Features

Features

Worked on

while working at

Since then I have been working on

at

Gokul N K

Drupal is a database heavy content management system.

This makes the staging workflow a painful process.

Enter Exportables(Part of Ctools)

Ctools is a group of nifty APIs and tools to improve the developer

experience and efficiency.

Earl Miles (Merlin of Chaos)

Did you know that Ctools stool for Chaos Tools

Sharing Databases?•Cumbersome process.•In Distributed teams it can be a nightmare.•Content and Settings are not separated.•Cannot do DB dumps on live sites.

BeforeMove the changes from database to

the code.

Code Settings and Content Resides in File System Database

After

Code & Settings Content Resides in File System Database

Advantage of saving settings in code

1. All settings in code. 2. Can be revisioned.3. Database changes can be

grouped. Hence easier to move selective changes to production.

4. Content and settings are separated.

Enter Features

Why features?

1. Development of website makes more contextual meaning, when it is discussed feature wise.

2. Easier to export feature by feature.

3. No need of any database changes on staging and prod.

For Features

Get comfortable with contexts and boxes.They will save your day.

Challenges in Features

1. Two people can’t work on same feature simultaneously.

2. Auto-detected dependencies can be wrong.

3. Once features are over-ridden then updates cannot be used.

4. Features that extend existing features.

Not all can problems can be fixed

1. Features Extra : http://drupal.org/project/features_extra

2. Features Plumber : http://drupal.org/project/features_plumber

3. Features Override : http://drupal.org/project/features_override

4. Ftools : http://drupal.org/project/ftools

Features Extra

Support for few popular modules, which features module doesn’t

support out of the box.

1. Blocks2. Node-queue3. Profile

Features Plumber

Remove wrongfully auto-detected dependencies.

Those who have worked with the features know the problem of

downloading a feature, copying it to the correct location, clearing cache.

All this only to find out that you have forgotten to add something else.REPEAT THE PROCESS AGAIN :P

Features Tools Auto create

Revert them All http://drupal.org/node/986932

S Safe Auto create

Features Override

View level overrides

Features Override

Advanced overrides. (Granular)

Configuration Module

Move the changes from database to the code.

Configuration Management Architecture

Will it solve the issue? May be most of them, but not all.

You are not an exception?

Thank you, Gokul