Upgrading theme() calls with Coder Upgrade
A lot of effort has been poured into the upgrade routines for Coder Upgrade as evidenced by the green check marks on this page. (A side note: so far, duellj is the only person to show up for the upgrade barn raising and much thanks to Jon is due. If you are up for a challenge, help is still welcomed and needed to write and/or test routines.)
An interesting example of an upgrade routine is the theme() function call change. This upgrade involves "array-itizing" the variable parameters. For example, this:
<?php
theme('user_list', $users, $title);
?>
becomes in D7:
<?php
theme('user_list', array('users' => $users, 'title' => $title));
?>
The twist involves finding the keys for the associative array of variables.
Sparing the details, Coder Upgrade will insert the proper keys for any theme defined in D7 core files (includes and modules directories) as well as themes defined by the module being upgraded.
If there is a particular change from D6 to D7 that is important to contributed modules you maintain or use, consider giving a few hours of your time to help write and/or test an upgrade routine. Together, we can have our contributed modules ready for Drupal 7 when it is released.
Drupal 7 upgrade sprint (or barn raising)
Over the span of history, inventions have come about that changed the world as we know it. Think of GPS technology, bar codes, credit cards, and the Sony Walkman. But while these inventions in themselves were amazing, their success and popularity would not have been possible without the consumers who bought them, used them, and supported them. Just as consumers got behind these inventions, supporters are needed to rally behind the Drupal 7 to realize its potential.
In order for the community to be able to take advantage of the new Drupal release, the supporting cast of contributed modules needs to be updated. For this to happen in conjunction with the release of D7, help is needed now, and testers, documenters, and developers are all in high demand!
The D7CX movement formed with pledges by certain contributed module maintainers to have a full Drupal 7 release on the day that Drupal 7 is made public. While good, that still leaves a lot of important modules without a timely D7 release. With your help, we can tip the scales. For this to happen, we're asking that the Drupal community come together and help finish an automated solution to module updates.
To get started writing an upgrade routine, read the Automated Updates documentation. To help test routines or document needed routines, visit Testing and Documenting an Upgrade. Together, let's make early adoption of Drupal 7 a choice.
Dates and Times
A virtual code sprint (or barn raising) will be held this Friday and Saturday, February 19 and 20, starting by 8am on America/Chicago time. Direct your questions to solotandem in the #drupal-contribute IRC channel.
About the Title
For those unfamiliar with the phrase "barn raising," check out this link. The wiki community has adopted the phrase "wiki barn raising." In similar fashion, this will be an "upgrade barn raising."
