The document discusses the Features module in Drupal, which allows users to package common site functionality like views, content types, and taxonomies into reusable modules. It describes how Features exports these site elements into code that can then be installed on other sites. This helps avoid manual exporting and importing of site elements between environments and allows functionality to be easily shared and updated across sites.

1. Using Features Drupalcamp Timisoara Alexandru Badiu Iunie 2010

2. This might have happened to you The dev – staging – production issue You build the site Client wants new stuff You build it on dev, passes staging Replicate on live site Write update functions, manual exporting of views, cck Using Features – Alexandru Badiu

3. This might have happened to you The “I’ve done this before” issue You build some feature for client A Along comes client B who wants the same thing Take code, exported views, cck, push to dev Work Replicate on prod Using Features – Alexandru Badiu

4. This might have happened to you The “Is there anyone editing file x.module?” issue You work on a large project Each dev pushes code to a repository What about database changes? Export views, cck and push them as well Make sure each dev imports stuff after each update Using Features – Alexandru Badiu

5. This might have happened to you The “What the f**k do I do now?” issue Drupal is hard for beginners Lots of modules Building a feature requires multiple modules usually and some knowledge about them Drupal recipes are good Using Features – Alexandru Badiu

6. Do you see a pattern? Wouldn’t it be nice if you had a repository of “modules” that create functionality a little bit more than “list all blog posts” or “have a block with latest promoted posts in category A”? Learn the open source way Instant gratification Uuuu, this is cool Using Features – Alexandru Badiu

7. Do you see a pattern? Wouldn’t it be nice if you could avoid all the manual exporting and importing of new features / changes and just package functionality in a “module” that can be updated? Modules are code, code can be put into versioning control Database changes can’t (easily) Using Features – Alexandru Badiu

8. Do you see a pattern? Just click to generate a new version of the “module“ Check in, others check out, update is done Less wrinkles and teeth grinding Using Features – Alexandru Badiu

9. So what is the problem? This is not necessarily a Drupal only problem It’s the nature of web development and the way we do it Coding != Site building If only products of site building could be exported… Oh wait Using Features – Alexandru Badiu

10. So what is the problem? Using Features – Alexandru Badiu

11. Exportables Exportables are ways of, well, exporting things from Drupal into code bits Pioneered by Views, CCK is also using this Imagecache, Spaces, Context, Strongarm Is this enough? No, replication is still a… not a piece of cake Lots of missing modules (like taxonomy) Using Features – Alexandru Badiu

12. Modular design It can also help if your site functionality is broken into a modular design Like maybe prefixing presets and views with blog_ or joblistings_ Or use image_blog_medium rather than image_blog_300x50 Or have site_blog.module and site_listings.module rather than that gigantic site.module These are nice first steps Using Features – Alexandru Badiu

13. Modular design What about blocks? Block visibility: php code or list of pages? Both? Complex conditions? What about menus? I want this menu to appear when you’re on a blog post but I want this other menu to appear on listings. Sitewide conditions: this should appear only if none of the conditions for the other “sections” are met Add more and more sections Using Features – Alexandru Badiu

14. The Context module Built by Development Seed You create sections for your site They are triggered by various conditions They enable blocks, activate menus They can be global They can act as failbacks They stack http://drupal.org/project/context Using Features – Alexandru Badiu

15. Almost there We can organize “visual” bits and pieces of our site using contexts We can use the same organization to name the products of our various site building tools We can follow a modular approach when developing our modules If only we could package all these changes into a module. Can it also be easy too? Using Features – Alexandru Badiu

16. The Features module The Features module does exactly that It takes different clues as to what you want to package There’s the manual way too (it’s not perfect) It exports automatically whatever it can (not all modules use exportables  ) It adds it’s magic Generates a “feature” which is actually a module Using Features – Alexandru Badiu

17. The Features module The module contains all the necessary bits and pieces about your views, content types, presets etc Contains code to activate them (create or update them) and deactivate them Knows about dependencies so it won’t break the site It’s a module so you can hack away Once you add more stuff: click click => new version of the module Install module on other site, presto Using Features – Alexandru Badiu

18. The Features module It doesn’t use update functions But you can write your own Doesn’t script site building, uses exportables This means that lots of modules don’t work Webform: uses actual content rather than content types Taxonomy: doesn’t use a machine name but numeric id’s Using Features – Alexandru Badiu

19. Share A feature can be installed on any other site that has the required modules You can put it on d.org Features server: repository of features Internal or external Get notified of updates Using Features – Alexandru Badiu

20. Basic usage Simple demo We are going to build a blog feature Use a context to “group” it Create a content type for it Make it use a vocabulary Create a listing and a block using views Package it using Features Deploy it on another site Using Features – Alexandru Badiu

21. More advanced stuff A bit about a more complex usage scenario CNP – Creative Network Platform Built by Raw Nerve and OpenlyConnected last year Powers three sites: http://londondesignfestival.com/ , http://www.creativeislanduk.com/ and the “never made it” beta of Project: Groundwork Team scattered in 6 cities Build the first site using features, reuse for all other sites and just change small things and do the theme Be careful with the extra things you add in a feature’s code: use drush Using Features – Alexandru Badiu

22. Even more advanced stuff Almost nothing about the hardcore usage The next step: the Spaces module Again, Development Seed Makes a Drupal site act like multiple sites Makes features spaces aware: selective enabling of features on a per group basis Using Features – Alexandru Badiu

23. Resources http://drupal.org/project/features http://drupal.org/node/580026 http://drupal.org/project/context http://drupal.org/project/spaces http://groups.drupal.org/packaging-deployment http://developmentseed.org/tags/features Using Features – Alexandru Badiu

24. Alexandru Badiu Thanks [email_address] http://plan9fromweb.com http://corporate.adulmec.com