We offer a free 3 month trial of LocalGov Drupal for content designers and editors. But what if you’re a developer and you want to dig deeper?
The good news is that the technology behind our free trial is something we've openly shared on GitHub. Check out our AWS Lightsail Launcher project and our instructions for quickly setting up LocalGov Drupal on your own AWS server for nothing. However, there are a few things you need study up on before you start in order to be useful with LocalGov Drupal from a developer standpoint.
Windows can run Linux Drupal, although it rarely does. Since Drupal is typically hosted in its native Linux environment, it's crucial to have a basic understanding of Linux terminal if you wish to use it effectively. Without a certain if you intend to use our launcher scripts, which run on Debian Linux and use "bash" to script the setup.
You must understand SSH key pairs and how to use them in order to log into the server. Listed below are some starting points for you:
- https://www.ssh.com/academy/ssh/public-key-authentication
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/openssh/openssh keymanagement
Following that, understanding "bash" and "drush" (the command line tools used by Drupal) would be helpful.
Again, here are some links:
PHP
PHP is the programming language used to create Drupal. Drupal may be used without knowing PHP, but if you want to be a decent developer, you should at least be familiar with the fundamentals.
Additionally, you'll need to be familiar with some of the PHP ecosystem's development and deployment tools that Drupal uses.
For instance, to create sophisticated applications, Drupal makes considerable use of "composer," a tool for organising PHP packages. LocalGov Drupal is installed via our Lightsail script using the "composer" tool, and any future changes to it, such as adding modules and themes or upgrading, should also be made using this tool.
Here are some details about "composer" and utilising it particularly to deploy Drupal websites:
- https://getcomposer.org/
- https://www.drupal.org/docs/develop/using-composer/manage-dependencies
- https://www.drupal.org/docs/develop/using-composer/using-drupals-composer-scaffold
- https://github.com/drupal/core-composer-scaffold
Drupal
You'll want to learn more about Drupal, which serves as the foundation for the Drupal "flavour" (or distribution) used by local governments. The website has a basic introduction to Drupal as well as a wealth of other helpful information.
The Drupal User Guide is an extremely helpful place to start when learning about Drupal's ideas and how to organise and carry out a Drupal website project. At the very least, we strongly advise reading Chapter 1 of The Building Blocks of Drupal.
For further support, you may also join the Drupal Slack channel at drupal.slack.com.
LocalGov Drupal
Even though the aforementioned applies to testing out any Drupal distribution, LocalGov Drupal includes a set of tools and documentation that you should become familiar with. To start, their website provides some background information on the LocalGov Drupal project and its benefits.
In addition, there are helpful technical links:
- https://localgovdrupal.org/web-teams/developers
- https://docs.localgovdrupal.org/\shttps://github.com/localgovdrupal/localgov
Like the primary Drupal project, LocalGov Drupal has a Slack channel as well. It is by invitation only, but if you are a developer employed by a government agency, you can get added by contacting LocalGov Drupal.
Using our Lightsail Launcher project on GitHub is still the quickest way to get LocalGov Drupal up and running on a free Linux server.
If you've familiarised yourself with the information above, you should be able to establish a website and begin developing with that tool straight immediately.
Still need help?
Please get in touch with us if you require any assistance. Depending on your demands and budget, we can offer ad-hoc support or a monthly contract.
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