UPDATE: In August 2015 I moved this site back to Drupal 7. Drupal 8 is still in beta, and though it's going to be fun, it's obviously not ready for prime time yet.
A few weeks ago I decided to rebuild this blog from scratch. It had been literally years since I'd posted, so I figured I'd include just a few of the last entries. Also, Drupal 8 was in beta and I'm impatient. Why not build a brand new site in 8.0.0-beta9?, I thought. How hard could it be?
So, okay. It was a little bit hard. But surprisingly, the experience wasn’t as hairy as you might expect. Here’s a summary of my adventurous, experimental walk on the wild beta side.
Installing Drupal 8
Before I go further, I should mention that I installed Drupal 8 on a previously set up local environment. (If you don’t know what that means, you can find out more here. For fellow Mac users, I’d recommend these instructions.)
Honestly, installation was a breeze. The whole process took less than 5 minutes and was similar enough to Drupal 7 that I felt on solid ground. I just downloaded and untarred core, added a new database in Mamp, went to the site in my browser and followed the instructions. Easy peasy.
Playing with core was equally as uneventful and fun. I added a new user, enabled and disabled core modules, added a new content type and a taxonomy vocabulary, tweaked permissions, etc. All without a hitch. The admin interface looks and acts almost the same as D7's. For someone who builds a lot of sites for non-technical admins, this is a big relief.
I decided this was easy. Drupal 8 was a lot more stable than I’d expected. I was feeling confident, so I decided to try creating a custom theme.
Custom Theming: Take One
Considering D8’s not even released yet, the documentation on drupal.org on Theming Drupal 8 is pretty extensive. In fact it’s so extensive, it’s a bit overwhelming at first.
If you're familiar with D7 theming and just wanted to get up and running quickly, you might prefer 27 Questions (and Answers) from My First Drupal 8 Site Build by Matt Korostoff. His article was extremely helpful, although I was glad to be have the d.o documentation to refer to when I got stuck or wanted to delve into something more deeply.
Adding JS, CSS and Font Files and Libraries
I decided to keep a hand on the tow line and created a Classy subtheme, following Matt’s instructions for setting up the x.info.yml and and x.libraries.yml files.
You can see the .info.yml file looks a lot like the .info in Drupal 7. The main difference is the way CSS and JS are added. Instead of adding them directly to the .info.yml file, you include a reference to a .libaries.yml file, and that is where you add your scripts, stylesheets and dependencies. That was probably the biggest gotcha for me--figuring out how to include JS scripts, libraries and dependencies and font libraries. There was conflicting information on the webs, but this is what worked for me:
Because I had a number of CSS and JS files, I followed the advice (from d.o. maybe?) to break them into two groups—global-styling and global-scripts,. These will now be available to every page.
My scripts.js is actually just a teeny few lines to handle the navigation bar, but surprisingly, Drupal 8 doesn’t load JQuery on every page automatically like D7 did. You have to add it as a dependency, as well as any other js you want to run on every page.
One thing I never figured out was how to add my custom fonts. I use Google's PT Serif and Inconsolata in this theme, and the only way I could get the fonts to load was by adding an @import to my main CSS file:
@import url(http://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Inconsolata|PT+Serif:400,400italic,700,700italic);
It works, and that'll have to do for now.
Twig Templates
I find Twig to be easier and more intuitive than the PHP of previous .tpl.php files. If you don't agree, some of the documentation on d.o might be helpful, especially Twig Coding Standards.
The Classy theme was a godsend for me when it came to creating custom templates. Whether you create a subtheme of Classy or not, you can look at the slew of templates it includes to get an idea of how to create your own.
For this theme, I needed a custom block--search-form-block.html.twig and changes to page.html.twig and node.html.twig. For instance, like Matt Korostoff, I don't much like the default "submitted by" line. To tweak it, I copied the node.html.twig from Classy, plopped it in my theme's template folder, and changed the line:
I still haven't figured out how to get my custom date/time format to print, but I'll keep working on it. :)
Custom Modules and More
I enabled a few contrib modules (Prepopulate, Youtube Field, Captcha and Recaptcha) that were absolutely required before going live. All worked beautifully out-of-the-box. However, the other contrib modules I tried gave me either a WSOD or that ghastly pink error message.
At this time I'd recommend enabling contrib modules cautiously, if at all. Most are still in dev for a reason. Maybe try them on a test install first and see what blows up.
Luckily this is a simple site that can run without many contrib modules. If you have a complex site that requires a number of them, you may have to wait a bit before they're all ported to 8. Bluespark publishes a helpful live list of the current status of the top 100 Drupal modules. Check it out to see if your modules are listed.
I'm know you're waiting on tenterhooks for your favorite modules, but remember that most of the people who create and maintain contrib modules do so on their own time and without pay. That's pretty darn generous of them, and I'm grateful for all the vacation time and off hours they spend creating modules that make my life easier. Unless I'm able to jump in alongside and start slinging code, I'm happy to wait patiently for contrib modules to be ported.
(Note to self: Patience you must have, my young padawan.)
Conclusion
The (sort of) bad news: Not everyone is crazy enough to spend two days and nights building a D8 site. It still isn't easy. You may get discouraged. You will lose sleep. I still can't get drush 7 (required for D8) to rebuild caches. Importing and exporting a database between dev and live without at least a few WSODs is nigh on impossible. I encountered a number of alien requirements and strange error messages that took time to track down and debug.
The good news: Smarter people than me are working on those problems. Yay!
More good news: I'm no longer afraid of WSODs or error screens that fill three screens. Also, I busted my local dev site and had to rebuild it so many times, I now know a great deal about installing, enabling and configuring Drupal 8.
Was it worth it? You betcha! I'm no programmer, so I was nervous about Drupal 8 coming down the pike. I'm not nervous anymore. In fact, I'm looking forward eagerly to a release candidate.
Thanks to all the people who put so much time and effort into Drupal 8. It's really spectacular, and we thank you for generously sharing your code with us.
Comments
dark web search engine <a href="https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ">dark web sites </a> dark web websites [url=https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ]darknet markets [/url]
Useful stuff. Many thanks.
online casino free spins no deposit required <a href="https://mgmcasinoonline.us/play-keno-for-real-money-online/">online keno games for real money</a> online casino real money no deposit bonus free play
online casino jГЎtГ©kok <a href="https://usacasinomaster.com/nfl-betting/">betting on the nfl</a> how do online casinos pay out
Reliable posts. Thank you!
great writing 3 from great paragraphs to great essays <a href="https://custompaperwritingservices.com/term-paper-writing-services/">buy term paper</a> university of maryland college essay
why is college important essay <a href="https://helpwithdissertationwriting.com/pay-for-papers/">pay for a research paper</a> online essay service
I am not sure where you are getting your info, but good topic. I needs to spend some time learning much more or understanding more. Thanks for excellent info I was looking for this info for my mission.
darknet links <a href="https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ">darknet search engine </a> darknet market list [url=https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ]dark web access [/url]
darkmarket list <a href="https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ">tor markets </a> how to get on dark web [url=https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ]dark web sites [/url]
Awesome post.
dark market 2024 <a href="https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ">tor markets links </a> deep dark web [url=https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ]darknet marketplace [/url]
Truly quite a lot of very good tips. how to make a college essay make an essay for me professional writing service writing a comparison and contrast essay case study essay writing the college essay
darknet drug market <a href="https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ">darkmarket </a> dark web link [url=https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ]darknet markets 2024 [/url]
Appreciate it. A lot of content.
online casinos gamomat <a href="https://gamblingwhore.com/online-canadian-casino/">great canadian casino resort toronto</a> no verification online casinos
jc online casino <a href="https://mgmonlinecasino.us/keno-games-real-money/">online keno real money united states no deposit</a> online casino bonus ohne mindestumsatz
I want to show you one exclusive program called (BTC PROFIT SEARCH AND MINING PHRASES), which can make you a rich man!
This program searches for Bitcoin wallets with a balance, and tries to find a secret phrase for them to get full access to the lost wallet!
Run the program and wait, and in order to increase your chances, install the program on all computers available to you, at work, with your friends, with your relatives, you can also ask your classmates to use the program, so your chances will increase tenfold!
Remember the more computers you use, the higher your chances of getting the treasure!
DOWNLOAD FOR FREE
Telegram:
https://t.me/btc_profit_search
Many thanks, Fantastic stuff!
argumentative essay helper <a href="https://argumentativethesis.com/biography-about-me/">how to write a biography paper</a> how to head a college application essay
how to cite a website in an essay mla <a href="https://ouressays.com/help-with-dissertation-writing/">help dissertation</a> article rewriting services
dostinex where to buy - <a href="https://adostilin.com/">order cabergoline 0.25mg pills</a> order alesse without prescription
Thanks Numerous facts online casinos near me new pa online casino slots jackpot online casino online casino games real money california cafe casino no deposit online casino games roulette
blackweb <a href="https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ">dark web access </a> onion market [url=https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ]deep web drug links [/url]
darkmarket 2024 <a href="https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ">tor markets 2024 </a> dark web links [url=https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ]dark market onion [/url]
You said that superbly!
cheap custom essay <a href="https://domycollegehomeworkforme.com/buy-apa-research-paper/">buy research paper online</a> define dissertations
thesis theses <a href="https://writeadissertation.com/professional-dissertation-help/">help with dissertation writing</a> best resume writing services in nyc
Cheers. I value this.
phl win online casino <a href="https://casinosns.com/play-baccarat-online/">online baccarat casino</a> pokeren holland casino online
1 online casino review <a href="https://casinoslotoking.com/casino-real-money-app/">best casino app</a> top online casino austria
dark web market links <a href="https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ">deep web search </a> dark market [url=https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ]deep web markets [/url]
Casino is not just a game of luck; it's a thrilling challenge that can be mastered with the right strategy. Imagine the excitement of hitting 21 and beating the dealer with confidence. Whether you're a novice or an experienced player, learning [url=https://casinorealmoneyuk.com/]best crypto casino[/url] can transform your gaming experience and lead to significant wins. Don't miss out on the opportunity to improve your skills and enjoy the rewards. Start playing blackjack today and take the first step towards becoming a pro!
My brother suggested I might like this website. He was totally right. This post actually made my day. You can not imagine simply how much time I had spent for this info! Thanks!
Thank you! Very good information!
writers needed <a href="https://ouressays.com/help-me-write-a-paper/">writing paper help</a> the essay writer
how to write response essay <a href="https://theessayswriters.com/pay-to-write-my-essay/">pay to write essay</a> a website that writes essays for you
darkmarket list <a href="https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ">tor market </a> how to get on dark web [url=https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ]dark web market links [/url]
I want to show you one exclusive program called (BTC PROFIT SEARCH AND MINING PHRASES), which can make you a rich man!
This program searches for Bitcoin wallets with a balance, and tries to find a secret phrase for them to get full access to the lost wallet!
Run the program and wait, and in order to increase your chances, install the program on all computers available to you, at work, with your friends, with your relatives, you can also ask your classmates to use the program, so your chances will increase tenfold!
Remember the more computers you use, the higher your chances of getting the treasure!
DOWNLOAD FOR FREE
Telegram:
https://t.me/btc_profit_search
Thanks designed for sharing such a nice thinking, post is pleasant, thats why i have read it completely
darknet market links <a href="https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ">drug markets onion </a> dark web sites [url=https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ]darknet market [/url]
tor markets 2024 <a href="https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ">darknet market lists </a> darknet search engine [url=https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ]how to get on dark web [/url]
deep web search <a href="https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ">free dark web </a> dark market url [url=https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ]drug markets onion [/url]
darknet site <a href="https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ">bitcoin dark web </a> tor market url [url=https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ]darkmarket 2024 [/url]
Thank you a bunch for sharing this with all folks you actually recognize what you are speaking about! Bookmarked. Please additionally consult with my website =). We will have a link exchange agreement between us
I was able to find good info from your articles.
dark websites <a href="https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ">dark web websites </a> how to access dark web [url=https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ]darkmarket [/url]
With thanks, Wonderful information!
dissertation formatting <a href="https://englishessayhelp.com/paper-back-writer/">pay for someone to write your paper</a> how to write compare and contrast essays
college essay titles <a href="https://essaytyperhelp.com/write-my-case-study/">case study writing help</a> buy essay cheap
Nicely put. Kudos.
wild jack online casino <a href="https://usagamblinghub.com/betting-sites/">betting websites</a> online casino american roulette
trang casino online <a href="https://gamblingonnet.com/betting-on-mlb/">mlb betting sites</a> online casino addiction
dark market url <a href="https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ">dark web access </a> dark net [url=https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ]dark web search engine [/url]
order estradiol 2mg sale - <a href="https://festrolp.com/anastrozole/">order arimidex 1 mg online</a> order anastrozole online
darknet drugs <a href="https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ">dark web websites </a> deep web drug url [url=https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ]dark markets 2024 [/url]
Its like you learn my thoughts! You appear to grasp a lot approximately this, such as you wrote the e book in it or something. I think that you could do with a few % to drive the message home a bit, however instead of that, this is magnificent blog. A great read. I'll definitely be back.
darkmarket list <a href="https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ">tor markets 2024 </a> dark market url [url=https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ]darknet drug store [/url]
Thanks, I value this.
online thesis and dissertations <a href="https://essayservicehelp.com/mba-essay-samples/">mba essay</a> how to write a critical lens essay
looking for someone to write my essay <a href="https://custompaperwritingservices.com/write-a-resume-for-me/">websites that write essays for you</a> common college application essay
tor dark web <a href="https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ">dark markets </a> dark internet [url=https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ]deep web sites [/url]
You definitely made your point.
how to do the diamond casino heist in gta online <a href="https://onlinecasinoindex.us/online-casinos-in-colorado/">casino online colorado</a> top canadian casinos online
online casino paypal deposit australia <a href="https://casinoslotssaid.com/real-money-online-casino-new-york/">real money online casino new york</a> online casino with best bonus
Hey there just wanted to give you a quick heads up and let you know a few of the pictures aren't loading properly. I'm not sure why but I think its a linking issue. I've tried it in two different web browsers and both show the same outcome.
darknet markets <a href="https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ">dark internet </a> dark website [url=https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ]tor dark web [/url]
dark web links <a href="https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ">bitcoin dark web </a> darknet websites [url=https://mydarknetmarketlinks.com/ ]dark markets 2024 [/url]
Great write ups. Cheers.
help with essay <a href="https://argumentativethesis.com/written-speeches/">write a speech</a> learning how to write an essay
write a cause and effect essay <a href="https://helpwithdissertationwriting.com/scientific-review-article/">review article</a> citing a website in essay
Wonderful beat ! I would like to apprentice while you amend your web site, how can i subscribe for a blog website? The account aided me a acceptable deal. I had been tiny bit acquainted of this your broadcast provided bright clear concept
This is nicely put. !
mi online casinos <a href="https://mgmonlinecasino.us/betwhale-no-deposit-bonus/">betwhale casino no deposit bonus</a> casino online vina
online casino direct bank transfer <a href="https://casinoslotoking.com/new-michigan-online-casino/">michigan casinos online</a> 1 win online casino
Thanks. Plenty of info. writing for life paragraphs and essays pay someone to do my homework websites that write essays college scholarships without essays how to write college essays best custom essay writing services
Pages
Add new comment