By lanesharon on

I think I am learning something important about Drupal module downloads that I believe all newbies (like me) should know. There is the 'normal' module download area:
http://drupal.org/project/Modules

And then there is CVS download area for modules:
http://cvs.drupal.org/viewcvs/drupal/contributions/modules/

Depending upon which version of the Drupal core you downloaded, one or the other of those places will have the module that you want to add. The trick is first knowing the core version of Drupal you have and comparing the 'normal' download module to the CVS version and choosing the right one for your installation.

So, be careful. It may anwer a large percentage of the problems posted in this support area and the bugs area. I know that it solved every one of the ones that I personally posted!

Take Care, Sharon

Comments

venkat-rk’s picture

venkat-rk commented

It is nice that you took the time to share this. As you said, it is important to know which version of drupal you are using so that you can get the matching contrib modules.

Some other points to keep in mind:

1.) By default, th overview page for all the contrib modules (http://drupal.org/project/Modules) links to zipped module files (tar.gz format) compatible with the most recent stable version (4.6 at the moment; will be 4.7 once the stable drupal release of 4.7 is out and contrib module maintainers have updated their modules to 4.7).

2.) In contrast, the actual project page of each contrib module (for example, http://drupal.org/node/37839 for the Ajax Spellcheck module) will link to the cvs version of the module if it is being upgraded to the upcoming drupal release. It will also provide a link to older releases of the module, which in the case of Ajax Spellcheck, is 4.6. When the next stable release of drupal is out (say 4.7), this same project page of each contrib module will link to the 4.7 version of that module

3.) More recently, a drop-down menu has been made available on the contrib modules overview page to filter modules by versions, including cvs

4.) You would generally use cvs versions of the modules if you are using any of the beta or release candidate versions of core drupal.

CVS versions are generally 'work in progress' kind of stuff, so expect modules to break even when you download and install the correct/compatible versions. Testing various modules and reporting these bugs helps to make the final release of drupal and the contrib modules more stable.

I bet a lot of this is in a handbook page somewhere, but it doesn't hurt to repeat some of the more important things.

lanesharon’s picture

lanesharon commented

I have downloaded a number of CVS releases and have yet to get any to work 'out of the box' for 4.7 RC2. I have done it based on instructions in each contrib. I got nothing but errors. Most likely, I am doing something wrong in the installs, but without other documentation, I may never know.

It would seem logical to me that Drupal contribs would try to follow the core conventions.

For example, Drupal core is setup with a number of folders (directories):
database
includes
misc
modules
scripts
sites
themes

(first let me note that I believe misc should be split into three folders - js, css, and images)

The pathauto CVS is setup to put a new directory into the existing modules directory called pathauto. Inside that pathauto folder, you find some includes and some modules; also a lower directory that houses a couple more includes (still not sure what i18 is).

It would be a whole lot more understandable to me, when adding a contribution, if includes went into the core includes directory, modules into the core modules directory, etc. for all add ons. And the naming covention for the AddOn, used the AddOn contrib first, followed by an underline and then the file name. Or if there where an AddOn directory, setup in the same structure as the Drupal core directory, where you could deposit any addon codes (like pathauto), using that same file naming convention. Or lastly, if the AddOns always used the directory structure of the core Drupal. That would sure help to understand the structure of Drupal.

Re: the handbook. It only tells me "Each module download contains specific install instructions. " I am following those instructions and have yet to be able to install a contributed module and get it to work. Most likely, I am doing the installs incorrectly, but I have no way of knowing.

For example, I downloaded pathauto from CVS.

The first direction told me to "Unpack the pathauto folder and contents in the modules directory of
your Drupal installation". So, I took the entire pathauto folder and moved it into my modules directory as a subdirectory. I uploaded it.

The next direction told me to "Enable the pathauto module in the administration tools". So, I went to my Drupal installation Admin area to enable the pathauto module. Went into modules and activated it.

I followed the next direction and made sure "administer pathauto" was enabled through access control administration.

Next I was directed to go to the pathauto settings area and define the aliases. When I clicked on the pathauto setting link to do this, I got an error:
Fatal error: Call to undefined function: form_checkbox() in /mypath/me/public_html/mywebsite/modules/pathauto/pathauto.module

// Generate the form - settings applying to all patterns first
$items = '';
$items .= form_checkbox(t('Verbose'), 'pathauto_verbose', 1,
variable_get('pathauto_verbose', FALSE),
t('Display alias changes (except during bulk updates).'));

Now, I am just guessing (from this area of coding) that maybe I should have disconnected URL aliases prior to installing this module. But the instructions did not tell me that.

My next question to myself is "Should I report this or not?" After all, this is an RC version, not a final version of Drupal. I have been told that there is a pattern of updates. First the core (through RC's) then beta testing of the core, then contrib updating to catch up with the new version. So, I should not even be trying to install contributions at this point, I have to assume.

And, when I went through the search on Drupal to find the person who authored this contribution (to see if I am right), I found a post saying "I am no longer supporting this contribution. No new updates will be made." Yeow, pathauto is going to make it or break it for me with Drupal because SEO is extremely important for my needs. And there is no way that I want to use manual URL aliases for every node on my site. I have too many other responsibilities in life! LOL

Needless to say, I am left with a lot of confusion and wondering if I am investing precious time into something that may not work out for me in the long haul. One thing that I am absolutely sure of, in just a few short days with Drupal - Murphy's Laws are alive and thriving here!

I think I will stop where I am, and run with it until the RC's are over. It will mean backpaddling through any forum and blog entries to redo SEO favorable links, but it might be my best alternative now. I really want to try Drupal. It's become a challenge now. LOL

But maybe I should just go to sleep and rethink my direction when I am more awake and a little more coherent. Yup, sleep and morning caffeine is what I need. LOL

Thanks Ramdak for taking an interest in my questions.

Take Care, Sharon

heine’s picture

heine commented

It would be a whole lot more understandable to me, when adding a contribution, if includes went into the core includes directory, modules into the core modules directory, etc. for all add ons.

Module installation (the physical part) is fairly easy; simply drop the module folder in modules, so you get modules/pathauto or module/image ; all files of a particular module are grouped nicely together.

Now some advice that'll save you some problems: do not use CVS versions of modules. CVS means that it's in development and provides no indentification of the Drupal version it targets.

Pathauto in CVS clearly contains drupal 4.6 code; it simply won't work on 4.7 (see also Fatal error: Call to undefined function: form_*() on Drupal 4.7).

Only using released modules (and core!) will make your life a lot easier.
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