Advanced level is intended for PHP and MySQL developers who have also had a prior contact with Drupal. This level is designed for Website developers who work for for third parties or for those entrepreneurs with an advanced technical level who wish to launch their own business ideas.

Contents:

• 41. Drupal development best practices
• 42. Tools for developers
• 43. Drupal Architecture
• 44. Creating modules
• 45. Database access and database schemas
• 46. Menu system
• 47. Creating forms
• 48. Programming blocks
• 49. Programming users and permissions
• 50. Programming content types
• 51. Programming entities and fields
• 52. Programming actions and triggers
• 53. Working with Files
• 54. Search system
• 55. Translating modules
• 56. Creating themes
• 57. Using jQuery and Ajax
• 58. Features
• 59. Installation Profiles
• 60. Contributing to the Drupal Community

Note: This edition is out of print. The 2nd edition of this book is now available; contains all of the content of the first edition, plus Drupal 8 content.

If you’re a web programmer new to Drupal, this book shows you which programming techniques you can use—and which you should avoid—when building custom web applications with this content management framework. Drupal has its own set of programming principles that require a different approach, and many programmers make mistakes when relying on skills they’ve used for other projects. The guidelines in this book help you through the transition by demonstrating which programming practices conform to the “Drupal way,” and which don’t.

If you’re familiar with PHP, you’ll quickly learn how to take advantage of the powerful Drupal API.

• Get a complete overview of Drupal, including Drupal core and add-on modules and themes
• Learn Drupal’s basic programming principles, such as the ability to customize behavior and output with hooks
• Discover common Drupal programming mistakes—and why hacking is one of them
• Explore specific areas where you can put your programming skills to work
• Learn programming tips and tools to help you perfect and debug your applications