein - GreenAsh
Jeremy Epstein - GreenAsh
Appears to be registered
See profile: http://drupal.org/user/37435
Doesn't matter
It doesn't matter whether he contacted 'key members' of the community or not (and that shouldn't be a prerequisite to being a part of the community in any case. At the risk of sounding preachy, I want to say that we shouldn't expect every person w/ something to give back to Drupal to the scrutiny of 'key members.' Doing so makes us prone to turning into a cult with a hierarchy, which is fine for those that want Drupal to be that way, but I don't think we can afford it since much of this is still a volunteer effort). In my mind, you're a part of the community when you contribute to it. And this book sounds like it'd be more than a worthy contribution, but hopefully not his last.
And it might argued that Mercer might make some money off of this, but I wouldn't mind. We've got a second book about Drupal from a third party. And we didn't have to sponsor its writing or anything. That's good because the platform is receiving that kind of attention and it's good because it helps pave the way for wider adoption (and more contributors).
Ankur Rishi
(CivicSpace)
+1 to this
It is a contribution in that it helps grow our community. Buy the book, then post corrections or alternate options as handbook pages. Everybody wins.
Community
I'm not suggesting that Drupal is a cult with a hierarchy. Perhaps 'key members' was a poor choice of words. What I was trying to say was, it would be nice to see the the author communicating with us, the community, through channels such as the forums and the mailing lists. These are channels where we're all equals, and where we're all peers working together, and where everyone is welcome to have their voice heard.
As someone who's writing a book about Drupal, he is already making his voice heard in a big way. But he can also make his voice heard in a more personal and direct way. Perhaps he could even engage the community for some help or feedback, as part of the process of writing his book.
Don't get me wrong. I too think it's great that another book about Drupal is being written. And I have tremendous respect for anyone that chooses to put their time and effort into doing so.
Jeremy Epstein - GreenAsh
Jeremy Epstein - GreenAsh
Still, I would really like
Still, I would really like someone to take a stab at outlining an unofficial(of course) Drupal 'key members' hierarchy diagram e.g. boss, consigliere, captain, soldier, associate etc. Even if it's all wrong, I'd love to see what people think it is.
-zach
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harkey design
: z
I'm one of the privates!
As a U.S. Marine, I was a captain. As a Drupaller, I'm a private and dream of getting promoted someday! ;)
By the way Zach, I really like your web site and its portfolio! What Drupal version are you using (4.6.x or 4.7.x) and which modules did you use to display the graphics at http://harkeydesign.com? (I'm currently using 4.7.2.)
Semper Fi,
Walt
Walt Esquivel, MBA, MA, Captain - U.S. Marine Corps (Veteran)
President, Wellness Corps, LLC
DreamHost Rewards Affiliate Program
Drupal for Dummies
With the way Drupal is growing in usage and popularity among both individual users and businesses, with conferences and meet-ups taking place in many countries, and with an ability to offer hundreds of modules for hundreds of uses with even more modules on the way, it's only a matter of time, I believe, before more Drupal books are published, and I think a Drupal for Dummies book, both print and ebook, will be published at some point in the future.
Increasingly, non-developers like me who would like to use Drupal need a guide to take them through, step by step, on setting things up as well as helping expand our way of thinking. A great way to do this is by showing us screen-shots, examples, and hints on how to use the many modules, both core and contributed. It's no secret as to why the Dummies books are so successful - they're popular and they sell because they present things in an easy-to-understand format. I LOVE dummies books because they're fantastic for people like me (I know what you're thinking but no, I am not a dummy!).
Although many answers can be found on the Drupal forums and in the online handbook (many thanks to the many handbook contributors!!!), it's nice to also have a book such as Robert Douglass' to help guide me with 4.7. I purchased Robert's book in the ebook format back in December 2005 when it was first made available and recently started reading it as the 4.7.0 RC is getting closer and closer. Robert is a constant contributor to Drupal and his helpful support here on the forums and his very helpful book are definitely worth the $25 I paid. The ability to open my Drupal ebook and go to the table of contents or index and quickly find what I'm looking for is very important to me in terms of time savings and ease of use.
The fact that David Mercer has written a book on Drupal is, in my opinion, very positive in that it indicates a growing interest in extolling the virtues of Drupal. The fact that publishers, first Apress with Robert and now Packt Publishing with David, are making business decisions and deciding to put some skin in the game and invest in Drupal authors' works is equally positive. Again, it signifies that different parties are taking notice of Drupal and seeing it for what it is - an excellent open source CMS for a growing community that powers more and more web sites across the globe. I agree with the post above in that it would be nice to have a sample chapter from David's book, much like a sample chapter and the table of contents were made available from Robert's book. Even if the book isn't yet finalized or hasn't yet gone to print, it would be nice to have a sample of its TOC and a chapter as soon as possible. Perhaps David could post more information here on this thread as well as upload the samples when appropriate?
I wish both authors great success and I hope someone will consider writing the next authoritative Drupal book for people like me, Drupal for Dummies. :) With lots of screen-shots, examples, and hints. :)
Gee, I seem to fill up a lot of space with my writing so...hmmm...perhaps I should write the next book? Oh, just kidding! I know as much about Drupal as I know about...the surface of Mars. ;)
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Walt Esquivel, MBA, MA, Captain - U.S. Marine Corps (Veteran)
President, Wellness Corps, LLC
-----
Drupal Users and Developers by Geographical Location
http://drupal.org/node/46659
I agree
it is great that books about drupal appear, I am new and more than once it is painful to search for information needed in the thousands of posts in the forum.
André
A belated hi from David Mercer!
Greetings to one and all,
Following the announcement of my new book on Drupal, I thought I would make some belated introductions to the community at large on behalf of myself, Packt Publishing and the book itself. I believe there are exciting times ahead for your excellent technology (and community) and I hope that this book represents only the first step in what will become a great partnership between Packt and Drupal.
I think the first thing to do is give you a run down of what you can expect from the new book, and then talk briefly about how and why Packt and I came to produce this particular title:
The book's main audience is newbies although I suspect that even intermediate users can derive much benefit from it. Most experienced users will likely not gain anything new from it - although, hopefully you will agree it is still a good read!
My writing is practical and avoids too much theory – readers invariably have tasks that need doing and this book should serve to demonstrate how to complete those tasks. I develop a working Drupal site in a step by step manner throughout the book, so every topic that is discussed sees something new added or modified on the site.
From my research and the feedback we have gotten from reviews, combined with the publishers considerable knowledge of their business, we have pitched the book towards the beginning end of the spectrum. However, I cover a broad range of material to sufficient depth that the vast majority of people using Drupal should be happy with the info provided.
Due to the large size of Drupal, it is not possible, nor even desirable to fill the book with each and every complex task or nuance that is possible. It is for this reason that I assert that most advanced users will not find anything challenging here.
While the book will be useful to existing members of the Drupal community, I hope it will also help broaden that community by bringing in new users. A good book can really make a difference in this regard!
You may be aware that the publisher, Packt, donates royalties from the sales of books on Open Source projects to the project in question. This is a good way to give back to the community who make it possible for the publisher and I to make a living. This is only right and fair and will happen for my Drupal book.
Assuming that the publication is well received and becomes integrated into the community, there might be a need for a follow up title (no doubt, more advanced in nature). Your community holds the knowledge which is required to produce this next book and it is to you that Packt will look to find the author(s) of its more advanced title – should there be a demand for it.
In summary: I have attempted to produce a book which will take an entire strata of Drupallers from beginning and intermediate level through to the cusp of becoming advanced users, while also broadening the Drupal user base and raising its profile by giving it a presence in bookstores.
I will also make sure that a sample chapter is available as soon as possible for everyone to look over. The publisher will make a few review copies available too - although this is not strictly under my control.
At any rate, I look forward to reading your thoughts about the sample chapter and I hope that my offering proves to be valuable in the time to come!
Best,
David Mercer
Thank you David. Ebook possibility?
Hi David,
Thank you for the excellent writeup!
In addition to the hard copy of your book, do you know if an ebook will be made available and, if so, the price thereof? I visited http://www.packtpub.com/drupal/book but all I saw was the pre-order discount cost of $31.99.
Robert's ebook is very convenient and it only cost me $25.
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Walt Esquivel, MBA, MA, Captain - U.S. Marine Corps (Veteran)
President, Wellness Corps, LLC
-----
Drupal Users and Developers by Geographical Location
http://drupal.org/node/46659
Definitely!
Hi Walt,
Yes! It is my understanding that the publishers will produce an e-book version that will be downloadable from their site in due course.
I doubt that this will be available until the hard copy version is released, but it will definitely be cheaper. If you like, take a look at similar books on the Packt site to get a feel for the difference in price - I can't give you an exact figure because I don't yet know.
Hope that helps,
David
Just curious.
Dodge,
Thanks for contributing to Drupal's growth.
How about once the book "breaks even" + x%, importing this book to the Drupal community (http://drupal.org/handbooks or maybe drupal.com?) and making income from ads on book pages ?
Cheers,
Christophe D
Tech. articles with a WAMP+IIS+Drupal focus
Need a break: Travel France
Good question..
Hi Christophe,
Thanks, it has honestly been a pleasure working with Drupal. I am definitely a fan...
I forwarded your question on to the good people at Packt as, ultimately, they are the ones who must answer this question and not me.
Basically, the way the publisher's business model works is that Drupal benefits from the royalties generated by sales of the title from the very first copy. They do not have a break even figure after which they begin donating, and the money is given directly to the developers to use as they see fit. This is the way their business model is designed.
Even so, they are aware that it may be possible to also release books to be freely used after some time although they can't just go ahead and do this. The managing editor informed me that they will be running trials of this nature in the near future with two books that have been earmarked for precisely this purpose.
I can't really say much more than that, as this falls outside my sphere of influence. Having said which, I know that Packt would be more than happy to engage the Drupal community in a dialog about this, so I will refer them to this thread if there is a need to delve into it more deeply.
Hope that helps...
Best,
David
Any updates as to release dates???
Hi David,
Do you know when the book will be available?
Thanks.
Chris
I ordered this book on 12
I ordered this book on 12 April...
The publishing date shifted from:
- 30 April 06
- 8 May 06
and now to
- 15 May 06
I'd like to know when it will be out too!
-thePanz-
-thePanz-
"Release date Expected May 2006"
The book's name seems to have changed:
"Drupal: Creating Blogs, Forums, Portals, and Community Websites"
http://packtpub.com/drupal/book
"Release date Expected May 2006"
Thank you,
Eddie Maddox
Have you tried e-mailing the author?
Have you tried e-mailing the author directly using his Drupal contact form instead of this forum? His nickname is Dodge.
E-mailing him might get you a quicker answer.
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Walt Esquivel, MBA, MA, Captain - U.S. Marine Corps (Veteran)
President, Wellness Corps, LLC
-----
Drupal Users and Developers by Geographical Location
http://drupal.org/node/46659
eMail?
I can't find Dodge's eMail address in his profile...
Maybe he is working on some new "features" in his book :-)
I recently noticed that the pages increased to 284 :-D
-thePanz-
-thePanz-
Author's contact info can be found
You're right! The Drupal contact form states, "Dodge is not accepting emails." Why do people do that?
However, you should be able to email him by visiting http://www.packtpub.com/view_author/id/55
Walt Esquivel, MBA, MA, Captain - U.S. Marine Corps (Veteran)
President, Wellness Corps, LLC
DreamHost Rewards Affiliate Program
Amazon
Are you planning to sell it on Amazon? I'd rather not start another account.
Drupal ecommerce, at http://www.drupalecommerce.com
http://www.drupalecommerce.com/troubleshooting
http://www.drupalecommerce.com/modulegroupings
http://www.drupalecommerce.com/47vs46
http://www.drupalecommerce.com/compared
delete
sorry, please delete...