The document provides an overview of upgrading Drupal from versions 6 to 8, detailing the components and challenges involved in the upgrade process. It emphasizes the importance of using updated versions for new features, bug fixes, and security updates, along with outlining best practices for upgrading core, contributed, and custom modules. Additionally, it discusses tools like Drush for managing development and highlights the significance of planning and testing during the upgrade process.

1. Navigating Drupal Upgrades:
Versions 6 Through 8 And What It
Means

2. Session Goals
• Components for a
Drupal upgrade
• What is a Drupal
Upgrade
• What are the
challenges
• Understanding why
you need to upgrade
• Upgrade options

3. Vocabulary

4. Drupal Core
• The core
functionality of
Drupal
– Entities
– Nodes
– Fields
– Blocks
– Themes
– Menus

5. API
• A set of tools given to
other developers to
build with
• Drupal has many APIs
• In each version of
Drupal the APIs
change

6. Theme
• The design of the site
– Placement
– Colors
– Text size
• Drupal provides an
engine for rendering
the theme

7. Modules
Custom
Modules written for specific sites to custom
features and business logic.
Contributed (Contrib)
The modules that add functionality to Drupal but are not part of
Drupal Core.
Core
The main Drupal system. The code you get when you download Drupal.

8. Contrib
• Functionality that does
not make it into core
• Moves faster than
Drupal Core
• Various levels of
quality
• Each module is called a
project and has a
maintainer

9. Bug Fixes
• Released as needed
• Released for both core and contrib
• Contrib releases whenever developers want

10. Security Updates
• Security updates are
released as needed for
Drupal Core and
Contrib
• Community finds bugs
and module
maintainers or other
contributors fix them

11. Drupal Security Team
• Team of Drupal
contributors that
identify and resolve
security issues
• Work in private with
module maintainers
until security issues
can be resolved

12. Major Upgrade vs. Minor Upgrade
• Major upgrade Drupal 6 to 7
– Requires new contributed modules
– Requires new theme
– Many changes to custom modules and integrations
• Minor Upgrade
– Drupal 7.23 to 7.34
– Depending on the upgrade some are more minor than
others
– Usually does not change what contrib modules you
use

13. Why Upgrade
•
•
•
•
New Features
Bug Fixes
Security
It’s Cool?

14. Drupal 4,5,6,7,8….
•
•
•
•
Drupal 4.7 - 2002
Drupal 5 - 2005
Drupal 6 - 2011
Drupal 8 - TBD 2014

15. New Features in Drupal 7
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Many API changes
Fields in core
Entities
Overlay
Drag and drop
File support
Secure file system

16. New Features in Drupal 8
• Configuration Management (CMI)
• Mobile and adaptive support
• Built in WYSIWYG editor and click to edit
support
• Views in core
• Better services architecture
• Object Oriented Code

17. When Will Drupal 8 Be Released?
• When its ready
• When there no
critical bugs
• Drupal Release Date
Site
• Just before core us
ready does not mean
contrib is ready

18. Drupal PCI Compliance
• Recent white paper on
Drupal and PCI is your
first resource
• Open Source software is
OK for PCI compliance
but you must keep the
software up to date with
a community supported
version

19. Resources
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Change Logs
Documentation
Hacked Module
Coder Module
Devel Module
Drupal.org
The Internet
Denver/Boulder
Drupal Users Group
(DBUG)

20. Upgrading Core
• Backup everything
– Make sure to backup
sites, .htaccess, robots.txt, .gi
tignore
– Profiles folder and other
folders with customizations
• For major upgrades disable
all modules
• Delete Drupal and extract
the new version- add your
files back
• Run the Update Script

21. Upgrading Contrib
• Delete the module
• Download the new
module
• Run the update script

22. Drush
• Provides core
commands for
managing Drupal
Development
• Drush up
• Added commands
from many modules
including coder and
migrate

23. Upgrading Custom Modules
• You will need to upgrade to
match new APIs and other
changes
• Often a customization needed
in one version is not need in
another
• You do not need to re-write
custom modules for most
minor updates
• Run modules through Coder
to make sure it meets Drupal
Coding Standards

24. Big Modules
• There are some big
modules that take
more to upgrade
• Make sure your
modules will work
with the versions of
Drupal you want to
use
• Check documentation

25. Upgrading Themes
• Theming changes with
major versions (theme
engines)
• Themes may need to
change for minor
versions
• Make sure that you are
only doing theme things
in the theme
• Drupal 8 will use Twig

26. Environments
Production
Staging
Dev/Test

27. Git With It
• Worth considering for
managing code
• A must have for multiple
people working on a site
• Needed for managing patches
and contributing to D.O
• Git Hub is free to very low cost
for code management

28. Time?
• How much time does
it take?
– Major upgrades
– Minor upgrades
• What if it takes so
much time I cant
have my server
down?
• Can we do it in parts?

29. The Things That May Cause
Nightmares
• Modules that are not
upgraded
• Migration paths for
modules
• Sites that have been
“hacked”
• Custom code

30. Smooth Sailing
• Planning
• Test, test, test
• Read the
documentation
• Multiple server
environment
• Give yourself enough
time

31. Back Drop
• New system designed
to be better at
backward
compatibility with APIs
• Plans to add support
for many Drupal 8
tools without
switching to OO
development
• There is no direct
upgrade path yet

32. Migrate Module
• Use Migrate Module
to move content from
one site or another
• Use to Drupal to
Drupal Migrate
module to migrate
between Drupal sites
– For example Drupal 6
to 7

33. Upgrade Alternatives
• Migrate – Drupal to
Drupal
• Self maintain
• Switch platforms

34. Steve Kessler
Denver DataMan
(303)587-4428
steve@denverdataman.com