BeSkillWise
27 June 2024
Preparing for a Drupal Interview: Key Concepts, Tips, and Tricks
1. Understanding Drupal Architecture
Core Concepts:
- Nodes: The primary content entity in Drupal. Understanding nodes, their types, and how to manage them is crucial.
- Entities: Broader than nodes, entities include users, taxonomy terms, comments, etc.
- Fields: Attached to entities, fields store different types of data (text, image, file, etc.).
- Modules: Extend Drupal's functionality. Core modules are part of the default installation, while contributed modules are created by the community.
- Themes: Control the look and feel of a Drupal site. Knowing how to create and customize themes is vital.
- Hooks: Functions that allow you to interact with the core codebase without modifying it directly.
Tips:
- Understand the Entity-Field-View system. This is the backbone of Drupal content management.
- Familiarize yourself with commonly used modules like Views, Panels, and Pathauto.
2. Site Building
Core Concepts:
- Content Types: Different types of content like articles, pages, etc.
- Taxonomy: Classification system to categorize content.
- Views: Allows you to create custom queries to display content.
- Blocks: Units of content that can be placed in various regions of the layout.
Tips:
- Practice creating and managing content types and fields.
- Learn how to build complex queries using Views.
3. Theming
Core Concepts:
- Twig: Drupal's templating engine.
- Regions: Defined areas in the theme where content can be placed.
- Templates: Files that define how content is displayed.
- Preprocess Functions: Allow you to modify variables before they are rendered in the template.
Tips:
- Understand the theme layer and how Twig works.
- Practice creating custom themes and overriding templates.
4. Module Development
Core Concepts:
- Custom Modules: Creating modules to add functionality.
- Drupal API: Knowing key functions and how to use them.
- Form API: Handling form creation and validation.
- Database API: Interacting with the database securely.
Tips:
- Build a simple custom module to understand the basic structure and hooks.
- Read through Drupal’s API documentation to familiarize yourself with commonly used functions.
5. Security
Core Concepts:
- User Permissions: Managing who can see and do what.
- Security Updates: Keeping Drupal core and modules up to date.
- Input Validation and Sanitization: Preventing SQL injection and XSS attacks.
Tips:
- Regularly update your site and understand the security advisories.
- Learn about Drupal’s built-in security mechanisms and best practices.
6. Performance Optimization
Core Concepts:
- Caching: Drupal’s caching mechanisms (page cache, entity cache, etc.).
- Database Optimization: Efficient queries and indexing.
- Front-end Optimization: Minifying CSS and JS, optimizing images.
Tips:
- Enable and configure caching modules.
- Use tools like New Relic or Blackfire to profile and optimize performance.
7. DevOps and Deployment
Core Concepts:
- Configuration Management: Managing site configuration between environments.
- Version Control: Using Git for version control.
- Continuous Integration/Deployment: Automating testing and deployment.
Tips:
- Learn how to use Drush for command-line management of Drupal.
- Understand the principles of CI/CD and how they apply to Drupal projects.
8. Community and Best Practices
Core Concepts:
- Drupal Community: Engage with forums, issue queues, and contribute back.
- Coding Standards: Follow Drupal’s coding standards and best practices.
- Documentation: Importance of well-documented code and site documentation.