This Roundup Will Help You Learn Drupal 8

If you’re scrambling to read (or watch) everything you can about Drupal 8 before DrupalCon Barcelona, don’t sweat it. With the right direction, you can find the best "how to" resources for free. But you’re not easily duped—separating the wheat from the chaff isn’t free, it’s time-consuming. It doesn’t help that rumors about Drupal 8 have been spreading like wildfire.

That’s why we’ve rounded up some of our favorite learn Drupal 8 resources. It's not an exhaustive list, but every resource was specially selected by members of our distributed development team. Now you can learn something else about D8, directly from contributors and developers working with it every day.

Drupal 8 Module Development, Part 1 [Intermediate]
 

by Ian Whotcomb (@iwhitcomb)

What is this resource?

• The first of a series of blog posts centered on helping developers get ready for Drupal 8 module development. In this part, readers learn how to use a Symfony controller to set up a module with an admin screen.

What's most useful about it (and why)?

• “This post is very informative for starting with custom module development with Drupal 8. It has info about basic requirements and a controller routing example for menu paths. The important files for module and the controller routing are most useful.” —@drupler, Rajeev Kumar

What Projects does this resource cover?

• It’s centered on Drupal Module Development.

How long did this take to read?

• Less than 30 minutes.

6 Modules To Avoid Before Drupal 8 Arrives  [Moderate]

by Steve Burge (@stevejburge)

What is this resource?

• This is a list of modules that should be avoided, based on recommendations from a Drupal developer on which modules will be replaced in Drupal 8. It’s meant to make an update to D8 easier.

What's most useful about it (and why)?

• “It contains a list of modules that won't be upgraded to D8, and is a quick primer on what to expect overall.” —@pvishnuvijayan, Vishnu

What Projects does this resource cover?

• It’s about Drupal Modules.

How long did this take to read?

• About 15 minutes.

Status of the Top 100 Contributed Modules [Moderate]

by Adrian Rollett (@acrollet)

What is this resource?

• It’s a list of 100 of the top contributed modules for Drupal—racked and stacked. It includes statuses, release dates, and other notes.

What's most useful about it (and why)?

• “This list gives the status of development or upgradation of top contrib modules in Drupal 8.” —@erankyt, Ankit Agrawal

What Projects does this resource cover?

• It concerns Drupal Modules.

How long did this take to read?

• Under an hour.

What's new for Site Builders? [Moderate]

by Christopher Skene (@xtfer)

What is this resource?

• This blog post addresses some of the core skills, tools, and best practices needed to be ready for the update. It was initially used to supplement a DrupalCon presentation on general D8 preparation.
  
  

What's most useful about it (and why)?

• “This post lays out what’s new for D8 site builders and notes the relevant knowledge and skills they need.” —@pvishnuvijayan, Vishnu
  
  

What Projects does this resource cover?

• It’s about Drupal Core.

How long did this take to read?

• Less than 30 minutes.

Unraveling the Drupal 8 Plugin System

[Moderate]

by Joe Shindelar (@eojthebrave)

What is this resource?

• This article emphasized the importance of D8 plugins and was written for Drupalers who want to learn about why, when, and how they should be employed.

What's most useful about it (and why)?

• “This article is helps you get a grasp on the Drupal 8 plugin system.” —@mohit_rocks, Mohit Aghera

What Projects does this resource cover?

• Drupal core, but also Drupal Contribution and Custom Modules.

How long did this take to read?

• It takes about 45 minutes.

Top Resources for Getting Started with Drupal 8 [Intermediate]

by Andre Zvonkov (@zetagraph)

What is this resource?

• This is a list of general resources and reasons to be excited about Drupal 8.

What's most useful about it (and why)?

• “This is a nice go to resource for learning D8 basics.” —@prabhatfun, Prabhat Sinha

What Projects does this resource cover?

• It’s about Drupal Core.

How long did this take to read?

• Around 15 minutes.

Drupal Migration

Migrate API in Drupal 8  [Moderate]

by Jennifer Hodgdon (@poplarware), Boris Doesborg (@batigolix), Károly Négyesi (@chx), and Mike Ryan

What is this resource?

• It’s a live piece on the migration of data in Drupal 8. It links to a tutorial and lists other helpful pages below the article.

What's most useful about it (and why)?

• “This resource is all about migrating API in D8”—@erankyt, Ankit Agrawal

What Projects does this resource cover?

• It’s all about data migration.

How long did this take to read?

• Under 20 minutes.

Write a Migrate Process Plugin, Learn Drupal 8 [Moderate]

by Károly Négyesi (@chx)

What is this resource?

• It’s a blog post covering several D8 plugin concepts. It walks you through each section with a relevant, hands-on approach to learning Drupal 8.

What's most useful about it (and why)?

• “This teaches you how to write a Migrate Process Plugin.”—@erankyt, Ankit Agrawal

What Projects does this resource cover?

• Drupal Migration and Drupal Core.

How long did this take to read?

• Less than 30 minutes.

Theme Development

Drupal 8 Theme System: hook_theme() to Twig template [Intermediate]

by Scott Reeves (@Cottser) and Joël Pittet (@joelpittet)

What is this resource?

• It’s a presentation that was given in DrupalCon Los Angeles 2015 to users looking to learn about Drupal 8’s new theme system and what this means for the future of theme development.

What's most useful about it (and why)?

• “This video describes the changes to the theme system in D8, how to use the magic of Twig template engine, and debugging tips.”—@iSinghHaneet, Haneet Singh

What Projects does this resource cover?

• This video is about Drupal Theme Development.

How long did this video take to watch?

• It’s just over an hour long.

Drupal Media

Drupal 8 And The Enterprise [Intermediate]

by Alex Pott (@alexpott)

What is this resource?

• This blog post makes the case that D8 was not built by big business, and that everyone has the freedom to use it, study it, and change it.

What's most useful about it (and why)?

• “This emphasizes how Drupal 8 is not just limited to Enterprise and it contains supporting examples.”—@erankyt, Ankit Agrawal

What Projects does this resource cover?

• It’s about Drupal Media.

How long did this take to read?

• Less than 15 minutes.

Got More?

If you’d like to add to our list, submit your suggestions for additional Drupal 8 resources in the comments below. If they’re helpful, we’ll add them to our list with more comments, and give you submission credit.