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Drupal Modules

Drupal 6 Block Cache Mode Patch Module

Overview

Drupal 6 has a long-standing bug in the block module (as of 5/10/2011). This bug affects block caching mechanisms. The bug manifests itself if you have block caching enabled.

Once a module's blocks have been registered with the system (in the {blocks} table), the block's caching mode settings are never updated in the {blocks} table, regardless of subsequent cache flushes or other system updates. This is only a problem for modules that change the 'cache' info returned from hook_block op='list' calls.

Uninstalling and re-installing the module won't fix the problem due to another Drupal 6 bug.

More info

This problem impacts any module that changes the caching mode returned in hook_block('info') operation. In particular, the views module allows you to edit a block view's caching mode after creation, but, due to this bug, the changes will never take effect, leading to much head-scratching.

More info

The fix

There are a few core patches available (see Issue 235673, above), but they may not apply cleanly to your Drupal 6 installation; I don't patch core unless there's a critical need. In this case, the patches failed to apply on the sites that needed the fix. So I created a simple custom module that implements the guts of the most recent patch.

Note: You can download the module in the Attachments section, below. Leave a comment if you find this module useful, or, if you have questions about it.

What SINGLE new feature is most important for the next release of the Drupal AdSense (Content) Injector module?

Essential Drupal Modules for Drupal 7

Drupal 7 has been released. As expected, it appears to be a significant improvement over Drupal 6 and earlier versions. Congratulations to the core team for this major milestone!

But what about essential contributed modules? The #D7CX (Drupal 7 Contrib Experience) effort was intended to ensure that Drupal 7 did not suffer the same fate as the Drupal 6 release -- many modules were not available for Drupal 6 well after its release (the problem continues to this day).

In order to make the biggest possible impact, we need as many modules as possible to have full Drupal 7 releases on the day when core Drupal 7 is released. Our failure to accomplish this for Drupal 6 was devastating. So, let's turn our attention toward D7CX - Drupal 7 Contrib Experience.

We are collecting pledges from maintainers to support the D7CX effort. A pledge consists of writing a statement like below at the top of your project page on drupal.org. [...]

Source: http://d7cx.com/node/1 (now defunct)

My experience shows that availability of stable contributed modules is crucial to adoption: I delayed migration from Drupal 5 to Drupal 6 on my existing web sites for well over a year, and when rolling out a new web site that would have been perfectly suited to Drupal, I chose to roll out with Drupal 5 due to the availability of fully released and tested contributed modules.

As a former Drupal contrib module developer, I understand the difficulties related to upgrading modules for each major version's new release. I'm just now getting back into Drupal module development, and with the Drupal 7 release now a reality, I wanted to know how successful the #D7CX pledge effor twas. So I started digging around, looking for contributed modules with a full

As of today, 1/9/2011, here are some of my favorite Drupal contributed modules that do not have a full Drupal 7 release available on the project homepage. (Most have alpha, beta, or -dev versions available, and they may be perfectly usable on a production site, though I'd suggest a thorough test first.)

  • Administration Menu
  • Adsense
  • Adsense Injector
  • Amazon
  • Bad Behavior
  • Devel
  • Google Analytics
  • Image API
  • LoginToboggan
  • Mollom
  • Panels
  • PathAuto
  • Token
  • Views
  • XML Sitemaps

So, unless I misunderstand what "a full Drupal 7 release" means, it looks like we have a ways to go. I will see if there is any way I can assist in the effort...

How about you? What modules do you rely on, and are they available for Drupal 7 as a full release? If not, what can you do to help make the Drupal 7 version available soon?

Module: Disable collapsible fieldset animations in Drupal 5

Drupal 5 and later versions provide an animation when you expand or collapse a collapsible form fieldset.

While this is a nifty effect, it can be annoying to some users, and it can slow you down when viewing a web page over a Remote Desktop session in Windows (I use Remote Desktop a lot at home, and the expand/collapse animation can take seconds to complete depending on network speed–it all adds up).

A few bad apples

One or two bad apples may not spoil the whole bunch but they sure do make a foul-tasting pie

I've built, from scratch, a few useful Drupal contributed modules for my own use, and shared them via the Drupal.org contributed modules system. I shared them as my way of supporting the Drupal community (since I benefited from the freely-available Drupal core and other contributed modules).

While the vast majority of users have been polite and reasonable, and a few have offered support, on the whole I find that the majority of users seeking help or reporting bugs do so without offering much in return. Most of the time it seems like a one-sided relationship.

I do appreciate the information most issue reports have to offer but I am unable to respond to all requests in a timely manner. I've been very busy with other priorities over the last year or so, so I've not had much time to dedicate to maintaining the modules I've contributed. The support requests and bug reports have been piling up. As a result I'm seeking new maintainers for all of the modules.

Further, I've decided that I will think twice before sharing future custom Drupal modules via Drupal.org's contributed modules project hosting.

gigs.exodusdev.com now online - uses our Drupal classified ads module

I've set up a new site, http://gigs.exodusdev.com, as a way to showcase my Drupal Classified Ads module. All Drupal consultants or developers are welcome to sign in and create ads for their services. If you are looking for a consultant, there's a category for that, too.

I want to put the classified ads module through its paces, so, if you offer or need Drupal services, please drop in at http://gigs.exodusdev.com and give it a try!

Classified ads module for Drupal 4.7 and Drupal 5 available on Drupal.org

I've committed the classified ads module to the Drupal.org CVS - it's now available for download as an official release package.

You can find the official project page (and the official downloads) at http://drupal.org/project/ed_classified.

MyBlogLog for Drupal 4.7

I've created a simple MyBlogLog module for Drupal 4.7. This module provides the following features:

  • Inserts the MyBlogLog tracking javascript into generated pages - no need to hand-edit your template's page.tpl.php file, or manually create a block to inject the tracking javascript.
  • Provides the "Recent Reader" widget block
    (includes configuration options - color, width, # rows, etc.)
  • Disable visitor tracking for Administrators and other users on a per-role basis (prevent skewed stats due to admin or other roles' visits.)


... and more

Insert AdSense Ads Automatically in Drupal Nodes and Teaser Lists

Here's a useful Drupal module that tweaks a node's body or teaser to insert an inline AdSense ad, when a node is rendered on a full page or teaser list.

This allows site administrators to enable automatic insertion of an AdSense ad into the page without the content editor having to insert inline [adense] filter tags, or having to edit a site's template.php (or other template files.) This offers a big advantage, as you can change the ad format, group, and channel on the fly without hand-editing each node (which is the only way I can think of doing it if you are using inline filters). Another advantage is that you can enable/disable the inserted AdSense with just a click of the mouse - no need to edit each node.

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