If you’ve been itching to add more whiz-bang excitement to your Drupal website but felt like you just don’t understand all this Ajax/JavaScript stuff, then this video is for you! This video builds off of concepts covered in videos such as Theming Basics for Drupal, Advanced Theming for Drupal, Drupal Module Development and Introduction to jQuery. This video ties together these concepts as we delve into Drupal’s JavaScript and Ajax APIs.

Warning: This video covers some higher-level topics and advanced Drupal alchemy not known to many developers. With a grasp of the concepts contained in this video, we expect that you will be transformed into an unstoppable Drupal wizard. We hope that you will use these powers for good.

jQuery & Javascript in Drupal carefully walks you through all of the Drupal-specific JavaScript conventions that you’ll need to know to begin integrating jQuery scripts into your Drupal 6 or Drupal 7 websites. You’ll get a brief introduction to jQuery and learn how to add JavaScript code through the theme layer as well as via a module. You’ll also learn how to pass variables from PHP into your JavaScript files through the Drupal-specific Drupal.settings variable.

We’ve written six example modules in this video and we walk you through each one in order to demonstrate how to integrate jQuery scripts into your Drupal website. This hands-on approach will help you learn how to leverage Drupal’s JavaScript-related Form API properties, how to create sortable table forms, and how to leverage the AHAH framework in Drupal 6 as well as the powerful Ajax framework in Drupal 7. This video will teach you everything you need to know to start creating fully Ajax-enabled Drupal websites. In this video we also explore the new JavaScript states system in Drupal 7, which allows you to create dynamic form dependencies and increase the usability of forms in Drupal. Finally, we’ll take a look at some of the ways to keep your jQuery version up to date and some of the other popular JavaScript-related Drupal contributed modules.

Full chapter listing:

1. Introduction
2. Introduction to jQuery
3. Adding JavaScript through a theme
4. The Macro Maker demonstration module
5. Adding JavaScript and variables through a module
6. Drupal.behaviors and Drupal-specific JavaScript
7. Making tables sortable
8. JavaScript-related Form API properties
9. Dynamic forms in Drupal 6: AHAH framework
10. Ajax framework in Drupal 7
11. Creating Ajax-enabled links in Drupal 7
12. Form dependencies with the States System
13. JavaScript-related Drupal Contrib Modules
14. Conclusion

Note: The examples in the video span across Drupal 6 and Drupal 7, and jQuery code that will work either in jQuery version 1.2.6 or 1.4.

The examples in the video span across Drupal 6 and Drupal 7, and jQuery code that will work either in jQuery version 1.2.6 or 1.4.

Lullabot has guided such companies as MTV, Sony Music, Lifetime Television, The GRAMMYs, IBM, Popular Science, and Fast Company in building and growing their Drupal websites. Recognized as some of the most influential and well-respected developers, consultants, and educators in the Drupal community, the team is responsible for best-selling Drupal books and Drupal workshops and seminars worldwide.

Produced by Jeff Robbins. Directed and edited by Kent Bye.
Shot in widescreen format
DVD version is region-free and playable world-wide
Total running time: 3 hours, 30 minutes
Download size: 1.78 GB (1 video file)