Hung up on Chapter 2 2010-07-02

Reviewer: Andrew

I'm not sure if any of the other reviewers actually tried to implement the code in the book. In chapter 2, the Goodreads module does not work and the errata probably won't fix it. The downloadable code works for the most part, but one of the functions (the _goodreads_block_content function on p46) is completely different than what is described in the book.

Still, there's lots of good learning material, but don't count on the code in the book to actually work. Use the downloadable code instead.

Indepth, Concise Introduction to Programming D6 Mods 2010-05-17

Reviewer: Dan Spurgin

As my title says, this is a "Indepth, Concise Introduction to Programming D6 Mods". Matt fully covers the breadth of the drupal system, but equally important he masters the art of brevity.

He winnows out all the advanced minutia, and delivers the crux of what you most need to know without being too remedial.

This is the book programmers want to read before they dive into an all inclusive reference type book (i.e. "Pro Drupal Development" --> great book but 650 of minutia means you have to spend lots of energy figuring out what matters most)

Good book but glaring ommission with core code example 2009-02-16

Reviewer: Kevin Roberts

First off, I have to say that Matt Butcher is an excellent writer. I really like the way he takes a concept, let's you know where he is going, and then follows up with a lucid explanation. He does a great job of explaining his code.

However, on reading the other glowing reviews listed here on Amazon I seriously wonder how many actually tried to work through the example code contained in the book.

Chapter two gives the foundational example of building a module that accesses an RSS feed [...]. The code in the book does not work. So, diligent little beaver that I am, I went to the publisher's web site and checked the errata file. Sure enough, there were corrections to the code. After updating the code, it still didn't work. Finally, I downloaded the code examples from the publisher and found that the working code is *significantly* different than the example in the book! The changes found in the downloaded code not only differ from the book, but also from the corrections in the errata.

So, why do I still give this four stars? Well, it is still a very good book. Matt's skill as a technical writer is noticeably above the majority of technical authors I come across, and you will learn a great deal through reading this book. Just be sure you download the code archive from the publisher, and take the code in the book with a grain of salt until you compare it.

A good place to start! 2009-01-16

Reviewer: Michael Hofmockel

I was very excited to receive my copy of "Learning Drupal 6 Module Development" by Matt Butcher. So excited, I asked my wife, "Guess the title of the awesome book I just got?" Her sarcastic reply tells you much about me and the regular lecture she gets, "DRUPAL!?". Ok, so I'm a little beyond this book but the title is so great!

This book aims to provide a sound foundation for programmers new to Drupal on which to build and customize their own features in the form of a module. The ability to add features so simply is the true power of Drupal. Drupal's real goodness isn't truly experienced until you have added 20 contributed modules (over 3500 available today) and several custom modules of your own. It's this ability to extend, transform and over-ride Drupal at your pleasure that Butcher wants to empower you to do. If you are new to Drupal but not to programming I think you will find this book hits it mark. I definitely recommend this book.

The book works you through building an example module like all good technical books should. The example is not trivial and in so Butcher is able to walk you through the major components of building your first module. As I paint this book to be a good reference for those wanting to learn Drupal module development it must be compared to the established king of Drupal references, "Pro Drupal Development" (PDD) by John Vandyk. Although I think that the first book you should buy is PDD, Drupal demands volumes of books to cover the progressing target that is Drupal Knowledge. Butcher's book is slightly more focused than PDD and so is worth the read.

For the past 4 years, I have written Drupal modules daily. I don't recommend this book to an established Drupal developer like myself. Drupal module development has matured a great deal and the standards are high. In order to build the killer module it has to have Content Construction Kit (CCK), Views and Panels integration built in. These three contributed modules are utilized in every project I do lately. All three are being adopted rapidly and migrating to Drupal core. A module that is not CCK, Views and Panels aware is missing it's true potential. I do recognize including these addition were not feasible at the time as these modules had not been ported to Drupal 6 yet and would likely require 3 times the paper to cover. In addition, the newest bar for Drupal module developers to clear is built in automated tests. Without automated tests, you can't expect to build and confirm your modules to be robust enough for the wild wild west that is the Web. It may be fair to say this is too demanding a level to expect of a book of this scope but when I got to the end of "Learning Drupal 6 Module Development" those are the chapters I wanted next. The weak index and lack of an API reference are also disappointing.

Despite the fact that I am a little disappointed in the new knowledge available to someone with my experience, I do recommend this book to someone wanting to start the never ending training of Drupal module development. Butcher does cover the changes in Drupal since version 5 well (menu system is lacking): A revamped theming system, more robust install profile system, actions and sending mail. If you have no experience with PHP development I recommend starting with, "Building powerful and robust web sites with Drupal 6" by David Mercer.

Excellent Hands-On Way to Learn 2008-11-29

Reviewer: E. Peck

Working through this book is like having a Drupal expert sit down and walk you through everything you need to know to jump into Drupal module development. It's a pleasant read with a really nice balance between information and practical application.

I was surprised at how quickly I was creating my first module. There is some excellent information on how the core modules of Drupal work as well, so there is a lot here even if someone doesn't want to create their own module, but just wants to know Drupal better. Also a must have for anyone who might want to work on an existing module.

This is a really great book and it doesn't hurt that buying it means that part of the money Packt makes on the book goes to Drupal. Readers will be equipped to better contribute to the community and funding it financially while helping themselves out at the same time. Pretty nice.