Learning from Drupal 8 Books
Drupal is known to be a complex and great CMS. However, if you are planning on starting to learn Drupal 8, you will soon notice that it is more complicated than Drupal 7 and other content management systems. Drupal is known to have a steep learning curve, which makes it more challenging to pick up and get started. In this article, I’m going to show you some great books that help you learn Drupal in a systematic, beginner-friendly way. My blog post is going to include 7 Drupal 8 books that are covering the basics and are beginner friendly, books that will challenge the skills of seasoned Drupal developers and books that are teaching specific Drupal skills. Pick your poison!
Drupal 8 Explained: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Drupal 8
The first from our list of Drupal 8 books is going to be Drupal 8 Explained: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Drupal 8. This book can be a great introduction to the Drupal world. It covers a brief background of Drupal, it guides you through the installation process and through a simple site build. It has easy to follow explanations. This book will definitely jumpstart your Drupal 8 developer career!
Drupal 8 Development Cookbook
This book is another great source on our Drupal 8 books list from where you can deepen your development knowledge. Drupal 8 Development Cookbook covers some of the basics of Drupal 8. However, it is not a beginners book. This book will delve deeper in the Drupal development and cover topics such as forms, block, permissions, routing, field formatters, configuration management, themes, etc. This book is not for the beginner or developer that wants to build a site without touching a line of code. It is geared towards developers that want to build custom Drupal 8 modules.
Drupal for Education and E-Learning - Second Edition
Drupal for Education and E-Learning - Second Edition is a great book that touches the topics of installing, modules and site maintenance. However, it goes in greater depth when it comes to describing on how to configure different modules to best appeal to a higher education audience. It manages to do this by introducing modules such as views, organic groups, media and concepts such as fields, display modes, entities and relationships. On top of that it also talks about more complex subjects such as PHP snippets and command line interactions. Overall, a great book for those who are in the education field and want to discover Drupal.
Mastering Drupal 8 Views
Mastering Drupal 8 Views is a great book that shares the knowledge of creating views in Drupal. What is interesting about this book is the fact that the story is told from the point of view of Lynn, a small business owner and protagonist of the book. In the book, the struggles of Lynn are presented when she is faced with the Views module. This approach to the book makes it possible for the reader to be able to realise the real life scenarios in which the Views module can be used. Overall, this book is a great Views master course that every Drupal developer should read if they aim to broaden their knowledge on the Views module.
Drupal 8 SEO: The Visual, Step-By-Step Guide to Drupal Search Engine Optimization
If you want to improve your search engine optimization for Drupal, then this is the book for you. Drupal 8 SEO, covers all the necessary knowledge required to be able to launch a successful SEO campaign for your Drupal website. The book contains a large number of pictures that are designed to guide you through the process of optimizing your website for SEO in a visual and easily understandable way. On top of that, it covers the topics of all the necessary modules and settings that your Drupal website needs in order to climb the rankings of Google. So, if you’re in need of some SEO optimization knowledge and you happen to have a Drupal 8 website, then this is the book for you.
Drush for Developers, 2nd edition
Drush is basically the “Drupal Swiss Army Knife”. Drush should be a tool in the arsenal of every Drupal backend developer. Drush is basically a command line shell of Drupal where if the correct code is inserted, then the function will be activated without having to be on the site. This can basically improve the efficiency and speed with which a Drupal developer can build and maintain websites. Drush for Developers, teaches exactly this knowledge, how to basically leverage the simplicity and efficiency of Drush. So if you’re new to Drush or you are a seasoned Drupal developer in search for new Drush tips and tricks, then you should give this book a read.
Drupal 8 Module Development: Build modules and themes using the latest version of Drupal 8, 2nd Edition
If you want to build your own modules, then Drupal 8 Module Development is the right choice for you. This book is a really in-depth and comprehensive guide to building your own modules. The book aims to bring Drupal 7 developers up to speed with module development for Drupal 8. It introduces the reader to the Drupal 8 architecture and its subsystems before learning to develop a module with basic functionality. The book also goes into detail about Drupal 8 APIs, on how to manage and display data and also about the theme system. This book is definitely a must if you are a Drupal 7 developer and you want to hone your Drupal 8 module development skills in a fast, comprehensive way.
Conclusion
This list of Drupal 8 books should pave an easier to follow road for every Drupal 8 beginner. On top of that, this list also contains information about specific topics that might be of interest for already initiated Drupal developers. So, pick a book that piques your interest and give it a read. Remember, knowledge is power!