Can I use Drupal for this PHP application idea?

[cmiddlebrook]

I am brand new to PHP and so I am not familiar with the tools and frameworks around but after having done some digging it sounds like Drupal may be good for what I want to do.

 

I want to build a subscription based site that offers various tools (written in PHP) to the paid members. The tools would do a variety of things but mainly communicating with other sites such as YouTube, Google etc. I also want to build PDF's within the tool and various other stuff.

 

I don't really want to develop a PHP site from scratch because my HTML & CSS are not great so I like the idea of using something like Drupal to manage the website itself with a nice theme, use a module to add on a forum, etc.

 

So my question is, can you use Drupal to code your own completely custom PHP applications within it or am I somehow restricted by what Drupal can do?

 

I want to be able to write my own PHP application in my own way but then just plug it into a website that has been built with something easy. I don't want to re-invent the wheel coding user admin, blogs, forums, blah blah. Will Drupal allow me to do that?

 

Thanks!

 

Caroline M

[nadeemshafi9]

if your brand new to php you should not go near drupal reconfiguration with a 100 foot pole, you should make bespoke applications before you can get a grasp of the ideas used in those types of applications. just because you use drupal dosent mean it will be easier to make the application, drupal is just a system which you use for fast effective mass production of cms sites, it will restrict you in what you are trying to achieve. in essence you will spend alot of time learning drupal and its glitches and kinks or ideas rather than learning programming principals and cross browser computability.

 

 

i have used drupal before i was a professional php developer and it was like looking at a bowl of spaghetti, after i developed loads of bespoke systems and implemented my own frameworks for CMS's and learned computability and php issues and concepts only then was i able to pick up the manual for drupal etc and do anything with it, thats my advice.

 

from my experience using drupal is like trying to draw a circle without a stencil. but once you get the hang of it its ok but your development will always be latched onto the core so if the core dosent except your development then your screwed.

 

eg. you want to create a new function but you cant pass the data around like you want etc

 

you want something to happen at a specific time but you cant.

 

there can be allllllllllll sorts of issues unless its gona be a str8 forward CMS with some basic front end functions you should be starting from scratch.

 

 

admin panels are easy to code, as for forums you can easily make one or you can use one that's readily available. You can use frameworks such as JQuery and repositories such as PEAR.

 

so my answer is basically learn php first before you learn a refined system like drupal, drupal has a lot of jargon which will no doubt confuse you and waste your time.

 

time is money

 

[nadeemshafi9]

basicaly it might conflict with what you want and it will take alot of time to get your head around it, it wont have methods of doing things like you may think it has, its just a managment system, you need to look into jquery and pear

[cmiddlebrook]

Thanks for the reply, that is what I was afraid of. But I still don't want to be coding the mechanics of a site from scratch. If it's not practical to plugin PHP code into a CMS such as drupal, then can it be done the other way around? In other words, are there frameworks, libraries etc that allow you to easily build a website around some PHP code?

 

Caroline

[nadeemshafi9]

Thanks for the reply, that is what I was afraid of. But I still don't want to be coding the mechanics of a site from scratch. If it's not practical to plugin PHP code into a CMS such as drupal, then can it be done the other way around? In other words, are there frameworks, libraries etc that allow you to easily build a website around some PHP code?

 

Caroline

 

yes you may use Jquery and its plugins for your frontend and tigra menues and PEAR for functionality

[gizmola]

Whether or not a CMS is a help or hindrance depends entirely on the *features you need*.  It's extremely important that you have such a list and focus on it.  If the cms provides you the majority of what you require, then it may be worth the effort required to learn the ins and outs of the cms.  You could also use a blog like wordpress or my personal preference Serendipity as the basis of your site. Blogs often have a lot of the features of that a cms has without much of the complexity. In your case, however, it does seem that the user and subscription features are something that will save you a lot of time and effort.  You might also want to consider Joomla. Having in the past been project lead on a Joomla mod (Ponygallery) developing extensions to Joomla is completely feasible, although like anything requires a high level of development expertise.

[haku]

You can do everything you described with Drupal. Modules already exist to do some of the things you mentioned. However, you will need to learn how to interact with Drupal. It's all PHP based, but that doesn't mean that you can do it because you know PHP - quite the opposite really. You need to learn how the Drupal hooks and APIs work, what folders to put your work into, and what to name your files etc.

 

That being said, if you already have a pretty good handle on PHP, and you can wrap your head around the Drupal concept, it's extremely easy to work with to do what you want.

 

This book is really good for learning Drupal module development strategies: http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Drupal-Module-Development-practical/dp/1847194443/ref=pd_bbs_sr_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234343817&sr=8-5

[nadeemshafi9]

You can do everything you described with Drupal. Modules already exist to do some of the things you mentioned. However, you will need to learn how to interact with Drupal. It's all PHP based, but that doesn't mean that you can do it because you know PHP - quite the opposite really. You need to learn how the Drupal hooks and APIs work, what folders to put your work into, and what to name your files etc.

 

That being said, if you already have a pretty good handle on PHP, and you can wrap your head around the Drupal concept, it's extremely easy to work with to do what you want.

 

This book is really good for learning Drupal module development strategies: http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Drupal-Module-Development-practical/dp/1847194443/ref=pd_bbs_sr_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234343817&sr=8-5

 

she said she is new to PHP, that will be a leap to back engineer an application and its conceopts, you will have to be resilient.