The document outlines the advantages of using Drupal as a rapid application development framework for startups, highlighting its ease of use, modularity, and ability to quickly build and manage web applications. It covers key concepts, layout management, content handling, workflows, and e-commerce integration, demonstrating Drupal's extensibility and robust capabilities. Additionally, it provides insights into Zyxware Technologies' contributions to the Drupal community and their engagement in promoting free software.

1. DRUPAL as a
Rapid Application
Development
Framework for Startups
Anoop John
Chief Technology Officer
www.zyxware.com

2. Contents
•
What a startup would look for when building web
applications?
•
What is Drupal?
•
Why Drupal is a good fit for startups?
•
Basic Drupal concepts
•
Aspects of a web application
•
Managing Layout in Drupal
•
Managing Content / Data in Drupal
•
Presentation of Content
•
Roles & Permissions

3. Contents (contd...)
•
Workflows around Content
•
Rules & Business Logic
•
Ecommerce & Payments
•
Drupal Commons – OOTB Social Site
•
Other cool Drupal features
•
Example
•
Key modules to remember
•
About Zyxware
•
Questions

4. What a startup would look for when
building web applications?
•
Easy to learn system & technology
•
Ability to leverage on existing systems
•
Not have to re-invent the wheel
•
Quickly try out ideas
•
Easily build proof of concepts
•
Take to market fast
•
Ability to customize easily
•
Ability to build and scale
•
Strong platform for future growth

5. What is Drupal?
•
Drupal is a Content Management System
•
Built on PHP, MySQL, HTML, JS, CSS
•
Allows collection, presentation
& management of structured information
•
Allows building websites
•
Allows building dynamic web applications
•
API to build and extend the application
•
Extensible, Modular, Pluggable, Scalable
•
Thousands of modules to extend the capabilities without
writing a line of code
•
Drupal is more than a Content Management System. It is a
Rapid Application Development Framework

6. Why Drupal is a good fit for startups
•
Fully functional website out of the box
•
Fully functional CMS out of the box
•
More than 10000 modules to extend
•
Ability to build applications with workflows, permissions, rules
without writing a line of code
•
Out of the box CRUD system for complex data collection,
presentation and management
•
Control over layout without coding
•
Drupal distributions OOTB systems
•
Strong API for future extension
•
Stable and secure platform

7. Basic Drupal concepts
•
Entity & Node
•
Content Types
•
Modules – core & contrib
•
Themes
•
Blocks & Menus
•
Roles and Permissions
•
Administration
•
Hooks & Callbacks
•
Form API

8. Aspects of a web application
•
Structure of layout
•
Collection of structured information
•
Presentation of information
•
Roles and Permissions
•
Workflow related to collected information
•
Business Logic

9. Managing Layout in Drupal
•
Structure of layout
•
Themes
•
Regions
•
Block System
•
Custom HTML
•
Automatically generated content
•
Panels
•
Panes
•
Landing pages
•
Contexts

10. Managing Content / Data in Drupal
•
Entity
•
Node
•
Content Types
•
Fields
•
Edit forms
•
Taxonomy
•
Taxonomy listing
•
Webforms – custom surveys

11. Presentation of Content
•
Data abstraction with Views
•
Views displays
•
Pages, Blocks, Feeds, Panes
•
Views theming
•
Export – CSV, XML

12. Roles and Permissions
•
Access Control at interface level
•
Access Control at code level
•
Users
•
Roles
•
Permissions

13. Workflows around Content
•
Views & dashboards
•
Roles & Permissions in views
•
Nodequeues
•
Flags
•
Views bulk operations
•
Workflow module
•
Edit / View permissions

14. Rules and Business Logic
•
Events & Triggers
•
Context & Data
•
Actions
•
Send emails
•
Redirect users
•
Update content, set values
•
Creating custom actions
•
Exposing custom events

15. Ecommerce & Payments
•
Drupal Commerce
•
Ubercart
•
Paypal
•
CCAvenue
•
Banking gateway integration

16. Drupal Commons – OOTB Social Site
•
Supported by Acquia
•
Social networking system
out of the box
•
Integration with other social
networking systems
•
Ability to extend using
modules / custom code

17. Other cool Drupal features
•
Multisite & Individual Domains
•
Aegir for deployments & PaaS
•
Third party integration
•
Import and Export of Data
•
Services, XMLRPC, REST, JSON
•
Backend for mobile application
•
Mobile theming + regular theming

18. Example
•
Roles – Admin, Speaker, Attendee
•
Suggest Event – Event Content Type, Fields, Status
•
Event – Status as not approved
•
Event Schedule - View
•
Approval Queue
•
Blog
•
Nodequeue – Home page
•
My Events - Flag

19. Feeds Node
Context
VBO
Services
Views
Taxonomy
Nodequeue
Rules
Fields
Flag
Panels
Admin Menu Fivestar
Webform

20. Zyxware Technologies and Drupal
Zyxware is a leading contributor to Drupal from India and is one of only
six Featured Service Providers from India listed on drupal.org
●
Over 40,000 websites use our modules and themes
●
More than 30 contributed modules and themes
●
Maintainer of Search404, a top 100 Drupal module
●
Over 1000 commits at drupal.org
●
Contributes all patches back to Drupal
●
Our profile on drupal.org - http://drupal.org/user/222163
●
Knowledge partnerships with Acquia, New Relic and Volacci

21. Free Software and Zyxware Technologies
●
Freedom Walk, a 44 day walk by a team of
Free Software Evangelists across the length of
Kerala to promote Free Software
●
Building RithuOS, an Operating System for Engineering
students with Free Software Engineering applications
●
GNU/Linux Install Fests in Schools, Colleges and at Technopark.
●
Local language (Malayalam) computing camps in colleges
●
Building and Maintenance of Freedom Toaster, a Free Software
kiosk
●
Conducting Free Software workshops and
lectures in colleges in Kerala

22. Contact Us
•
Check us out at http://www.zyxware.com
•
Mail us at drupal@zyxware.com
•
Like us at http://www.facebook.com/zyxware
•
Follow us at http://www.twitter.com/zyxware
•
Connect with us at
http://www.linkedin.com/companies/zyxware-technologies
•
Talk to us at +91-9495969446 between 9AM - 9PM IST
•
Skype me at aj_zyxware