Drupal for Programmers Training Plan

Session 1 (2 hours)

• Downloading and installing Drupal on a local machine, setting up the database, and configuring settings.
• Practical Project: Students follow along to install Drupal and familiarize themselves with the interface.
• Demonstrating Drupal terminology by creating nodes, blocks, modules, and user types in a live Drupal environment.
• Practical Project: Students replicate the process, creating their own nodes, blocks, and user types.

Session 2 (2 hours)

• Demonstration on how to install, configure, and use common Drupal modules.
• Practical Project: Students follow along, installing and configuring the same modules.
• Live example of creating, updating, and deleting content. Show how to work with default content types and manage taxonomy.
• Practical Project: Students create a Product section on their website, where they create, update, and delete Products. They’ll also implement taxonomy for Product categories and tags.

Session 3 (2 hours)

• Demonstration of how to install and configure themes, and an introduction to creating a custom theme.
• Practical Project: Students follow along to change their website’s appearance using a new theme and begin designing a basic custom theme.

Session 4 (2 hours)

• How to Build Drupal Modules
• Build Drupal module starter template
• PHP Prerequisites for Module Development
• Build Drupal controller for module
• Build routing in Drupal custom module
• Build a Drupal controller in module with ControllerBase
• Build menu link to module in Drupal Admin

Session 5 (2 hours)

• Overview of Drupal’s Core APIs
• Deep dive into Database API: CRUD operations, querying the database, and debugging techniques
• Exploring the Form API: Building, validating, and processing forms
• Homework Assignment: Create a custom Drupal form and implement database operations using the Form API and Database API.

Session 6 (2 hours)

• Exploring the Render API: Understanding the rendering process and render arrays
• Understanding the Entity API: Entity types, operations, and hooks
• Homework Assignment: Create a custom entity type and implement a page to display a list of entities using the Render API.

Session 7 (2 hours)

• Understanding hooks and their role in module development
• Creating custom modules: coding standards and best practices
• Exploring the Plugin system: Creating custom blocks and filters
• Homework Assignment: Develop a custom module that uses hooks and provides a new block type using the Plugin system.

Session 8 (2 hours)

• Live demonstration of creating a multilingual site, optimizing it for SEO, and updating and maintaining the Drupal site.
• Understanding Drupal’s caching system and how to use it effectively
• Best practices for secure coding in Drupal
• Overview of performance optimization techniques
• Monitoring and logging: Configuration and usage of Drupal’s logging and error reporting systems