In episode 133 we talk about something that everyone does when building and supporting websites, debugging.

Show Notes

• Can you determine where the issue originates from? Is it front end, backup, css, or a module.
• RIR Strategy - Reproduce, Isolate and Resolve.
• Reproduce
  • Gather pertinent information to help resolve a bug quicker
  • Train your customer and provide a bug report form to help them provide you the best information.
  • When trying to reproduce an issue, make sure your development/QA enviroments mirror the production environment. For example, do you PHP version match? Listen to show #127 Local Development with Vagrant.
  • If an issue cannot be reproduced in a development environment, look at the server configuration and data.
• Isolating
  • When the issue can be reproduced, isolating it is the next step.
  • Tools and techniques you can use to help
    • Drupal and server logs - check your log files first.
    • Turn on error reporting for PHP to display errors
    • Inspector - use the Console and Networking sections in the inspector. This will help identify front end issues. I common issue is javascript not loading from third parties.
    • What are the last things that changed? Looking back at the most recent code or configuration changes will uncover the source of a bug.
    • Peer Programming - work with someone else to resolve a problem. Often, just explaining it will help resolve it.
    • Walk Away - Taking a short break from a difficult bug will you have fresh perspective.
    • Note Pad - Take notes during the research will help you organize your isolation process.
• Resolve
  • Fix it.
  • Think about how you can prevent this in the future.
  • Document it.

Module of the Week

Search API - https://www.drupal.org/project/searchapi

This module provides a framework for easily creating searches on any entity known to Drupal, using any kind of search engine. For site administrators, it is a great alternative to other search solutions, since it already incorporates faceting support and the ability to use theViews module for displaying search results, filters, etc. Also, with the Apache Solr integration, a high-performance search engine is available for this module.

Developers, on the other hand, will be impressed by the large flexibility and numerous ways of extension the module provides. Hence, the growing number of additional contrib modules, providing additional functionality or helping users customize some aspects of the search process.

Bonus Content

Download Sample Bug Report PDF and Webform version.

Hosts

Stephen Cross - www.ParallaxInfoTech.com @stephencross

John Picozzi - www.oomphinc.com @johnpicozzi

Nic Laflin - www.nLightened.net @nicxvan

Recorded the day after the US Presidential Election, John , Nick and I were a bit tired after watching election results throughout the night, but energized for a discussion with Kevin Reynen about Drupal Licensing. A recent community ‘conversation’ between WordPress and Wix sparked our interest to talk about the GPL. If you are making money on Open Source software, you should pay attention to licensing.

Watch or listen

Show Notes

• What is the Drupal Licensing Working Group?
• Everything committed to Drupal repo has to be compatible with GPL v2
• What is the GPL? Based on Richard Stallman’s set of four freedoms:
  • The freedom to run the program, for any purpose
  • The freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it does your computing as you wish
  • The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor
  • The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions, giving the community a chance to benefit from your changes
• What is the difference between copyright and licensing
  • You can claim copyright of a module you write, which means the others must attribute you are the source of original author. The GPL allows other to distribute and modify that code.
• What does distribution mean and what triggers the distribution clause?
  • As is relates to work for hire
  • As is related to SaaS
  • As is relates to the contract you are hired under
  • Distribution vs Convery
• Can you sell a module or theme? YES!
• Licensing - Drupal interfacing with other products (licenses) - ie. FontAwesome, CiviCRM, CKEditor in Core, AMP
• Major differences between GPL v2 and GPL v3, AGPL
• GPL and the use of GitHub
• Distributions, Drupal 8, Composure and licensing
• How is licensing monitored
• Wordpress and Wix recap

Resources

• GPL Version 2
• Drupal Licensing FAQ
• Blog post from Matt at Wordpress

Hosts

Stephen Cross - www.ParallaxInfoTech.com @stephencross

John Picozzi - www.oomphinc.com @johnpicozzi

Nic Laflin - www.nLightened.net @nicxvan

Guests

Kevin Reynen - http://www.colorado.edu/@kreynen