Raw Notes

What is a module?

• allows you to extend Drupal without touching Drupal core code
• wraps related code into packages that can be used in other projects or shared with the entire community
• allows collaboration with the community with common standards

Different types of modules

• Glue modules: put little changes that you need to make to the way that Drupal is processed - not things shared on d.o, but created to achieve specific small things on particular site(s)
• Input filters: take input from users
  

Breakout conversation: CiviCRM and the Drupal Community

notes started partway into the conversation

• How does a person contribute in bite-sized chunks to a code base that is monolithic?
• You can write Drupal modules for CiviCRM - that's the best way to extend CiviCRM and is a recent development with added hook support
• Drupal has Form API, CiviCRM has Quick Form - you have to be willing to make that leap and learn something new
• there's a big gap between the users and the developers
• there seems to be a Drupal/Civ
  

There were about 12 participants in the conversation; folks who were here and who were not are encouraged to add their thoughts, fill out these notes, say "I was there," etc!

(notes starting partway into the session)

• There's an opportunity to grow Drupal if we can start to get at the diversity conversation
• definition of Drupal community is problematic - very technical requirements, but there's a vast community that aren't people who aren't on D.o or have cvs accounts, implementers and users. Developer-centric approach is limiting.
  

Starting Out

• going from contractor to shop = making a lot of mistakes and surviving them

defining the type of shop you are - what are you selling, what is your market?

• identify your team's strengths and go with them, but also be adaptable in case your market shrinks
• CivicActions - thought they'd be leading shop for political campaigns and candidates and nonprofits - they're a mission-driven, values-based company and choose clients accordingly.
  

Panel of the people on this page, also listed below. Sorry for lack of attribution for each comment!

How has managing a Drupal firm changed over the years?

Presented by Jeff Miccolis of Development Seed

(missed most of the beginning, talking about features and exportables)

• Ctools is special
• Strongarm gives you access to the variables table -- start to capture values from variables table
• these components are the configuration that descirbes how your site behaves - Strongarm lets you bring out and safeguard those important decisions
• Features should be used throughout the development process - not intended to come up later, meant to be there the entire time.

Presented by Larry Garfield (Crell) of Palantir.net

The Views Stack

• Views are a three-part stack - how Crell explains to clients
• bottom of the view is the What Level - what data am I looking at - narrow down your entire database to what you want using filters, args, fields, sorts, and relationships
• middle is How level - how data is displayed - styles, flows, pager, and area
• top is Where Level - Display (e.g.
  

Presented by Michael Morris and Dave Leonard of Phase 2 Technology

How to work with stakeholders

• give people a proper introduction to Drupal - lots of weird terminology, figure out how to explain it clearly and properly
• explain open source - talk about the community, understanding what free means (as in speech, not just beer), make sure they understand that you might share the work you do for them with the community
• expalin that Drupal isn't magic - takes time, work to get a good site

Presented by Angie Byron (webchick)

• Angie discovered Drupal by looking at the source of the spreadfirefox.com website!

FAQs

• Feb 2008 - Drupal 6 released, Drupal 7 opened
• Sept 2009 - feature freeze (no new features
• Oct 2009 - code freeze
• Nov 2009 - polish phase (UI cleanups, accessibility, etc)
• When it's ready - Drupal 7 release; "when it's ready" is when there are zero D7 critical issues
• Should I start building sites on Drupal 7 now? Answer: Qualified Maybe.
  

Presentation by Liza Kindred

Background on Liza and Lullabot

• Liza's background is fashion - "a lot of stuff that most people here don't care about" - and art, nonprofit boards of art orgs, now a Lullabot (employee #3)
• Liza is obsessed with open business models
• Lullabot - podcasts, high-level consulting, site architecture, development, training, books
• Lullabot is not only professional and successful but cheeky, funny, nontraditional, fun

Open Sour