Talking Drupal #461 - Distributions

Jul 29, 2024

Rajab Natshah, an expert in Drupal distributions, shares insights on their pros and cons, particularly VARbase, a powerful tool for Bootstrap websites. Mohammed Razem delves into the future of distributions, emphasizing modular approaches and the importance of recipes. They discuss how distributions simplify site creation and foster community engagement, while also tackling challenges like dependency management and user feedback. The conversation highlights the value of Google Analytics integration within Drupal, showcasing its practical applications for developers.

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Episode notes

Intro

00:00 • 2min

Unlocking Analytics in Drupal

01:38 • 11min

Understanding Drupal Distributions

12:45 • 5min

Exploring VARbase: A Starter Kit for Drupal

17:57 • 7min

Exploring VARbase: Scalability and Integration

25:20 • 10min

Maintaining VARbase: Commitment and Challenges

34:55 • 7min

Challenges with Managing High-Comment Issues

41:46 • 2min

Exploring Drupal Distributions and VARBAs

43:21 • 11min

Future of Module Building in Drupal

54:12 • 14min

Engaging with StarShot: Contributions and Aspirations

01:07:46 • 5min

Engagement and Community in Drupal

01:12:54 • 2min

Today we are talking about The Benefits of Distributions, If they have drawbacks, and what the future of distributions looks like with guest Rajab Natshah and Mohammed Razem. We’ll also cover Google Analytics Reports as our module of the week.

For show notes visit: www.talkingDrupal.com/461

Topics

What is a distribution
How does this differ from profiles
What does Varbase provide
What types of users is Varbase geared towards
Paragraphs or Layout Builder
Vardoc
How do you overcome fear of lock-in
What do you think the future of distributions look like considering recipes
Any plans to move Varbase to recipes
Starshot

Resources

Guests

Rajab Natshah - rajab-natshah Mohammed Razem - mohammed-j-razem

Hosts

Nic Laflin - nLighteneddevelopment.com nicxvan John Picozzi - epam.com johnpicozzi Josh Miller - joshmiller

MOTW Correspondent

Martin Anderson-Clutz - mandclu.com mandclu

Brief description:
- Have you ever wanted to display Google Analytics charts directly within your Drupal website? There’s a module for that.
Module name/project name:
- Google Analytics Reports
Brief history
- Created in Apr 2011 by raspberryman, but recent releases are by today’s guest Rajab Natshah
- Versions available include 7.x-3.2, 8.x-3.2, and 4.0.0, that last two of which support Drupal 10 and 11
Maintainership
- Actively maintained, recent releases were less than a month ago
- Security coverage
- A documentation guide for older versions, and a README with detailed instructions to get it set up
- Number of open issues: 76 open issues, 9 of which are bugs against the current branch
Usage stats:
- 4,272 sites
Module features and usage
- To set up this module, you first need to set up the API connection in the Google Developers Console, and download the client secret JSON
- You’ll then upload that into the Google Analytics Report API submodule along with the property ID to enable the connection
- Next, you need to install the Charts module, and either the Google Charts or Highcharts sub-module to see graphical reports
- You will now have a new Google Analytics Summary in your site’s reports menu, and new "Google Analytics Reports Summary Block" and "Google Analytics Reports Page Block" blocks available
- I haven’t had a chance to try the 4.0 version of this module yet, but I have used older versions with a variety of dashboard solutions, including Moderation Dashboard and Homebox
- One of the many benefits of using a powerful, open source framework like Drupal to build your site is its ability to act as the “glass” for a variety of other systems, and this module is a perfect demonstration of that