This document discusses entities in Drupal 8. It explains that taxonomy vocabularies, roles, and node types are now configuration entities, while nodes remain content entities. Entities now implement the EntityInterface and either the ContentEntityInterface or ConfigEntityInterface. Fields are now separated from entities and are configuration objects that can work on non-configurable fields. The document outlines remaining work like unifying the field and entity APIs.

1. Drupal 8 Entities
Content vs Configuration
Andy Postnikov, 2013

2. Entity? Node != Content?

3. Drupal 7 entities
● Node
● Comment
● User
● Term
● Vocabulary
●
● Contrib … Commerce, Message, ECK, ...
●
● Entity API, Rules, DS

4. Drupal 8 entities
Ctools + Entity API + DS + Rules
EntityInterface
ContentEntityInterface
ConfigEntityInterface
Entity

5. Taxonomy vocabulary

6. D8 entity - taxonomy_vocabulary
core/profiles/standard/config/taxonomy.vocabulary.tags.yml
● vid: tags
● name: Tags
● description: 'Use tags to group articles on similar topics into categories.'
● hierarchy: '0'
● weight: '0'
● status: '1'
● langcode: en

7. Role — Drupal 8 changes!

8. Role = user_role config
/core/profiles/standard
/config/user.role.administrator.yml
● id: administrator
● label: Administrator
● weight: 2
● langcode: en

9. Node & NodeType
type: article
name: Article
base: node_content
module: node
disabled: '0'
locked: '0'
custom: '1'
status: '1'
langcode: und
description: 'Use
<em>articles</em> for
time-sensitive content like
news, press releases or
blog posts.'
help: ''
has_title: '1'
title_label: Title
settings:
node:
preview: '1'
options:
status: status
promote: promote
sticky: '0'
revision: '0'
submitted: '1'
Node = nid, uuid, vid, type, langcode [tnid, translate]
{node_field_data} + {node_field_revision} = title, uid...
NodeType http://dgo.to/111715 - conversion

10. Content vs Config
● Contact
● Vocabulary
● View
● Custom block
● Role
● Menu
Block config vs Block content → Content

11. ContentEntityInterface

12. ConfigEntityInterface
getOriginalID() + setStatus()

13. Language Entity or Class
● Each entity contains
– UUID - Universally unique identifier for this entity. (128)
– LANGCODE - varchar(12)
● Modules:
– Locale
– language
– translation @deprecated
– translation_entity

14. Entity translation in core

15. Entity = Plugin (wtf)
DrupaluserPluginCoreEntityUser
/**
* Defines the user entity class.
*
* @EntityType(
* id = "user",
* label = @Translation("User"),
* module = "user",
* controllers = {
* "storage" =
"DrupaluserUserStorageController",
* "access" =
"DrupaluserUserAccessController",
* "render" =
"DrupalCoreEntityEntityRenderController",
* "form" = {
* "profile" =
"DrupaluserProfileFormController",
* "register" =
"DrupaluserRegisterFormController"
* },
* "translation" =
"DrupaluserProfileTranslationController"
* },
* default_operation = "profile",
* base_table = "users",
* uri_callback = "user_uri",
* route_base_path =
"admin/config/people/accounts",
* label_callback = "user_label",
* fieldable = TRUE,
* translatable = TRUE,
* entity_keys = {
* "id" = "uid",
* "uuid" = "uuid"
* }
* )
*/
class User extends EntityNG implements
UserInterface {
…
interface UserInterface extends
EntityInterface {}
class Entity implements
IteratorAggregate, EntityInterface {}
class EntityNG extends Entity {}

16. Entity API
● Definition:
– Annotation @EntityType
– hook_entity_info(&$entity_info) +
hook_entity_info_alter(&$entity_info)
– hook_entity_bundle_info() +
hook_entity_bundle_info_alter(&$bundles)
– Display entity via RenderController
● ViewMode
● EntityDisplay
● EntityFormDisplay

17. Entity API
● Controllers:
– EntityStorageControllerInterface
– EntityAccessControllerInterface
– EntityRenderControllerInterface
– EntityFormControllerInterface — many
– EntityTranslationControllerInterface

18. Entity NG
● Why Drupal 8 slow (x4) => entityBCdecorator
<?php
/**
* @file
* Contains DrupalCoreEntityEntity.
*/
/**
* Implements DrupalCoreEntityEntityInterface::getBCEntity().
*/
public function getBCEntity() {
return $this;
}
/**
* Implements DrupalCoreEntityEntityInterface::getNGEntity().
*/
public function getNGEntity() {
return $this;
}

19. Entity NG - BC
● Magic methods vs native properties
<?php
/**
* @file
* Contains DrupalCoreEntityEntityNG.
*/
/**
* Overrides Entity::getBCEntity().
*/
public function getBCEntity() {
if (!isset($this->bcEntity)) {
// Initialize field definitions so that we can pass them by reference.
$this->getPropertyDefinitions();
$this->bcEntity = new EntityBCDecorator($this, $this->fieldDefinitions);
}
return $this->bcEntity;
}

20. Fields NG
● Bundles are separated from entity definition
● Field and Field instance are config objects
● Todo:
– Replace most field-hooks with TypedData
– Review mega patches in sandboxes
– Allow use widgets and formatters for any data
object (none-configurable field)

21. Fields for menu links
● * @EntityType(
● * id = "menu",
● * label = @Translation("Menu"),
● * module = "system",
● * controllers = {
● * "storage" = "DrupalCoreConfigEntityConfigStorageController"
● * },
● * config_prefix = "menu.menu",
● * entity_keys = {
● * "id" = "id",
● * "label" = "label",
● * "uuid" = "uuid"
● * }

22. TypedData

23. Validation
● #2002152 by fago, amateescu: Implement
entity validation based on symfony validator.
●
● Make formatters and widgets work on
nonconfigurable fields
https://drupal.org/node/1950632

24. Todo
● [meta] Unified Entity Field API
– https://drupal.org/node/1346214
● Move entity-type specific storage logic into
entity classes
– https://drupal.org/node/1893772
● [META] Unify entity fields and field API
– https://drupal.org/node/1949932

25. Questions
● http://entity.worldempire.ch
● http://realize.be/field-api/
● http://buytaert.net/want-more-features-in-drupal-8-h