OSCMS
As part of the presentations I will be doing in Barcelona, I have uploaded documentation of 5 unreleased modules.
You can go to my API site to see the modules. Attached here is also a sql file for use with the census.module.
censussql.txt is a MySQL dump file.
The schedule for DrupalCON Barcelona just came out. And, if you're like me, and you like me, then you'll be pleased to know that I'm doing no fewer than 7 sessions (plus a BoF).
- * Affiliated Sites: A Cross Domain Approach covers using wildcard DNS, node_access, and Drupal trickery to create an affiliate model web network with shared content but restricted privileges.
- * 'Enterprise' Drupal addresses some of the issues that come up when you try to integrate Drupal into an existing IT structure. It is not, however, an argument or a debate about whether Drupal is enterprise-ready. (Hint: it is.)
- * Using Drupal With External Data Sources was actually the first session proposed. It's a handy trip through Drupal's built-in methods for using data stored in other systems. Very useful for enterprise installations.
- Drupal SoC Showcase is just moral support (I think) for Aron Novak and the FeedAPI project that I mentored.
- Drupal and the Future of News is a panel discussion featuring Steve Yelvington and NowPublic's Michael Meyers. We'll be talking about how Drupal changes the economy of news production and distribution, as well as other fun stuff.
- Aggregation and Drupal is a panel discussion about, well, aggregation. The MySite module uses aggregation in a different way and helped lead to the FeedAPI spec.
- Workgroup: Unified Content Abstraction is a chance for module developers to get together and think about APIs for common tasks related to displaying content outside its original context. Think MySite, Panels, or Drupal-powered widgets that can be generated using a single standard such as mysite_display().
* Indicates a solo performance.
And just for bonus points, all three solo presentations are on Wednesday! [Good thing I used to teach, and can do multiple sessions in a single day.]
Thanks to the organizers for putting all this together. I'm very excited about DrupalCON. And I'll be posting some sample code before I leave town.
And if you're going, and travelling with someone (like my wife) who is not attending DrupalCON, drop a note in the forums and meet up with us on Tuesday night. We want the non-Drupalers to have a good time in Barcelona together while we're being geeky.
Note: I live in Augusta, GA (US), the home of James Brown.
I'm writing a session proposal and kind of thinking out loud. The idea is to provide a universal API for generating Drupal content outside of its original context. Something like the Component module on steroids.
Attached is a hasty diagram of the system, which would be a feeding engine for modules like Panels and MySite, and would make creating custom Blocks much easier, too.
In the diagram, the yellow boxes are the API elements.
Well, I took off work this week. (Everyone's at the golf course anyway.) That let me get caught up on MySite development after OSCMS. I haven't committed any of the code yet, but here's the general roadmap.
- MySite will (eventually) merge with Panels, using a common UI for content management.
- The user's content management screens are now distinct _per type_. This avoids overly-long forms for the user to deal with.
- The user's configuration pages are now a logical multi-stage form. Must better UI.
- Administrators can now establish default content for anon and new users.
- New user MySite account creation brings over the default content set by the admin.
- The number of items shown during add content is now 25 and paginated.
- Code is ready for theming to display content in a grid, not just a table.
- Thanks to merlinofchaos, users can now view content full screen, eliminating blocks on the user's MySite page and making the page totally customizable.
I also made a number of small fixes and changes to the text strings.
Now I haven't put these changes in CVS, and when I do, it will violate the "no huge changes in a single commit" rule. Oh well. I will commit to HEAD and spin out a 5.2 branch.
Still on the To-Do list:
- Add position data for multi-column layouts.
- Allow users to set position via form (drag-and-drop will have to wait).
- Create a grid view of content.
- Create a function to handle teasers properly.
- Create a function to handle arbitrary block-style content
- Create an admin interface for adding new content widgets (like Google gadgets).
- Clean up the sample text for Format options.
If anyone can think of a cool name for the Widgets / Gadgets / Blocks that users can add to MySite, post it below. The only idea I had was 'Drops' -- but think only Drupal geeks will get that name.
As you can tell, I'm pretty excited about the new features. Hope to get them into testing and committed this week.
Well, actually, we do.
Sitting in a hotel ballroom with 50 Drupalers rolling patches for Drupal 6.
I've done two:
- Refactor cache_set() correctly
- Make aggregator blocks optional for feeds
Though I did spend a half hour chasing a bug that turned out to be user error (sorry Eaton!), I feel like I've actually done something.
I had a discussion at OSCMS (with merlinofchaos, I think robertDouglass) about the tangle of contrib modules trying to replace Aggregator.
I have posted an API framework as a result of that discussion.
The API would allow all aggregation modules to share a single code base, rather than duplicating code and (potentially) opening security holes by processing feeds in untested ways.
So OSCMS is over. My session on getting external data into Drupal went pretty well. You may grab a PDF version of the presentation.
The main points are basically:
- You don't need to batch import data into Drupal as long as users can find what they want
- "Lazy instantiation" is great for dealing with large data sets
- Drupal supports several methods of lazy instantiation
- Cache aggressively to reduce network latency
- Pipes is very cool.
In all, I think you'll find that Drupal can be a powerful integration framework, if you examine the APIs.
The highlight of the morning was Dries' "State of Drupal" talk. The main thrust was that successful web projects disintermediate existing social structures. He suggested three things that Drupal could (or does) replace:
- The Webmaster
- The developer (with Views & CCK)
- The Designer
The other high point was Rasmus imploring Dries to drop support for PHP 4, so that he wouldn't be known as "the guy who dropped PHP4 support."
In other news, a very successful Lightning Talks session. As Dries said, there is a lot of innovative work going on.
Two good, but complex talks today. chx on the new menu system for Drupal 6 and merlinofchaos on how node_access functions and why it might get rewritten.
These are both topics for developers, and node_access is pretty advanced. Had a good time wandering around and having lunch with folks, putting names and faces with IRC handles.
Some pics are up on Flickr. Look for the 'oscms2007' tag.
Two action shots of our presenters:
chx
merlinofchaos
I'm on deck, as the "Is Drupal an Enterprise Solution?" panel starts in a half hour.
The estimable Rasmus Lerdorf, inventor of PHP, kicked off day one. We're on the Yahoo! campus, sequestered in a side building. True story, I spent 30 minutes cursing the Y! wireless network. Turns out they printed everyone's password in Helvetica, so a 1 looks like an I looks like an l. Apparently, my pwrod had a lower-case L in it.
Then I took some really bad photos before finding out that the camera settings had changed. Candid (?) snaps below.
Rasmus on stage.
Michael Meyers from NowPublic.com getting some work done.
Angie (webchick) traces Chad (hunmonk) for a cardboard effigy. It's a DrupalCon tradition to stand in for missing developers.
