Simplelist

jcfiala - May 16, 2008 - 20:29

Simplelist is a simple method of getting lists of content to display in pages or blocks on your site. It doesn't try to do everything, instead it relies on node_load to pull in node data and node_view or a theme function to display it. As such, it doesn't require any special coding to use a custom module with Simplelist - it just works.

For example, you could create a block to display 10 images in order of highest ranking or most recent comment, or create a private page containing all nodes submitted by a user in a particular role.

With future expansion, content other than nodes will be presented in simplelist - there's nothing inherently limiting a simplelist to dealing with just nodes.

Some folks have requested what makes this different from views, specifically:

Smaller code footprint than views.
Since it depends on node_load, custom node developers do not need to write specialized code to integrate with simplelist
Ready currently for 6.x, once code review is complete.
Snazzy example of using AHAH to modify forms.

NB: This module is PHP 5.x only. Additionally, some folks using php 5 have had trouble with the 'static' keyword on class functions - if you've got those sorts of problems on your setup, you're not going to have much luck with this module without some editing.

This module has extensive simpletests that help to nail down the functionality - if you can spot any tests that I should be doing but aren't, feel free to submit a patch of new tests to add to the project! (Although, if you want to write tests, Drupal 7 could use some probably first.)

Development and maintenance sponsored by pingVision.