Modules : 10 Must-Have Drupal Modules for Drupal Web Developers

Each Drupal developer out there has their own list of their “must-have” modules. These modules are the tarballs (.tar) that each developer downloads and unzips immediately after installing the Drupal CMS. The following list is partially mine and partially that of my Twitter followers.

This post should help those new to Drupal get started on the right path. With any luck, other Drupal ninjas will weigh in with their must have modules that they can’t live without. If you do share any stellar modules, then we will add it to this list and give you credit for the mention, too.

1. Views
There is a good reason Views is at the top of my list. It is, IMHO the most powerful module of all. Views allows you to create customized lists of content from your database. The views project page on Drupal.org describes Views as:

… a smart query builder that, given enough information, can build the proper query, execute it, and display the results.

To sum it up, Views gives you a very usable interface to create complex MySQL queries which are used to display your content. Let’s say, for example, that you created a content type called “Recipes”. You filled your database with all your favorite munchies. Let’s say you wanted to output all these to the URL path “/recipes”. How would you do this? Views. Or how about a list of the 5 most popular recipes on your site, exposed as a block? That’s a piece of cake with Views. Did I mention Views has its own API?

2. CCK
The second module we install - Content Construction Kit. This module lets you add custom fields to node types. Let’s use the “recipe” example again. Maybe you want to have an “ingredients” field that is separate from the “preparation instructions”. CCK will allow you to add a textarea to your node type. Or maybe you want to have a “Difficulty” field where recipes can be marked as “Easy, Medium, or Hard”. CCK will allow you to add a select menu to your node type with these three options.
A few more notable features of CCK:

• CCK creates all the database tables; people with very little database experience can wield the power of CCK

• CCK handles simple validation

• CCK is pluggable, so module developers can write their own “Field types”

The possibilities are virtually endless with CCK. Drupal 7 is apparently going to come packaged with this functionality in Core - that’s how useful this is.

3. Devel
Devel is one of the most useful tools for Drupal Developers and Themers alike. Devel allows you to:

• print database queries for each rendered page, including execution times

• expose some handy functions for printing complex arrays in a human-readable fashion (using Krumo)

• empty cache, rebuild menus with one click

• generate dummy content (nodes, users, comments) - great for theming and testing views

• Theme Developer: allows you to click any rendered element; observe which function created it; offers candidate override function and displays available arguments as well as candidate template files

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Courtesy:- chromaticsites.com