Do I have to work with code when creating sites in Drupal

Question

I know HTML, and I know some PHP. But I would like to know if professionals really often use code when developing websites in Drupal. My experience with Drupal is that you do not need to write any PHP or HTML at all, and that you can do everything from the admin menu. But since I am new to Drupal and am currently studying Drupal 7, I would like to know what others have when it comes to Drupal and website building.

When you use code, do you use code at all?

Answer 1

As a professional, yes, I constantly use PHP and HTML while working with Drupal. I would say that about 70% of the time PHP does, 5% configure modules through the Drupal interface and test 25%. These numbers, of course, just let you see how important PHP coding is when I make a Drupal site for a client.

Topic development cannot be completed without PHP + HTML + CSS + JavaScript coding. Drupal 7 requires more work than Drupal 6 due to the increased detail of the template template.

If you do not need the Contrib module, you need to write your own or customize the existing one (PHP and SQL, sometimes JavaScript). This is especially true for Drupal 7, since there are still many modules from D6 that do not have a stable version for D7.

Answer 2

As soon as you gain more experience, you will come to this conclusion:

Drupal takes you 90% of the way, and the remaining 10% is up to you.

Not every module will solve specific problems of your project.

The API surface is pretty thorough, and most (almost anything) is solvable in a simple module, overriding a template, or hook.

Answer 3

If you are not building simple sites, you are likely to do some coding. At the very least, you will modify existing code to make changes to existing modules. Most likely, you will have to create new modules. Despite the fact that existing modules, finding one that always does exactly what you want can be difficult.

Answer 4

Short answer: Yes, you have to write code.

That's why. Drupal, everything is fine and good on it. He does what he needs to do, however when setting up the website professionally you cannot use the default themes, most clients will not want this. Quite a few customers would prefer a unique theme that suggests that you create it. This will require some PHP programming to get it working with Drupal.

Not only that, but you may need to write and / or configure Drupal plugins.

In most, if not all professional environments, "default" is not enough.

Answer 5

I am at the new end of the Drupal spectrum. I built about five sites. I built my first few sites using little or no PHP (I used enough CSS and HTML markup). Therefore, I would say that in Drupal you can build a little understanding of PHP.

But. Drupal is a complex system that seems to be favored by developers, as opposed to end users who may favor a click-based approach (although this may change).

I found that the more I understand the code base and API, the easier it is to get what I want without having to wade through a huge number of modules. The repository of material contributed to Drupal is fantastic and covers a lot of space, but is not always actively maintained and may not do what you want.

I think a good place to start is to understand the hook system, the forms API and the menu system, as well as how to generate requests. These are more and more back things. On the front side: a template system, template.php and preprocess and theme functions.

Checkout api.drupal.org .

Answer 6

Not.

Drupal and its 90 million modules love flags and drop-down lists, text fields, etc. etc. to customize everything. For most functions, you will not need PHP and only very small HTML.

I consider this a disadvantage and a disadvantage, but some like it.