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Message from Dean - May 8th 2007
I am currently testing out a new version of the APF Bridge Component - If you notice any errors within this demo store please drop me a line.
Rating:  -
This is an adequate book that explains how to set up and administer a Drupal website. You get a detailed tutorial in installing Drupal and setting basic options. It's enough to get started but that's about it. It offers a very little bit of a look into the underpinnings of Drupal; not much. I wouldn't even call it an intermediate text.
What I would have liked to see was much more of an introduction to the reasoning behind how Drupal works. It has lots of out of the box content management functionality but with the Content Creation Kit, it is also serves as the most accessible website framework I've seen. There was nothing on how Drupal is different from other systems and little on the advantages of Drupal's Taxonomy/Node model of content management.
Also, while the writing is adequate it is often wordy and a bit awkward, not enough so to make it unusable but enough to notice. But with the short length, only basic coverage and lack of discount from the publisher (and the fact that's the book is getting a bit dated) there's not enough meat here to make me totally happy shelling out $39.
Still, as there's nothing yet published that's any better, I recommend the book. It's better organized than the online documentation, and will help you set up a Drupal website, theme it and get started customizing it through modules.
Rating:  -
I have been converting a static website into a drupal website for the last 32 weeks. Drupal has a steep learning curve and besides I only have limited time to learn it and develop the new site.
I honestly have to say that when I bought this book at week 2 it did not help me a great deal. Back then I would have rated it 2 stars. Now I would rate it 4 stars simply because some of this stuff is starting to make sense. The book definitely will help you but you have to get up to speed first.
There is simply a lot of detail to Drupal, which is reflected in the book. Author David Mercer does a fairly good job, but a good tech editor could have made the difference. Nevertheless, this book does make sense once you have waded through the volumes of information on the Drupal Forums and have gone through a rite of passage. The Drupal Forums are a life saver and Drupal's power is incredible.
The book's discussion on Advanced Content in Chapter 7 on Categorization is well written and full of examples. Also the chapters on running your website are invaluable.
So my advice is to buy the book and hold on to it. You'll be referring to it constantly.
Rating:  -
This book is a short review of the different administration settings of Drupal. Unfortunately it doesn't go any further than that. If you are looking as for a walktrhough of Drupal, where each menu is, it may be useful.
If you are looking for interesting ways of tweaking Drupal, how the code is actually organized or how it works, this is not it. I feel that the online documentation bring you the same as this book.
Rating:  -
It's a lot of money for a book that is outdated (Drupal is now 5.x), doesn't deal with cck ...
It's also superficial. Be warned. I read it, cover to cover on a 90 minute flight. I don't think I'll ever refer to it again. I've been using Drupal for a couple of weeks (but am a Joomla expert so understand the concepts and the underlying technology).
Spend your money on Pro Drupal and read the online stuff incl. the forums.
Rating:  -
A solid book for getting started with Drupal. Highly recommended anybody that is just starting out with a CMS or is having trouble grasping the Drupal concept.
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