Drupal Development Toolbox

Table of Contents

• Installation and Configuration
• Drush Commands
• Modules and Themes
• Configuration Management
• Entities and Database Operations
• Hooks and Services
• Routes and Controllers
• Users and Access Control
• Bonus: Tips and Best Practices

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Installation and Configuration of a Drupal Instance

• Install Drupal:

  composer create-project drupal/recommended-project drupal-website
  cd drupal-website```

• Install Drupal in a Subdirectory:

  composer create-project drupal/recommended-project drupal-website
  mv drupal-website public_html``` 

• Initialize the Site:

   drush site:install standard --db-url=mysql://user:password@localhost/databasename --site-name="Drupal Website"

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Drush Commands

• Common Drush Commands:

  drush cr          # Clear cache
  drush uli         # Get login URL
  drush status      # Drupal site status
  drush pm:enable   # Enable a module
  drush pm:uninstall # Uninstall a module
  drush config:export -y # Export configuration
  drush config:import -y # Import configuration

  ---

  
  

  Modules and Themes

• Install a Module via Composer:

  composer require drupal/devel
  drush pm:enable devel

• Install a Custom Module:

  • Place the module in modules/custom/module_name.
  • Define the .info.yml file, hook implementations, and other components.

• Install a Custom Theme:

  • Place the theme in themes/custom/theme_name.
  • Define the .info.yml file, templates, and assets.

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Configuration Management

• Export Configuration:

  drush config:export

• Import Configuration:

  drush config:import

• Reset to Default Configuration:

  drush config:delete mymodule.settings

• Run PHP code via Drush:

  drush php-eval "dump(\Drupal::Config('system.site')->get('name'));"

---

Entities and Database Operations

• Query with EntityQuery:

  $query = \Drupal::entityQuery('node')
      ->condition('type', 'article')
      ->accessCheck(TRUE)
      ->condition('status', 1);
  $nids = $query->execute();

• Load an Entity:

  $node = \Drupal::entityTypeManager()
      ->getStorage('node')
      ->load($node_id);

• Load Multiple Entities:

  $entity_manager = \Drupal::entityTypeManager()
      ->getStorage('node');
      
  $nids = $entity_manager->getQuery()
      ->condition('type', 'article')
      ->condition('status', 1)
      ->accessCheck(TRUE)
      ->execute();
  
  $nodes = $entity_manager->loadMultiple($nids);

• Create an Entity:

  $node = \Drupal\node\Entity\Node::create([
    'type' => 'article',
    'title' => 'My New Article',
  ]);
  $node->save();

---

Hooks and Services

• Implement a Hook:

  function mymodule_node_view(array &$build, \Drupal\node\NodeInterface $node) {
    // Modify the node display here.
  }

• Define a Service:

  • Add to mymodule.services.yml:

    services:
      mymodule.my_service:
        class: Drupal\mymodule\MyService
        arguments: []

  • Create src/MyService.php with the defined class.

---

Routes and Controllers

• Define a Route:

  • In mymodule.routing.yml:

    mymodule.custom_route:
      path: '/custom-route'
      defaults:
        _controller: '\Drupal\mymodule\Controller\CustomController::content'
      requirements:
        _permission: 'access content'

• Create a Controller:

  • In src/Controller/CustomController.php:

    namespace Drupal\mymodule\Controller;
    use Drupal\Core\Controller\ControllerBase;
    
    class CustomController extends ControllerBase {
      public function content() {
        return [
          '#markup' => 'Hello, Drupal!',
        ];
      }
    }

---

Users and Access Control

• Check User Permissions:

  $current_user = \Drupal::currentUser();
  if ($current_user->hasPermission('administer site configuration')) {
    // The user has permission to administer the site.
  }

• Create a User:

  // Create a new user
  $user = \Drupal\user\Entity\User::create([
    'name' => 'username',
    'mail' => 'user@example.com',
  ]);
  $user->save();

---

Bonus: Tips and Best Practices

• Debugging Tools:

  • Use the Devel module for quick debugging.
  • Use the dump($foo) function to debug code and remember to add die() after the dump to stop PHP execution.
  • Use drush ws to monitor logs and errors.

• For Better Performance:

  • Enable caching wherever possible.
  • Use Varnish or Redis for additional cache layers.
  • Optimize database queries and use the Drupal\Core\Database\Connection service instead of writing raw SQL.

• Security Best Practices:

  • Keep Drupal and all modules/themes up to date.
  • Use strong passwords and limit permissions.
  • Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) where possible.