Slides from a presentation I did today @ drupal camp austin. Will expand on Drupal.behaviors in a later post.

Note to self: pick an easier topic for next presentation

Eaton's presentation on Architecture & Drupal is by far the best of the 12 or so drupalcon presentations I've watched so far (they were all good, but this one just seems to stand out). If you missed it, its worth your time.

http://www.archive.org/details/Architectureisforeveryone

I had this weird idea: drupal has become so complex, with so many moving parts, that understanding the big picture is like predicting the weather. I forgot how long ago this was, but I know this would have been an accurate report:

PLANETWIDE DRUPAL REPORT [sometime in 2008]

I know I'm not among the first to hear: jQuery 1.3 . Why is it worth supporting aggressively? Here's one reason:

This creates another paragraph that -- here it is -- you can click on forever to repeat the same behavior.

If that sounds freaky, look at this chart on the performance implications:

The starter guide in my last entry practically gives you an intro to the 960 framework as well. The names are different, but the approach is the same. Though 960 is a bit more complex. .container-x, and both "first" and "last" classes (named alpha, omega, pretentiously enough).

I decided to checkup on a drupal groups thread that discussed CSS frameworks AFTER I hit publish. As it turns out, a 960 theme is on its way to drupal core.

I think 960 is a fine system, and I also think CSS frameworks are still *new* enough of an idea that we don't need to put all our marbles in one (like we did with jQuery -- and thank god we did [Konstantin Kaefer, thanks you for not listening to me in GSOC, when I told you to consider working within Drupal's GPL requirements.].

I think its great that we're moving to get a framework into drupal, and 960 may be the one. Given my history with the whole jQuery thing, I can't ask that you take my preference of blueprint THAT seriously. BUT....

960 vs Blueprint

Sometimes a module comes out of nowhere, and blows away everything else. I believe Navigate is one of those modules.

There are lot of factors that make it awesome:

• It doesn't get in your way... it stays nearly hidden, as a little circle in the top left corner til you click it. Think designs that didn't foresee the need for massive admin functionality.

If you do click the the top left circle (I think its a steering wheel), you see this:

Dude, its so hardcore, it has a screencast.

• You can add a single menu tree to a "block" and name it in under 8 seconds.
• It introduces the concept of "favorites". You are on a page, and type into a field, it saves the link with that name. You can even reorder them at will!
• You can insert arbitrary blocks of custom php code.
• All in all, its perfect for setting up an interface for clients who don't want to spend a 2 day retreat learning about CCK and Views.

Do check it out. You will not be disappointed.

File this little gem under damn useful.

The author pitched menu blocks better than I could:

So if you’re only using your theme’s Primary links feature, you can add and configure a “Primary links (levels 2+)” block. That block would appear once you were on one of the Primary links’ pages and would show the menu tree for the 2nd level (and deeper) of your Primary links menu and would expand as you traversed down the tree... Pretty simple, eh? (I’m actually shocked this module didn’t exist before.)

This is a comment I submitted on my localhost site, with full HTML allowed for anonymous users. The fact that "XSS" came up in an alert means I'm vulnerable to attack.

If you want your skin to crawl more, visit the XSS Cheatsheet, which offers a number of techniques for XSS attacks. If you're ever in doubt, no better test than to attempt to hack yourself.

Reviewed Version: yui_editor-6.x-2.0
Depends on: Yahoo YUI

VERDICT: Outstanding! The only lovable Drupal WYSIWYG editor . Painless Installation, Great First Impressions, Easy to configure, image Uploading/insertion works out of the box, editor behavior solid and intuitive, and offers good security features.

In our last review of WYSIWYG editors, a certain editor won because it met my low expectations. Thanks to the tip from Sanjeev, I found an editor so good its off the charts.

Painless Installation, Great First Impressions

The moment after I installed YUI Editor I found this refreshing WYSIWYG smiling at me.

If I could read only one web design blog in the world, it would be smashing magazine. At one time, (maybe 2004-2005ish), I would have picked A List Apart. But frankly, I've found the vast majority of their articles as of late to be either boring, not relevant, restatements of the obvious, or not worth even a click and scan (with gripping titles like, "The Boar, the Swan, and the Dump Truck: Test driven development project management strategies in world of reality driven Standards and Accessibility." ) Perhaps that's a gross exaggeration, but some headlines excel in capturing everything I don't want to read about.

Smashing magazine, on the other hand, has created the ultimate resource of quality articles, tools, techniques, ideas, theory, and everything that really matters to people who have jobs to do, and want to do them well, on time, and improve their skills with every iteration. And you don't have to be from San Francisco's community of serial conference speakers* to understand why they are worth reading.

If you've lived under a rock for a while, than I urge you to check out the entire site. Really. You have a lot of catching up to do.