Book Review: Drupal by David Mercer

I received two books from Matt Raible ( co-worker at Virtuas Open Source Solutions ) to review. One was Building Websites with Joomla and the other was DRUPAL. To be honest, it wasn’t all about reviewing them as it just so happened we were in the middle of a redesign of the Virtuas web site using Drupal. I am the first person to admit that I am as far from a technologist or programmer as they get. I shamefully admit that I started my career with a Netscape WYSIWYG tool, and then even worse FRONTPAGE! YIKES. Because those tools were CRAP, I had to learn to code. I doubt most people go from visual tools to SimpleText ( Notepad ) but I did. I do have to admit that I still rely on Dreamweaver for low end projects, and traditional sites. Why am I telling you all this? Drupal basically has nothing to do with these tools and it is not a design tool. I tell you this because it has simply made my design life alot simpler. By using CSS and XHTML my designs have become cleaner, less clutter code and add in PHP and MySQL by way of Drupal and you have a combination that’s simply unbeatable. I am by far not an expert on PHP or MySQL - so you shouldn’t be either. If you can make sense of the code, and have a working knowledge of HTML you will find yourself in a much better place by including Drupal into your arsenal. It forces you in a good way to use clean effective code. Granted, a tech-head would be in their element using Drupal, but as a creative who’s focus is more on the visual and less on the programming I would be overwhelmed with the work load on the Virtuas website alone if it wasn’t for Drupal.

Drupal as I mentioned is NOT a design tool, it is a Content Management System.
The design elements are up to you, I personally find it alot easier to use very simple CSS and HTML, XHTML or in the case of the Virtuas website, a premade design from OSWD.org ( Open Source Web Design ) - Since Virtuas is an open source company, it just made sense and granted saved time. Really when it comes down to it, its all about managing your time effectively and keeping your site dynamic and current. That is why a CMS tool comes in handy.
I just wanted to set you up on my personal situation, and my on going situation with specifically the Virtuas site.

As my roll as Creative Director, I have irons in many fires. Originally Raible and I did the Virtuas website, and I could of used the book Drupal by David Mercer then for sure. This round we hired on Sean Downey from Ireland to lay out our new site. I needed to be able to effectively communicate with Sean and then eventually take over control of the website. David Mercer’s Drupal book sits right on my desk, usually open with a ton of post-it’s sticking out of it. I use it as a reference guide but I have to say, if you are new to the concept of using a CMS tool or even a seasoned Drupal user you’ll find this book indispensable. Because I’m less technical than the average Drupal user and relatively new to CMS I found David Mercer’s book spoke to me in terms I understood. At first, most people used to traditional web design and deployment find using a CMS tool a little overwhelming. You have to force yourself to think differently but this book makes the transition easier to undertake. It covers EVERYTHING. Anytime I ran into an issue, I found it in the book. Sure I use the drupal.org forum, which I strongly encourage you to use. However, alot of the postings there are from people who are very knowledgeable using Drupal, or PHP, MySQL. David Mercer’s book pretty much assumes you are new, and doesn’t overwhelm you with intimidating jargon. If it does, it explains what the jargon is all about and how it works. Sure, the drupal.org users usually take the time to help you - that’s what open source is all about...but having this Drupal book handy, I can look up and figure out what needs to be done without having to wait for replies to my posts. Let me be clear, this isn’t a user guide or reference book. What it does is explain in great detail what you can do with Drupal, and how to accomplish it. Sure, you will need to educate yourself a bit, but this is for the best anyway. While you are at it get brushed up on Apache, AJAX, Linux - check to see if your host provides the server you need. Revisit your coding skills. PHP, HTML, CSS and what not. Look around at some of the other Open Source tools out there available to you like the GIMP project for graphics, check out NVU for web design if you haven’t already. And if you decide that a CMS tool is right for you, give Drupal a shot. If you do, pick up a copy of David Mercer’s Drupal book. It’s the perfect companion for any Drupal Administrator.