Integrating Node.js and Drupal

Do you love Drupal but find that it's not the right platform for some of the realtime applications you want to build? Are all your friends having fun with Node.js and you want to be one of the cool kids (again)? This hands-on training course will teach you how to create a realtime web application in Node.js and Drupal. You'll write code all day :-)

After this class, you'll have written your first node.js application(s) and have integrated Node.js's realtime wizardry into Drupal's content management magic.

Our Four Kitchens Web Chefs will show you how to:

  • Improve your Javascript knowledge in our crash course in JS101
  • Write your first node.js application from the ground up
  • Understand how to use NPM node's world class package manager
  • Write non-blocking asynchronous code and how to spot it's evil twin: synchronous blocking code
  • Know what Node.js is good at and when a different tool is better
  • Gain experience with the popular Node.js framework: Express
  • Write API endpoints in Drupal to connect to your realtime application
  • Write code that reads and writes data to and from your Drupal site.
  • Understand the new Node.js Drupal module.

WHY NODE.JS?

Node.js is a power tool for writing fast, real time applications. At Four Kitchens we've used it for:

  • Writing realtime web applications: drupalpoetry.com
  • Providing a feed ingestion and processing application that processed over 300 feeds per minute and broadcasting them out to hundreds of subscribed sites.
  • Providing realtime commenting for live video events on a Drupal site.

WHAT WILL YOU RECEIVE DURING THE COURSE?

Each attendee with have access to a development site.

The site includes all necessary assets and content so they can jump into the hands-on exercises. The site will stay up for 30 days after the training. We post all links and resources on our website, an email address for follow-up questions, and an Etherpad to share questions and markup during (and after) the training.

Course Prerequisites

Basics

Laptop with SFTP, SSH software and a text editor installed. Any Local operating system is fine, but keep in mind that our trainers don't have experience debugging Windows connectivity problems.

For node.js

  • Basic knowledge of javascript
  • Have used JQuery for to add functionality
  • Knowledge of Javascript Object Oriented Patterns.
  • Experience with AJAX patterns helpful
  • Have written applications in Javascript and/or A C style OO programer comfortable picking up a new language
  • Comfortable using the command line to navigate directories and launch programs. (cd, ls and the like).

For Drupal

  • Comfortable writing PHP to use Drupal hooks and have written a custom module
  • Working knowledge of the services module is helpful, and a great thing to try beforehand. :-)

Target Audience

Drupal Developers who are ready to learn a new style of server side programing. If writing javascript code makes you cry this course might make it your new favorite language. Drupal developers who want to better understand how to bring asynchronous functionality to their sites. This class is a beginer intro to Node.js, and is not appropriate for developers who use node.js on a regular basis.

Meet the Trainers

Elliott Foster Developer, System Architect at Four Kitchens -

Elliott Foster is a web developer with a focus on scalable web infrastructures. He enjoys solving difficult problems in an elegant and reusable manner.Elliott has been writing Node.js applications for just over a year. On client projects he has built everything from a PubHub implenentation to a full featured web app www.drupalpoetry.com. He also has a robust set of personal projects and patchs to node.js projects https://github.com/elliotttf. He has been taught node.js classes both in Austin and San Fransisco, and has written extensively about Node.js:
http://www.fourkitchens.com/blog/2012/12/21/base64-encoding-images-nodejs
http://www.fourkitchens.com/blog/2012/08/22/migrating-html-files-drupal-...
http://www.fourkitchens.com/blog/2012/02/07/nodejs-drupal

Michal Minecki, Director of Technology at Four Kitchens -

Mike Minecki has been building websites since 1999, and has been working with Node.js and Drupal for about a year. He has worked on www.drupalpoetry.com an responsive web game that mimics the experience of playing with magnetic poetry on the web. He has taught Node.js in Austin and San Fransisco, and has been speaking at events around the country about how to integrate Node.js and Drupal.
http://2012.badcamp.net/program/sessions/integrating-nodejs-real-time-aw...
https://www.sandcamp.org/integrating-nodejs-real-time-awesome-sauce

Course Information

Experience Level: Advanced
Drupal Version: Drupal 7.x
Company: Four Kitchens
Instructor(s): Michal Minecki (mirzu), Elliott Foster (elliotttf)

This training is sold out

This course will not have a waitlist. If you want to try to get into this course we recommend showing up Monday, May 20 at 8:00am and checking to see if there are any cancellations.

Schedule info
Status: 
Accepted
Time Slot: 
Monday, May 20 - 09:00am-06:00pm