Easing into Drupal 8 Development

Mike Madison

Taking an organization that has historically done Drupal 6 / 7 and moving into Drupal 8 is a big step. There are drastically different platform requirements (PHP Version, supporting new technologies like Composer, etc.), the API has changed into an object oriented model (requiring a more in-depth knowledge of PHP and coding standards than Drupal 7 ever required), troubleshooting and debugging can't just be accomplished with the Devel module, there are multiple ways of managing configuration (each with their own set of pros and cons), and many Drupal 7 modules either don't exist in 8, don't work in 8, are in core in 8, or some combination! There are a lot of changes to keep an eye on.

One of the biggest struggles for me personally when I began working with Drupal 8 was understanding all the moving pieces that were required to really take the leap. The idea of trying to wrap my arms around everything required to get 8 up and running, all while trying to work on a new project was particularly daunting.

This talk is all about easing into Drupal 8 and making sure you have a firm foundation before you have to start on a project (with respect to the fact that you may not have a significant amount of time to prepare).

We'll cover topics like:

comparing activities in Drupal 7 vs Drupal 8
using open source tools (like Acquia's BLT and Drupal VM) to setup a development environment
working with composer to manage, maintain, and patch your environment
debugging with an IDE
writing a simple Drupal 8 module
integrating automated testing into your workflow
working with git (or another version control system)