Drupal/C3/Finding-and-Evaluating-Modules/English

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Title: Finding and Evaluating Modules

Keywords: Drupal, Finding and Evaluating Modules


Visual Cue
Narration
Slide 1:

Finding and Evaluating Modules

Welcome to the Spoken tutorial on Finding and Evaluating Modules.
Slide 2:

Learning Objectives


In this tutorial, we will learn to
  • Search for a module and
  • Evaluate a module
Slide 3:

System requirement


To record this tutorial, I am using


  • Ubuntu Linux Operating System
  • Drupal 8 and
  • Firefox Web browser

You can use any web browser as per your choice.

Time Narration
00:09 Earlier in the series, we’ve talked about extending a website through Modules.
00:14 And we have covered some of the Modules that come with Drupal.
00:18 We’ve even installed the Module devel earlier in the course.
00:23 But now we’ll understand how to evaluate and find great Modules.
00:28 Let’s go to drupal.org/project/modules
00:34 There are almost 18,000 Modules available for Drupal here.
00:40 Please note that a Drupal Module only works with the version of Drupal that it’s intended for.
00:47 So we have to update the Core compatibility to the version of Drupal we’re using.
00:52 This tutorial has been recorded before the release of Drupal 8.


If we look for Drupal 8, we see only 1,000 Modules that match our search.

01:02 For this demo, I’ll switch back to Drupal 7, in order to show you some great things about Modules.
01:12 Click Search.
01:15 And there are 11,000 Modules for Drupal 7. That’s a huge difference.
01:21 With time, we will see the number of Drupal 8 Modules rapidly increase.
1:29 Meanwhile, let’s learn how to evaluate good Modules.
1:34 On this page, let us filter on the Core compatibility of the version of Drupal we are using.


The list is sorted by Most installed or Most popular.

1:46 Chaos tool suite or ctools and Views are the all time popular Modules of Drupal.
1:56 Let’s click on Views.
1:58 There’s a simple 3-step approach to evaluating a good Module.
2:05 Suppose we go to the licensing bureau to get a new license to drive or register a car.


In most US states, it’s called the dmv or the Department of Motor Vehicles.


So, we’ll keep that in mind d m and v.

2:21
  • d stands for documentation
  • m stands for maintainers and
  • v stands for versions.
2:32 Look at the information given under the Project Information and Downloads.
2:39 Let’s start with d.


Views is the second most popular Module of all time.

2:44 In fact, it’s being incorporated into Drupal 8 and we’ve actually used Views a lot, in this course.
2:54 There is no other shortcut in open source
  • to understand whether a Module is right or not,
  • except to read the documentation.
3:05 Always, read the documentation to know what a Module does.
3:10 Read the documentation to know what the issues are.
3:14 How do we know there’s help available?

Read the documentation.

3:20 Once we install a Module, we should read the documentation to know which parts to turn on.
3:28 Reading the documentation is extremely important.
3:34 Please note, in open source, there is no-one to sue if a Module destroys your site.
3:39 You have to read the documentation.


And determine whether the Module is compatible with what you’ve done on your site already.

3:47 So, I can’t emphasise it enough.

Read all of this information by clicking on

  • this Documentation link
  • The issue queue
  • And the bug reports

to find out what is in this Module.


So that’s the d.

4:03 The m stands for maintainers.
4:05 This particular Module was started by merlinofchaos.
4:11 Now, when we click on his name, it takes us to his Drupal profile.
4:17 Later in the course, we will learn how to have our own Drupal profile.
4:23 Here we see that Earl Miles is a big contributor to the Drupal Project - over 6300 commits.


And he is the main creator of Chaos tools and Views.

4:37 There are a number of other maintainers for this particular Module.
4:41 With Modules
  • you might see just one person maintaining it or
  • you might see a group of people maintaining a Module.
4:50 Both are ok.
4:52 But say, a Module happens to be mission-critical, and the maintainer is unable to continue with it.


Then we might be in trouble.

5:01 So, that’s something to consider.
5:04 Finally at the bottom, is the Project information and the Versions or our v.
5:12 The maintenance status of v is, right now, seeking co-maintainers. We need not worry.


Views has already been incorporated into Drupal 8.


So, they’re probably just looking for some help there.

5:23 It’s under active development.
5:25 It’s on almost a million sites.


And the stats show 7 point 6 million downloads already.

5:32 Now - this is important.


If a Project says “abandoned” or “I’ve given up”, then avoid using that Module.

5:43 You won’t see that very often, however.
5:47 Always use the Version of the Module that is the same as the Version of your Drupal installation.
5:58 There is no Drupal 8 version here because Views is already in core.
6:02 But if I was installing this on a Drupal 7 site, I would not click on this link.
6:09 It will take us to a node that gives detailed information about this Module.
6:14 Instead, right-click on the tar or the zip, and click on Copy Link.
6:20 This was mentioned earlier when we installed devel.
6:24 How do we determine if a Module is right for us?
6:28 As simple as d m v.
6:33 One of the frequently questions is, "How does one find a Module"?
6:39 One option is to go todurpal [dot] org slash project slash modules
6:45 And filter by Core compatibility - Categories, of which there are many.
6:53 Otherwise, it is impossible to find Modules that we need at drupal [dot] org.
7:00 If you are good at it, you will be able to find them.


But when new users might get confused with the number of Modules listed there.

7:09 Again the question will be - which Module is right for me?
7:15 Google is your friend!
7:17 If we’re looking for a Drupal Module with a Date field then just type drupal module date.
7:30 And the first thing that comes up is the Date Module.
7:32 We know that because the URL is drupal [dot] org slash project slash date
7:39 What if we need a Rating system?
7:44 Type drupal module rating system
7:49 Now, we get 2 options here-
  • The Fivestar Rating Module or
  • The Star Rating Module
7:57 So, we have 2 Modules that we can look at, to determine which one might be better for us.
8:02 What about if we need a webform?
8:04 Again type drupal module webform.
8:08 And we get a project named Webform.
8:11 This is probably the best way to find Modules, for beginners.
8:17 Drupal module and a description of what we need our Module to do.
8:22 I hope that’s been helpful.


Remember, to find Modules, Google is your friend.

8:27 And to understand which Module is best for you, remember d m and v.
With this we come to end of this tutorial.
Slide 5:

Summary


Let us summarize.


In this tutorial we have learnt to

  • Search for a module and
  • Evaluate a module
Slide 6:

Acknowledgement


This video is
  • adapted from Acquia and OSTraining
  • and revised by Spoken Tutorial Project, IIT Bombay.
Slide 7:

Acknowledgement


The video at this link summarises the Spoken Tutorial project.


Pls download and watch it.

Slide 8:

Spoken Tutorial Workshops


The Spoken Tutorial Project Team conducts workshops and gives certificates.


For more details, please write to us.

Slide 9:

Acknowledgement


Spoken Tutorial Project is funded by
  • NMEICT, Ministry of Human Resource Development and
  • NVLI, Ministry of Culture

Government of India.

This is Vanessa Varkey signing off.


Thanks for joining.

Contributors and Content Editors

Nancyvarkey, Priyacst