Evaluator

Overview

Drupal 7 will feature a newly rewritten database layer providing improved database abstraction, portability, and scalability features. This session will cover the thinking and architecture behind the new layer, with an eye toward understanding how it fits into the larger scheme of high-performance Drupal sites. There will be some discussion of code, as well as words of advice for others looking to revamp one of Drupal's core systems.

There will be some code in this session, but you should not need to be a hard-core coder to follow it. This session will also serve as a lead-in to this code track session, which is aimed more at programmers.

Agenda

* Database abstraction: Why it's hard and even an unsolvable problem.
* The old Drupal approach, and why it's not good.
* The new Drupal approach, and why it's awesome.
* Leveraging the database on your own deployments.
* Request for feedback on some of the more big-iron-targeted parts of the new feature set.
* Recommendations for other core developers on how to (not) revamp Drupal subsystems.

Goals

After attending this session, you should have a good idea of ways to leverage the new, modernized database system for your own sites as well as how to go about making major changes to Drupal's infrastructure.

Resources

Knowing the basics of SQL servers before attending would be a good idea, for context.

Overview

This session will discuss how Drupal finds and renders pages. In other words, how a Drupal path (like node/4) is used to deliver a page to your screen. This will be a high level discussion, but with some reference to implementation details.

Agenda

• Overview of the menu system architecture
• The flow from request to page rendering in Drupal 6
• Page rendering in Drupal 7
• Alternative page renderers - e.g. XML and JSON
• What we've enabled, what's left to do

Goals

This session should give the participant an overview of how these central Drupal systems work in Drupal 6, and how they may change in Drupal 7. We will focus on how page rendering may change, and what other advances those changes enable.

Resources

It would be helpful to have a basic familiarity with how pages are defined using Drupal 6 hook_menu, and what a Drupal path is.

Overview

Google has shown us that search matters. Drupal's core search has strengths as well as weaknesses. What are they and how are the weaknesses being addressed? What new search options have emerged, and how does one evaluate them?

Agenda

* Core search in Drupal 7: What needs to be done?
* Minnesota Search Sprint: What got accomplished and where does it go from here?
* Xapian, Sphinx and ApacheSolr: With so many third-party options to choose from, how does one evaluate and decide?
* Search and Drupal.org: What special needs does Drupal.org have, and how can we improve things now and in the future?

Goals

Increase focus on improving core Drupal search. Increase awareness of alternative solutions. Increase awareness of different search features, such as faceted searching. Encourage more collaboration amongst developers.

Resources

* http://drupal.org/project/apachesolr
* http://drupal.org/project/xapian
* http://www.sphinxsearch.com/
* http://groups.drupal.org/node/4102 (Search group on g.d.o.)

An update on the State of Drupal.

Overview
In this session I will show you how to create a small business network on a multi-site Drupal installation. I will be using the small business network within my own community as an example.

In small-town Canada we have seen an increase in the "cottage industry" as people in their 50s cash out of urban centres and move to the country. These micro-enterprise businesses often have only the owner (and their partner) as staff. Although the businesses offer a huge range of services, they have one thing in common--very small budgets. Individually these businesses can rarely afford expert technical support, sophisticated Web sites and beautiful Web design--but with a Drupal-based business network, small businesses can now afford to look like pros on-line.

Agenda

• The Clients
  • developing your client roster (my network includes: farmers, a gourmet restaurant, a bookshop, a naturopathic doctor and a retreat centre)
  • creating self-sufficient clients: training materials; Drupal help nights (my group has nicknamed themselves "The Drupesters")
  • managing expectations (their budget and your time)
• The Business Model
  • you are now a business coach, congratulations!
  • how and how much to charge: tips on appropriate prices
  • reduce, reuse, recycle: you must become efficient
• Technical (Drupal) Information
  • Drupal modules your clients will want
  • using template designs
  • tips on creating and using a multi-site Drupal installation

Goals
By the end of this session I hope that Drupal enthusiasts will see how they can turn too-small-for-me clients into a potential source of income.

Resources
Please come with your stories about how you've used Drupal in your (small business) community.

Overview

This session will show off the results of Drupal's Google Summer of Code 2008 projects. Students who make it to Drupalcon will be demoing their own projects, and we'll also show off projects from the students who can't be there.

Agenda
The following projects will be shown during the course of the session, as time permits.

• Apache Solr Improvements
• New Aggregator for Drupal core
• Bookings API
• Charts module Views integration
• Color module improvements
• Document Import Module
• Embed Widgets
• Revamped Help system
• Icon module
• Image manipulation GUI
• Memetracker
• New nodequeue sub-modules
• OAuth/Services module integration
• Open ID Attribute Exchange
• PluginManager
• Core search improvements
• Security scanner
• Usability Suite
• Validation API
• Version Control API / Project module integration
• Views datasources

Goals

This session will allow Summer of Code students to show off their hard work, and for the Drupal community to get a first-hand look at all the cool stuff that was produced over the summer. Summer of Code students typically make excellent employees as well, for those looking to hire. ;)

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NOTE TO ORGANIZERS: I put down "90 minutes" because that'd be a much more comfortable time frame during which to show off 21 projects. But every other year we've managed to do it in 60, so if 90 minute slots are short, you can push the time allotment back.

This will just be an informal gathering of the women who make it to Drupalcon: the Drupalchix (also known as the "7% club" ;)).

We did this in Barcelona and Boston, and it was awesome. :D

Topics might include things like:
* What are our various backgrounds/experiences prior to coming to Drupal?
* What is it that we’re currently working on?
* What have our experiences in the community been like?
* What can we do to encourage more women in open source/Drupal specifically?

Overview

With Boston state of Drupal introducing the future (Drupal 7 and beyond). It seems time that researchers get united to build an academic support for Drupal. What better way to do this than find grands that can support the initiative?

After some discussion and some investigation, the IAPP call of the EU-framework looks appropriate. The goal of the call is to bring research and industry closer together: to get SMEs (in EU) using Drupal together with research groups (in EU) working on Drupal. With a research focus on the semantic web and how to focus on data exchange. 

Agenda

* An overview of the AIPP call, incentives and goals
+ what can it do for the Drupal community (10 min)
* Round table: expressing once interest in the call (10 min)
* Putting it all together, finding a common ground (10 min)
* Working on the draft (20 min)
* rounding up and making the agenda for what should get done (10)

Goals

The intention of the BoF is to create a draft for the call. Who is involved and will do what?
The goal is to make the draft detailed enough so we can finish it by online collaboration.

Resources

The primary resource is the IAPP call . However it is expected to get more information along the way. The new resource may be posted here or in the research and academia group