Drupal Glossary

Unlocking the mysteries of DrupalSpeak

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Ajax API

A system in Drupal for creating dynamic, asynchronous user interfaces using the Ajax technique.

Annotations

Comments in code that provide metadata about classes, methods, or properties.

Bartik

A public-facing theme included with Drupal 7 and 8, used as the default theme until Drupal 10.

Batch API

A system for processing large tasks in smaller chunks to prevent timeouts and improve performance.

BigPipe

A core module that improves perceived performance by sending page components to the browser as they become available, rather than waiting for the entire page to be generated.

Block API

A set of functions and classes for creating and managing custom blocks in Drupal.

Blocks

Reusable pieces of content that can be placed into regions within a theme.

Bundles

Variations of entity types, like content types for nodes or vocabularies for taxonomy terms.

Cache API

A system for storing and retrieving cached data in Drupal to improve performance.

Caching

A technique for storing and reusing previously generated content to improve performance.

CKEditor

A WYSIWYG editor included in Drupal core, which allows users to edit formatted text within a user-friendly interface.

Classy

Another base theme in Drupal 8 and 9, which extends Stable and demonstrates the use of additional CSS classes for greater theming flexibility.

Claro

The default administrator-facing theme starting with Drupal 10, providing a clean and accessible user interface for the admin panel.

Composer

A dependency management tool for PHP, commonly used to manage Drupal modules and themes.

Configuration API

A system for managing site configurations, such as content types, views, and permissions, in a consistent and version-controlled manner.

Configuration Entities

Drupal objects that store site configuration, which can be exported and imported across environments.

Configuration Management

A system for managing site settings and configurations in a consistent and version-controlled manner.

Configurations

The settings and options that determine how a Drupal site operates, such as content types, views, and permissions.

Content Types

Predefined sets of fields used to create nodes with specific structures.

Contextual Links

A feature that provides quick access to edit or configure specific components of a Drupal page, such as blocks or views.

Contributed Modules

Extensions created by the Drupal community to provide additional features beyond Drupal Core.

Cron

A scheduled task system in Drupal that executes repetitive tasks at specified intervals.

Custom Modules

Custom-built modules to provide unique functionality tailored to a specific project's needs.

Dependency Injection

A design pattern used in Drupal to manage dependencies between objects, improving modularity and testability.

Deprecated Code

Code that is marked for removal in future versions of Drupal, usually replaced by newer, more efficient alternatives.

Devel

A contributed module that provides debugging and development tools for Drupal developers.

Display Suite

A contributed module that provides advanced layout and display options for Drupal entities, such as nodes, users, and taxonomy terms.

Drupal API

A collection of functions, classes, and interfaces provided by Drupal Core and contributed modules that developers can use to build custom functionality.

Drupal Console

A now unsupported command-line tool that provided code generation and debugging features for Drupal 8.

Drupal Core

The essential files and modules that make up the Drupal CMS. It provides basic functionality out of the box.

Drupalgeddon

A highly critical security vulnerability discovered in 2014 that affected Drupal 7, which allowed attackers to compromise affected websites.

Drupalgeddon 2

Another highly critical security vulnerability discovered in 2018 that affected Drupal 6, 7, and 8, with similar potential consequences as Drupalgeddon.

Drush

A command-line tool for managing Drupal sites, providing utilities for tasks like clearing caches, running updates, and exporting/importing configurations.

Dynamic Page Cache

A caching system in Drupal that caches parts of a page, excluding personalized content, for improved performance.

Entities

A generic term for content and configuration objects in Drupal, such as nodes, taxonomy terms, and users.

Entity API

A set of classes and functions for working with entities, the primary data structures in Drupal.

Entity Browser

A contributed module that provides a flexible interface for selecting and reusing entities, such as images or nodes, within a Drupal site.

Entity Embed

A contributed module that allows for embedding entities, such as images or videos, within WYSIWYG editors.

Entity Reference

A field type that allows for the creation of relationships between entities, such as linking a node to a taxonomy term or another node.

Event Dispatcher

A system in Drupal for dispatching and listening to events.

Field API

A system for creating, managing, and rendering custom fields on entities.

Field Formatter API

A set of functions and classes for defining how field data should be displayed.

Field Types API

A system for creating and managing custom field types in Drupal.

Fields

Components of a content type that store individual pieces of data, such as text, images, or dates.

Form API

A system for creating and processing forms in Drupal.

Garland

The default theme in Drupal 6, which was replaced by Bartik in Drupal 7.

Headless Drupal

A term for using Drupal as a backend content management system, while serving the front-end through a separate technology, such as a JavaScript framework like React or Angular.

Hooks

A system in Drupal that allows modules to interact with and alter the behavior of other modules or Drupal Core.

Human-readable Name

A user-friendly label or name for Drupal entities, displayed in the user interface.

Image Styles

Predefined sets of image transformations, such as resizing or cropping, that can be applied to images uploaded to a Drupal site.

JSON:API

A specification for building APIs in JSON format, implemented as a core module in Drupal.

Machine Name

A unique, system-readable identifier for Drupal entities, such as content types, fields, or views.

Maintenance Mode

A feature in Drupal that allows administrators to temporarily disable access to the site for users, while maintenance or updates are performed.

A contributed module that allows for the creation of custom menu blocks with more advanced configuration options than the core menu block.

A system for creating and managing site navigation menus.

Migrate API

A system for importing and transforming data from external sources into Drupal entities.

Multilingual

The ability of a Drupal site to support multiple languages for content and user interface.

Nodes

Individual content items in Drupal, such as articles, pages, or products.

Olivero

The default public-facing theme introduced in Drupal 10, featuring a modern and responsive design.

Path Alias

A human-readable URL for a specific piece of content.

Permissions

Access controls that define what actions users can perform on a Drupal site.

PHP Coding Standards

A set of rules and best practices for writing PHP code, which Drupal adheres to and extends with its own standards.

PHPUnit

A testing framework for PHP applications, used for automated testing in Drupal.

Plugin API

A system for creating reusable and extensible functionality in Drupal.

Plugin Types

The various categories of plugins in Drupal, such as field formatters, field widgets, and block types, which define specific kinds of reusable functionality.

Plugins

A system for creating reusable and extensible functionality in Drupal.

RDF Mapping API

A set of functions and classes for mapping Drupal content to RDFa markup, enabling semantic web integration.

Regions

Defined areas in a theme where blocks can be placed to display content.

Render Cache

A caching system in Drupal that stores rendered output of elements, such as blocks or fields, to improve page rendering performance.

Render API

A system for defining, processing, and rendering the structure of a Drupal page.

RESTful API

A web service that allows external applications to interact with Drupal content using standard HTTP methods.

Roles

Groups of permissions that can be assigned to users.

Routing API

A system for defining and managing routes in Drupal, which map URLs to specific controllers and actions.

Schema API

A set of tools for defining and managing the structure of configuration data in Drupal.

Serialization

A process of converting Drupal entities and data structures into a format suitable for transmission over the web, such as JSON or XML.

Services

Reusable components in Drupal that perform specific tasks, such as sending email or logging events.

Settings Tray API

A system for providing in-place editing of configuration settings within the Drupal front-end user interface.

Seven

The default administrator-facing theme in Drupal 7 and 8, which provides a clean and user-friendly admin interface.

Stable

A base theme in Drupal 8 and 9 that provides a stable and consistent set of templates and styles, serving as a starting point for custom themes.

Stark

A minimal Drupal theme intended for developers, which demonstrates how Drupal themes can be built without any styling or customization.

State API

A system for managing temporary, environment-specific data in Drupal, as opposed to configuration data that is intended to be consistent across environments.

Sub-theme

A theme that inherits the base theme's properties and can be customized to change the appearance of a site.

Taxonomy

A system for categorizing content using terms and vocabularies.

Theme

A collection of files that define the look and feel of a Drupal site, including templates, CSS, and JavaScript files.

Tours

A core module in Drupal that provides guided, step-by-step tutorials for users to learn about specific features or functionality.

Twig

A templating engine used in Drupal 8, 9, and 10 for creating theme templates.

Twig Cache

A caching mechanism for Twig templates in Drupal, which compiles and caches the templates to improve performance.

Typed Data API

A system for defining and working with complex data structures in Drupal, enabling better validation, transformations, and metadata handling.

Update API

A set of tools for handling updates to Drupal core and contributed modules, including applying database schema changes and running update scripts.

Views

A powerful tool for creating lists, tables, and other dynamic displays of content.

Workbench

A set of contributed modules that provide editorial workflow improvements, such as drafts, revisions, and access control.

YAML

A human-readable data serialization format used for configuration files in Drupal.