Managing Media in Drupal
CourseTheming Drupal Sites
CourseWeek 1: Setup
CourseWeek 2: Create a New Theme
CourseWeek 3: Add an Asset Library
CourseYAML, which stands for YAML Ain't Markup Language, is a human-readable data serialization format that's been widely adopted in a variety of use cases in Drupal. Anyone wanting to write modules, or themes, for Drupal will need to understand YAML syntax. Even site builders are likely to encounter YAML at least in passing as YAML is the data-serialization format of choice for Drupal's configuration management system. Good thing it's pretty easy to learn even with the most basic of programming backgrounds.
This tutorial will look at the YAML data format and provide examples of how to write and read YAML. Starting with an introduction to the language's syntax and some of the strengths of YAML. Then looking at the difference between scalar data types like strings and integers, and collection data types like lists and associative arrays.
Since YAML in the Drupal world is read into PHP and ultimately becomes a PHP data structure that we can use in our own code we'll also look at how the YAML we write in a .yml file is represented in PHP data types. To do this we'll use the YAML Sandbox module that provides a handy textarea into which we can type YAML and have it parsed into PHP data structures.
Learning objectives
- Explain what YAML is and its strengths as a data serialization format
- Create scalar key/value pairs in YAML
- Create lists, and associative arrays using YAML collections
- Understand how the YAML you write is represented in PHP
Tips
- In Drupal, use the .yml extension and not .yaml
- Ensure your code editing application is configured to use spaces (preferably 2 spaces, as per Drupal coding standards), not the tab character when the TAB key is pressed. If you have tab characters in a YAML file within a Drupal environment, a fatal PHP error will be thrown and you'll see a White Screen of Death (WSOD).
- Copy and paste from an existing YAML file to ensure the formatting is correct, and edit from there.
Additional resources
- http://www.yaml.org
- YAML Sandbox module
- Find other tutorials and external resources related to YAML on our YAML topic page (Drupalize.Me)
Hands-On Theming
GuideTheming Cheat Sheet
GuideLearn Drupal
GuideTwig is the theme template engine in Drupal as of version 8. Like any code, there are guidelines and standards that dictate both the style and the structure of the code. In this tutorial we will explain how to adhere to the Drupal code standards while implementing Twig templating.
By the end of this tutorial you will be able to adhere to Drupal's coding standards when writing Twig, and know where to find more information about the guidelines when necessary.
Set up a local development environment to practice Drupal theme development. In order to practice theme development, either on your own or following our Hands-On: Theming guide, you'll need a Drupal site up and running on your computer.
By the end of this tutorial, you should be able to:
- Install Drupal on your computer so you can modify files with a code editor of your choice.
- Generate dummy content so that you have different kinds of pages to theme.