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Patterns

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sarvab - March 4, 2008 - 19:54

Complex websites and web applications can be created by combining configurations of Modules, Content Types (CCK,) Views, Panels, Menus, Blocks, Categories, Roles / Permissions, etc.. This site setup and configuration process is a very time consuming and repetitive bottleneck.

Patterns module is built to bypass this bottleneck by managing and automating site configuration. Site configuration is stored in XML or YAML* files called Patterns which are easy to read, modify, manage, & share and can be executed manually or as a part of an automated web site deployment.

MINI-FAQ: Patterns Frequently Asked Questions (read full handbook page)

* YAML support requries SPYC YAML parser, which needs to be downloaded separately from http://spyc.sourceforge.net/ and unpacked into the Patterns module directory. ie: modules/patterns/spyc

With minimal effort, a site administrator can write a single Pattern that will simultaneously create and fully configure (or reconfigure) any number of:

  • Content Types (CCK)
  • Views
  • Imagecache presets
  • Menus / Menu items
  • Blocks
  • Content
  • Users
  • Profiles
  • Taxonomies / Terms
  • Pathauto settings
  • System settings (enabling modules etc)
  • Permissions / Roles
  • System Variables
  • ...more to come

Patterns can be written to handle configuration of commonly used feature sets or even complex websites with a multitude of configurations. For example, a "News" Pattern (i.e., news.xml) could handle the job of configuring and enabling:

  • News Content Type with all associated settings
  • Date, Text and Imagefields for News Content Type
  • Corresponding "thumbnail" and "large" Imagecache presets for the tasteful display of the imagefield in teasers, full nodes and Views
  • Views Page for the elegant display of News archives
  • Views Block set to display News teasers in a region on the front page
  • Primary links menu item entry linking to the News View Page
  • News-related taxonomy/terms
  • All prerequisite modules (CCK, Imagefield, Imagecache etc.) so the Pattern can do its magic flawlessly.
  • Three Sample News nodes to make sure everything looks great after the Pattern is processed by Patterns module.

This hypothetical News Pattern could then be deployed on any number of sites, each requiring only seconds and a few clicks using the Patterns Module.

Patterns module is built to be extendable and interoperable with other systems and tools commonly used for continuous integration and automated site deployment. Advanced topics for Developers will soon be available in Patterns module documentation.

Related Modules
The Patterns Install Profile module allows you to run a Pattern during the installation of your Drupal site, which is pretty cool when you start thinking about it and the future possibilities it will provide.

Related Discussion
For more information, please join the Patterns discussion on groups.drupal.org.

Sponsored By
This module was created by Gravitek Labs, and and it's current development cycle is also underwritten by Gravitek.

Releases

Official releasesDateSizeLinksStatus
5.x-1.1-alpha22008-Nov-2634.47 KBDownload · Release notesRecommended for 5.xThis is currently the recommended release for 5.x.
Development snapshotsDateSizeLinksStatus
6.x-1.x-dev2009-Oct-0358.98 KBDownload · Release notesDevelopment snapshotDevelopment snapshots are automatically regenerated and their contents can frequently change, so they are not recommended for production use.
5.x-1.x-dev2008-Nov-2634.48 KBDownload · Release notesDevelopment snapshotDevelopment snapshots are automatically regenerated and their contents can frequently change, so they are not recommended for production use.


 
 

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