Mon, 29 July 2024
Today we are talking about The Benefits of Distributions, If they have drawbacks, and what the future of distributions looks like with guest Rajab Natshah and Mohammed Razem. We’ll also cover Google Analytics Reports as our module of the week. For show notes visit:
www.talkingDrupal.com/461 Topics - What is a distribution
- How does this differ from profiles
- What does Varbase provide
- What types of users is Varbase geared towards
- Paragraphs or Layout Builder
- Vardoc
- How do you overcome fear of lock-in
- What do you think the future of distributions look like considering recipes
- Any plans to move Varbase to recipes
- Starshot
Resources Guests Rajab Natshah - rajab-natshah
Mohammed Razem - mohammed-j-razem Hosts Nic Laflin - nLighteneddevelopment.com nicxvan
John Picozzi - epam.com johnpicozzi
Josh Miller - joshmiller MOTW Correspondent Martin Anderson-Clutz - mandclu.com mandclu - Brief description:
- Have you ever wanted to display Google Analytics charts directly within your Drupal website? There’s a module for that.
- Module name/project name:
- Brief history
- Created in Apr 2011 by raspberryman, but recent releases are by today’s guest Rajab Natshah
- Versions available include 7.x-3.2, 8.x-3.2, and 4.0.0, that last two of which support Drupal 10 and 11
- Maintainership
- Actively maintained, recent releases were less than a month ago
- Security coverage
- A documentation guide for older versions, and a README with detailed instructions to get it set up
- Number of open issues: 76 open issues, 9 of which are bugs against the current branch
- Usage stats:
- Module features and usage
- To set up this module, you first need to set up the API connection in the Google Developers Console, and download the client secret JSON
- You’ll then upload that into the Google Analytics Report API submodule along with the property ID to enable the connection
- Next, you need to install the Charts module, and either the Google Charts or Highcharts sub-module to see graphical reports
- You will now have a new Google Analytics Summary in your site’s reports menu, and new "Google Analytics Reports Summary Block" and "Google Analytics Reports Page Block" blocks available
- I haven’t had a chance to try the 4.0 version of this module yet, but I have used older versions with a variety of dashboard solutions, including Moderation Dashboard and Homebox
- One of the many benefits of using a powerful, open source framework like Drupal to build your site is its ability to act as the “glass” for a variety of other systems, and this module is a perfect demonstration of that
Direct download: td-461-libsyn.mp3
Category: general
-- posted at: 12:00pm EST
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Mon, 22 July 2024
Today we are talking about Preconfigured CMS Solutions, How they can help your business, and The best way to build them in Drupal with guests Baddy Sonja Breidert and Dr. Christoph Breidert. For show notes visit:
www.talkingDrupal.com/460 Topics - Spain
- What is a Preconfigured CMS / Drupal Solution
- Who is the audience
- What business objectives can preconfigured solutions solve
- What are the ingredients
- How do you manage theming
- How do you manage customized design
- What do you do if your client has a need that your preconfigured solution does not solve
- What about Starshot
- Did the two of you meet over Drupal
- How do you manage work life balance
Resources Guests Christoph Breidert - 1xINTERNET breidert Hosts Nic Laflin - nLighteneddevelopment.com nicxvan
John Picozzi - epam.com johnpicozzi
Baddý Sonja Breidert - 1xINTERNET baddysonja MOTW Correspondent Martin Anderson-Clutz - mandclu.com mandclu - Brief description:
- Have you ever wanted to customize the way Google Maps appear on your Drupal site? There's a module for that.
- Module name/project name:
- Brief history
- How old: created in Mar 2014 by iampuma, but recent releases are by Artem Dmitriiev (a.dmitriiev) of 1xINTERNET
- Versions available: 7.x-2.0, 8.x-1.7, and 8.x-2.6 versions available, the last of which works with Drupal 8, 9, 10, and 11
- Maintainership
- Actively maintained, latest release a week ago
- Security coverage
- Has a Documentation page and lots of information on the project page
- Number of open issues: 8 open issues, 1 of which is a bug against the current branch, though it was actually fixed in the latest release
- Usage stats:
- Module features and usage
- The module provides allows your Drupal to use custom styles, which you can copy and paste from SnazzyMaps.com, or create from scratch using a configuration widget on Github that is linked from the project page
- You will be able to use custom markers by using the System Stream Wrapper module
- You can also specify popups for the markers, using a field or a view mode
- If you use the companion styled_google_views module, you can also show multiple locations, and define clustering options
- Styled Google Map also has integration with Google's Directions service, so visitors can easily get turn-by-turn directions for how to reached their chosen location
- The module also includes a demo submodule you can use to quickly set up a working example to illustrate all the different options available using Styled Google Map
Direct download: td-460-libsyn.mp3
Category: general
-- posted at: 2:00pm EST
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Mon, 15 July 2024
Today we are talking about Config Actions, The Panels Favorite Drupal Modules, and Drupal Contribution. We’ll also cover Transform API as our module of the week. For show notes visit:
www.talkingDrupal.com/459 Topics - New Config Action: Place Block
- Favorite Contrib modules
- Slack channels
- Preparing for Drupal 11
- Drupal events
Resources Hosts Nic Laflin - nLighteneddevelopment.com nicxvan
John Picozzi - epam.com johnpicozzi
Martin Anderson-Clutz - mandclu.com mandclu
Baddý Sonja Breidert - 1xINTERNET baddysonja MOTW Correspondent Martin Anderson-Clutz - mandclu.com mandclu - Brief description:
- Have you ever wanted to expose your Drupal site’s data as JSON using view modes, formatters, blocks, and more? There’s a module for that.
- Module name/project name:
- Brief history
- How old: created in Sep 2023 by LupusGr3y, aka Martin Giessing of Denmark
- Versions available: 1.1.0-beta4 and 1.0.2 versions available, both of which work with Drupal 9 and 10
- Maintainership
- Actively maintained, in fact the latest commit was earlier today
- Security coverage
- Documentation: in-depth README and a full user guide
- Number of open issues: 14 open issues, 3 of which are bugs, but none against the current branch
- Usage stats:
- Module features and usage
- After installing Transform API, you should be able to get the JSON for any entities on your site by adding “format=json” as a parameter to the URL
- To get more fields exposed as JSON, you can configure a Transform mode, using a Field UI configuration very similar to view modes
- You can also add transform blocks to globally include specific data in all transformed URLs, in the same way you would use normal blocks to show information on your entity pages. The output of transform blocks is segmented into regions,
- Where Drupal’s standard engine produces render arrays that ultimately become HTML, Transform API replaces it with an engine that produces Transform Arrays that will ultimately become JSON
- Where Drupal’s standard JSON:API supports more or less exposes all information as raw data for the front end to format, Transform API allows for more of the formatting to be managed on the back end, where it will use Drupal’s standard caching mechanisms, permission-based access, and more
- Transform API also supports lazy transformers, which are callbacks that will be called after caching but before the JSON response is sent
- You can also use alter hooks to manipulate the transformed data
Direct download: td-459-libsyn.mp3
Category: general
-- posted at: 2:00pm EST
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Mon, 8 July 2024
Today we are talking about Next.js, what it is, and how to integrate it with Drupal with guest John Albin Wilkins. We’ll also cover Next.js Webform as our module of the week. For show notes visit:
www.talkingDrupal.com/458 Topics - What is Next.js
- What kind of server do you need
- How is it used on the web
- Does it only work on react based systems
- Why would someone want to integrate with Drupal
- When changes are made in the content how do you update the app
- On the module page there are a lot of references to Preview, is this something Next does well
- What is server side rendering
- How does Next work with menus and views
- Any preference on the api for json api vs graphql
- Performance
- Editorial experience
- Responsive images
- Will Drupal ever ship with a headless front end
- Winner of the TPOTM
Resources Guests John Albin Wilkins - john.albin.net JohnAlbin Hosts Nic Laflin - nLighteneddevelopment.com nicxvan
John Picozzi - epam.com johnpicozzi
Baddý Sonja Breidert - 1xINTERNET baddysonja MOTW Correspondent Martin Anderson-Clutz - mandclu.com mandclu - Brief description:
- Have you ever wanted to build a webform in Drupal and have the corresponding Next.js template automatically created for you? There’s a Next.js library for that.
- Module name/project name:
- Brief history
- How old: created in Aug 2022 by Lauri Timmanee (lauriii), who listeners may know as the Drupal Core Product Manager, and one of the people leading the Starshot initiative
- Versions available: 1.1.1
- Maintainership
- Test coverage
- Documentation - Lengthy README and a tutorial on the Acquia Dev Portal
- Number of open issues: 17 open issues, 3 of which are bugs
- Usage stats:
- 2,246 weekly downloads according to npmjs.com
- Module features and usage
- Using this library does require some setup on the Drupal side, including installing the Webform and Webform REST modules. There’s also an extra patch to install if you want to use any autocomplete fields, and some configuration needed for both the REST resources that will be used to exchange data, and the permissions for the account that will be used to retrieve and submit data
- Out of the box, the library supports over 40 webform components, but you can also provide custom elements if you need something additional. The library also supports conditional logic, so fields can show or hide in the Next.js front end based on conditions defined in your Drupal backend
- The library also provides front-end validation for email confirmation, date list, and datetime fields, but back end validation is also processed for every submission
- There is a crowded field of headless CMS competitors, but I thought this library is a good example of the extra power and flexibility you get by using a robust, open source CMS like Drupal as the back end in your headless architecture
Direct download: td-458-libsyn.mp3
Category: general
-- posted at: 2:00pm EST
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Mon, 1 July 2024
Today we are talking about Drupal Architecture, Common Site Building questions, and How we solve things with Drupal with guest Alexander Varwijk. We’ll also cover Drupal 10.3 as our module of the week. For show notes visit:
www.talkingDrupal.com/457 Topics - Where do you start when thinking about a new site or feature.
- Where is the line for extending vs forking
- Do you have solutions that you default to when building a feature
- Do you find people come to Drupal with specific third party requirements
- What do you think about Headless
- When do you choose to contribute a new module to Drupal
- Will recipes change your architecture
- How do you learn about new ways of doing things
- Where did you get your username, are you the king of the Netherlands
Resources Guests Alexander Varwijk - alexandervarwijk.com Kingdutch Hosts Nic Laflin - nLighteneddevelopment.com nicxvan
John Picozzi - epam.com johnpicozzi
Baddý Sonja Breidert - 1xINTERNET baddysonja MOTW Correspondent Martin Anderson-Clutz - mandclu.com mandclu - Brief description:
- Have you been wanting to use Workspaces, Single Directory Components, Recipes, or the new admin menu in your Drupal site? The new Drupal 10.3 release is better for using all of these and more.
- Module name/project name:
- Brief history
- How old: It was tagged on Jun 20 by catch of Tag1 and Third & Grove
- Features and usage
- In this new minor version, Workspaces is now declared stable, and Single Directory Components are now fully integrated into core, instead of being in an experimental module.
- Drupal 10.3 also includes the new Access Policy API that was funded as part of the Pitchburgh process kicked off at DrupalCon Pittsburgh
- The “super user” access policy that automatically grants user 1 every permission can now be turned off in services.yml
- Also, Recipes and the new Navigation menu are available as experimental features
- The Actions UI, Book, and Statistics modules are deprecated, and contrib projects are available
- Install profiles can now be uninstalled, and new sites can be installed without any profile at all
- 10.3 also includes a revision UI for taxonomy terms, and they can also be used with content moderation
- All core-provided image styles now include WebP conversion
- The state service now uses a cache collector for performance, which requires opt in within settings.php for existing sites
- There are other performance improvements, including: POST requests are now render cacheable, duplicate queries during logins are avoided, and big pipe requests now avoid reading session from the database multiple times
- With 10.3 developer can also make use of a new AJAX command to open a URL in a dialog, and a new DraggableListBuilderTrait, among a host of other changes
- Of course, there are some additional deprecations, so the Project Update Bot has already been busy creating new MRs
Direct download: td-457-libsyn.mp3
Category: general
-- posted at: 2:00pm EST
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