This document provides an overview of Views integration in Drupal: 1. It introduces basic Views concepts and how to provide default views and embed views in code. 2. It describes Drupal-style lifecycle hooks for views like altering queries and rendering results. 3. It explains how to create custom handlers and plugins for views using the Views API for things like filters, fields and relationships. 4. It provides resources for learning more advanced Views development.

1. Developing for the Views 7.3 API Frédéric G. MARAND aka fgm aka OSInet

2. Session summary Concepts

3. Basic integration: default views & embedding

4. Drupal-style integration: lifecycle hooks

5. Views-style integration: handlers & plugins

6. Going further

7. 1. Concepts

8. Concepts: Is this for you ? Views UI

9. PHP5 OOP

10. Module development

11. Concepts: Views API, why care ? Code-based views

12. Views-based code

13. Views theming

14. Extra view types

15. Concepts: Why care ? More extras Handlers... Area contents

16. Argument types

17. Field types

18. Filters

19. Relationships

20. Sort rules Plugins... Access controls

21. Argument defaults

22. Argument validators

23. Caching mechanisms

24. Exposed forms

25. Localization

26. Pager types

27. Query engines

28. Layouts

29. Concepts: I'm sold: what is a View ? A pre-built query SQL, NoSQL, WS...

30. From Views UI or from code

31. On known entities ....

32. .... not in the EFQ sense

33. Concepts: What is a View, again ? A parametric query Arguments

34. Exposed filters A query with formatted results Layout plugins: Display, Style, Row

35. Themable

36. Yes, it means a REPORT

37. Concepts: a report for coders The « exportable » concept Default views

38. Normal views

39. Overridden views Features, anyone ?

40. Concepts: enough talk Time for some <?php hooks(); ?>

41. 2. Basic default/embed

42. Basic: Hello, Views hook_views_api() Version matching

43. Component location

44. THE hook in your module

45. Basic: HVA demo (Switch to code view)

46. Basic: intermezzo Intermezzo: hooks & OO in Views Skip to HVD

47. Basic: hooks & OO in Views Hooks

48. Passive observer pattern

49. Parent is in charge can override child

50. can extend child Implementations alter sibling results

51. « horizontal » Views OO

52. Inheritance

53. Children are in charge can override parent

54. can extend parent No sibling results

55. « vertical »

56. Basic: Views objects views_db_object view

57. view_display views_object views_handler

58. views_plugin … And a small collection of miscellaneous classes

59. Basic: Views hooks Pseudo-hooks Declare a list of data

60. Build a registry

61. Use exactly one specified piece of data

62. HV Data, HV DV, HV Plugins, HV QS… True hooks Accumulators: lifecycle hooks

63. Alter hooks: HV QA, HV ALA

64. Basic: supporting custom tables hook_views_data Base tables [base] view type = base table

65. The [table] array Linked tables POV: From the table being defined

66. ...to another (left) table via a (left) field

67. ...iteratively

68. ...until a base table is found at the far left Do not forget relationship handlers. Just not here.

69. Yes, that's a pseudo-hook Back to Intermezzo

70. Basic: altering the schema hook_views_data_alter Plain Old Drupal Alterator Use cases Expose new fields in a table supported by another module

71. Add new sorts, filters... to another module HVD/HVDA: Invocation time ?

72. Basic: HVD demo Add Views support to dblog.module (Switch to code view)

73. Basic: code-based Views hook_views_default_views Build a view object in code

74. PHP as a DSL ?

75. Didn't we see this somewhere else in Drupal ? Work process Views UI to/from code

76. Single or multiple view files

77. <?php ?> wrapper

78. File names

79. Basic: HVDV demo Provide a default view to dblog.module (Switch to code view)

80. Basic: a page with a view views_embed_view($name, $display = 'default') The good: Dead simple to use

81. Argument passing The bad: Default display ? Really ?

82. $view unavailable The ugly: Display side effects

83. Basic: a page with a better view view::execute_display() Still side effects

84. But more control: $view is available view::preview() Core of views_embed_view()

85. Can refine the process as needed

86. $view available

87. 3. Drupal-style: lifecycle hooks

88. Drupal style: early lifecycle hooks A bunch of traditional hooks

89. From view initialization to result rendering: HV_pre_view : start, no work done

90. Alter view with view::attachment_(before|after) HV_pre_build : Displays initialized

91. Alter view with view::attachment_(before|after)

92. Before query building

93. Drupal style: query lifecycle hooks HV_query_alter() Modify the query

94. Beware the aliases ! HV_query_substitutions Pseudo-hook: registry of ***CURRENT_USER*** -like

95. Uncommon in « userland » HV_pre_execute nodeAccess not yet applied

96. Drupal style: render lifecycle hooks Query executed

97. HV_pre_render After the pre_render() methods in handlers HV_admin_links_alter Damage control on side effects

98. Example: hide inline edit controls in list Theming Another story in its own right

99. 4. Views style: handlers & plugins

100. Views: handlers and plugins views_db_object : the helpful parent definition

101. options

102. forms views_handler define the query: fields, ordering, conditions, relations

103. define area content views_plugin everything else

104. including the query /engine/

105. Views: « layout » plugins Display Outer content

106. Define format: block, page, feed Style Row set

107. Grid, table, list... Row Optional: some style plugins (table) have to intervene between rows

108. Typical: views_plugin_row_fields

109. Views: access plugins Avoid running unauthorized queries

110. Mandatory

111. Built -in: None

112. Permission (BCP)

113. Role

114. Views: query plugin Build and run the actual query

115. Mandatory

116. Built-in: SQL via DBTNG (db_api in D6)

117. Opportunity to interface non-SQL services with Views. Samples/experiments: EntityFieldQuery http://drupal.org/project/efq_views

118. MongoDB http://bit.ly/mongodbviews

119. Web Services http://bit.ly/extendrviews

120. SPARQL, YQL, Wolfram Alpha, ApacheSolr...

121. Views: other plugins Argument plugins Not arguments themselves

122. Default plugins

123. Validation plugins Cache plugins Built-in: none, basic time-based

124. Optional: views_content_cache Others Pagers, exposed_form, localization (none / core)

125. Views: implementing plugins Declare to Views hook_views_plugins

126. views_discover_plugins File layout D7 autoloading: <module>.info

127. One per plugin

128. Naming conventions Alterability hook_views_plugins_alter()

129. Views: access plugin demo Write a variable-based access control plugin (Switch to code view)

130. Views: access plugin questions Views caching ?

131. Non-Views caching ?

132. Views: simple handlers Filter handlers Add conditions rules

133. Translate to WHERE or HAVING for SQL

134. Express a problem space condition as a (set of) query engine conditions Sort handlers Add sorting rules

135. Translate to ORDER BY for SQL

136. Express a problem space sorting as a query ordering

137. Views: field handlers Basic Expose a DB column under its own name Evolved Expose several aliases from a single column

138. Synthesize several columns into one field

139. Views: complex handlers Relationships Remember implicit joins ? Make them explicit

140. Allow multiple named join paths from table to base Arguments Basically filters

141. But context-injected

142. Can modify page: title, breadcrumbs...

143. Can modify display: eg summary mode Aggregate GROUP BY support ? argument & field & filter & sort

144. Views: area handlers Areas ? Header

145. Footer

146. Empty Why ? No more in-DB PHP to have dynamic area content

147. No more embedded views just for dynamic area content Why handlers ? Field handlers for the #global virtual table

148. Views: implementing handlers Declare to Views No more hook_views_handlers

149. Properties: hook_views_data[_alter]

150. D7 autoloading: <module>.info File layout: like plugins

151. Views: area handler demo (Switch to code view)

152. 5. Going further

153. Going further: more info This is just an intro! Merlinofchaos' et alii book about Views 2 still relevant

154. http://bit.ly/cckviewspanels Online http://views.doc.logrus.com/

155. Advanced Help in your own site Freenode IRC : Work on Views itself: #drupal-views

156. Support for your Views code: #drupal and #drupal-contribute (for contrib)

157. The mandatory plug This session is only an excerpt from the hands -on OSInet DR-713 course 7-hour hands-on workshop

158. Available in English and French

159. On-demand in other languages OSInet is a state registered french training provider with a full Drupal training syllabus From content creator... to site builder ...

160. ...to advanced module developer [email_address]

161. The « other » mandatory plug We're hiring ! [email_address]

162. </Developing for the Views 7.3 API Frédéric G. MARAND aka fgm aka OSInet>