Legacy Module Development

What will you learn

Coding and development in Drupal 7
Using hooks in Drupal 7
Render API in Drupal 7
Menu system in Drupal 7
Coding for Views in Drupal 7
Working with entities and fields in Drupal 7 modules

Overview

This is a guide to our legacy module development tutorial content which was produced for Drupal 7.

Drupal 7 for Developers

Background and prerequisites

Coding

PHP

Topic

Theming, Module Development

Drupal 7, 8, 9, and 10

More information

PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) is a popular interpreted programming language that is especially suited for web development. Drupal core and all contributed modules are written in PHP.

Local development set up and tools

Developers are expected to know how to work on a copy of the live site, instead of making potentially hazardous changes or testing new ideas directly on the live site. You should be able to set up a development environment for your work.

Development Environments: Setup and Tools

Topic

Site Building, Theming, Module Development

Drupal 7, 8, 9, and 10

More information

Development environments provide a sandbox where you can work on your application without affecting the live site.

Essential lessons

Module Development for Drupal 7

Course

Module Development

Drupal 7

26 tutorials

Introduction to Module Development for Drupal 7 Free

Helpful Tools for Module Development

An Overview of the Devel Module

Drupal API Documentation Free

Anatomy of a Drupal Module

The Event-Driven Hook System

Tips for Writing Secure Code

Overview of the Drupal Menu System

Using URL Arguments in Page Callback Functions

Adding Contextual Menu Links and Using Menu Autoloaders

Using the Drupal Render API

Attachments and Caching with the Render API

Altering the Page Array

Integrating with the Theme System

An Overview of the Form API

Creating, Submitting and Validating a Simple Form

Organizing Collections of Form Elements

Creating Dynamic Forms with the States System

Altering Forms with hook_form_alter()

Altering Specific Forms and Customizing Validation

Creating a Configuration Settings Form for Your Module

An Overview of the Database Layer in Drupal 7

Querying the Database with db_select()

Adding a Table to the Database

Querying the Database with Query Methods

Altering the Database

Working with Entities in Drupal 7

Course

Module Development

Drupal 7

16 tutorials

Introduction to Working with Entities in Drupal 7 Series Free

What Are Drupal Entities? Free

Work with Existing Drupal Entities

Make Lists of Entities with Entity Field Query

Our Custom Drupal Entity Use Case

Create a Simple Custom Entity

Introduction to Entity Classes

Provide an Admin UI for Your Entity

Override the Entity Controller for Better Rendering and Saving

Make Your Entity Fieldable with Bundles

Entity View Modes

Expose Your Entity to Views

Customize the Entity UI by Overriding the UI Controller

Better Entity Property Information

Using Entity Metadata Wrappers

Entity Revisions

Drupal 7 Field API: Creating Custom Field Types, Widgets and Formatters

Course

Module Development

Drupal 7

12 tutorials

Introduction to the Drupal 7 Field API Series Free

Drupal 7 Field API Fundamentals

Field API Documentation and Resources

Define What We're Building & Start a New Module

Providing Drupal with Meta-Data About a Custom Field

Defining a Field's Schema for Database Storage

Creating Field Widgets For Collecting User Input Free

Validating and Saving Field Data

Adding Settings for Field Widgets

Creating a Field Formatter and Displaying Field Data

Adding Additional Settings for Field Formatters

Performing Additional Operations When Loading Field Data

Coding for Views for Drupal 7

Course

Module Development

Drupal 7

18 tutorials

Introduction to Coding for Views Free

Setting up Your Local Environment

Finding Additional Views Help and Resources

Telling Views About Your Module Free

Creating a Default View by Exporting an Existing View

Re-Introducing the Databasics Module

Exposing Your Module's Tables to Views

Exposing Your Module's Tables to Views Continued...

Exposing More Fields and Adding Relationships

Writing Custom Field Handlers

Writing Custom Field Handlers Continued...

Adding Fields That Do Not Exist in the Database

Writing Custom Filter Handlers

Writing Custom Sort Handlers

Writing Custom Area Handlers

Databasics Default View

Views Access Plugin

Theming Views

Drupal Coding Standards

Topic

Theming, Module Development

Drupal 7, 8, 9, and 10

More information

Coding standards provide a set of rules for how your code should be formatted, and best practice guidelines for naming conventions and the location of files.

Advanced concepts

Deployment Workflows

Topic

Site Building, Theming, Module Development

Drupal 7, 8, 9, and 10

More information

Tools and workflows for deploying code and configuration changes from one environment to another with Drupal-specific considerations.

Automated Testing in Drupal 7 with SimpleTest

Course

Module Development

Drupal 7

13 tutorials

Introduction to Automated Testing with SimpleTest Free

What Is Automated Testing?

Understanding SimpleTest's Terminology and Methodology

Installing SimpleTest and Running Tests

Learning Test Case Basics by Writing a Hello World Test Free

Different Types Of Assertions in SimpleTest

Navigating a Site with SimpleTest's Browser

Testing and Submitting Forms with SimpleTest

Handling Users and Permissions in SimpleTest

Creating Dummy Content with SimpleTest Free

Uploading Files and Submitting AJAX Forms with SimpleTest

Writing Unit Tests Using DrupalUnitTestCase

Testing an Existing Site with SimpleTest 2.x

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Legacy Module Development for Drupal 7