[support] Ten Commandments

[Jim Ruby]

Thank you for number 11 and the rest of them are good too.


-----Original Message-----
From: support-bounces at drupal.org [mailto:support-bounces at drupal.org] On Behalf Of Ms. Nancy Wichmann
Sent: Thursday, September 20, 2012 8:14 AM
To: support drupal
Subject: [support] Ten Commandments

I have recently started a full-time gig, after several months of contracting. In reviewing several extant sites, I identified several practices that I don't care for. So I mentioned the possibility of putting Drupal guidelines into place. They won't really be Commandments and I already have more than ten. 


What rules/guidelines would you suggest so that we consistently produce the best sites we can?
Here's most of what I have now:

1.    Follow Drupal Coding Standards; use lots of comments.
2.    No PHP nodes.
3.    No PHP blocks. (A sample block module is available.)
4.    Minimize PHP in Views.
5.    All code in Git, if possible. (It is best to create the repository even before using install.php).
6.    Use Features for content types and views; and for other things that lend themselves thereto. Commit these to Git repository.
7.    Security updates should be scheduled in the project’s issue tracker to be done as soon as practical. Other updates should be reviewed for priority and scheduled accordingly.
8.    For views that have a block with a “more” page, limit the View to those functions so you can use the built-in more feature.
9.    CSS is your friend, use it before programmatic or theme styling as much as possible.
10. Look for existing solutions before writing a custom one.
11. Even if it is not a project requirement, building an accessible site is better.
12. Themes should be built on a standard starter theme (Zen, Omega, Fusion, etc.) 13. Block visibility addresses should be URL aliases rather than node numbers.
14. Links, including menus, should use relative URLs.
15. Given that most sites will be in a multi-site set up, contributed modules should reside in sites/site-name/modules and files in sites/site-name/files.
 
Views block names:
  views-name: function-name
Code block names
  module: function-name
 
Nancy 

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. -- Dr. Martin L. King, Jr.