Big Websites
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The document discusses the evolution of building and managing websites using Drupal, emphasizing the differences between small and large sites. It highlights the transition from simpler website development practices to the complexities encountered when working on major projects, such as the Economist online. Key themes include the necessity for rigorous version control, collaborative workflows, and a strong focus on performance and scalability in web development.
Big Websites
- 1. Big Websites Diana Montalion Dupuis : @dianadupuis previously: @mooncougar Robert Ristroph : @robgr Drupal powers many small-to-medium websites, from personal blogs to company intranets. Drupal also powers big sites like The Economist and The White House. How are the big sites different from the small ones? Four Kitchens : @fourkitchens
- 2. With a lot of caching Dallas Drupal Days 2011
- 4. Before big websites • Clients would come to me and ask me to build them a website.
- 5. Before big websites • Clients would come to me and ask me to build them a website. • I would build them a website.
- 6. I would . . .
- 7. I would . . . • meet with a client, define their business goals and technical needs, create a site plan.
- 8. I would . . . • meet with a client, define their business goals and technical needs, create a site plan. • download and install a CMS (usually Drupal).
- 9. I would . . . • meet with a client, define their business goals and technical needs, create a site plan. • download and install a CMS (usually Drupal). • download, install and configure modules or plug- ins.
- 10. I would . . . • meet with a client, define their business goals and technical needs, create a site plan. • download and install a CMS (usually Drupal). • download, install and configure modules or plug- ins. • sometimes install and configure compatible apps like CiviCRM or a shopping cart.
- 11. I would . . . • meet with a client, define their business goals and technical needs, create a site plan. • download and install a CMS (usually Drupal). • download, install and configure modules or plug- ins. • sometimes install and configure compatible apps like CiviCRM or a shopping cart. • merge some data, maybe.
- 12. I would . . . • meet with a client, define their business goals and technical needs, create a site plan. • download and install a CMS (usually Drupal). • download, install and configure modules or plug- ins. • sometimes install and configure compatible apps like CiviCRM or a shopping cart. • merge some data, maybe. • build a theme, install it, and cross-browser test.
- 13. I would . . . • meet with a client, define their business goals and technical needs, create a site plan. • download and install a CMS (usually Drupal). • download, install and configure modules or plug- ins. • sometimes install and configure compatible apps like CiviCRM or a shopping cart. • merge some data, maybe. • build a theme, install it, and cross-browser test. • rebuild the theme for IE6.
- 14. I would . . .
- 15. I would . . . • sprinkle on (just enough) javascript.
- 16. I would . . . • sprinkle on (just enough) javascript. • log in as user 1 and click configuration buttons.
- 17. I would . . . • sprinkle on (just enough) javascript. • log in as user 1 and click configuration buttons. • teach the user how to use their site.
- 18. Afterwards,
- 19. Afterwards, • clients called me when they had a problem.
- 20. Afterwards, • clients called me when they had a problem. • I would fix it.
- 21. Simpler times
- 22. Simpler times • Caching was a browser issue. "Did you clear your cache?"
- 23. Simpler times • Caching was a browser issue. "Did you clear your cache?" • Version control was ensuring there was a backup or rollback ability.
- 24. Simpler times • Caching was a browser issue. "Did you clear your cache?" • Version control was ensuring there was a backup or rollback ability. • Performance was not serving an automatically- playing video on the homepage.
- 25. Simpler times • Caching was a browser issue. "Did you clear your cache?" • Version control was ensuring there was a backup or rollback ability. • Performance was not serving an automatically- playing video on the homepage. • Scalability was a functionality issue. "Can I add a picture gallery later?"
- 26. Simpler times • Caching was a browser issue. "Did you clear your cache?" • Version control was ensuring there was a backup or rollback ability. • Performance was not serving an automatically- playing video on the homepage. • Scalability was a functionality issue. "Can I add a picture gallery later?" • I longed to write more code.
- 29. Then, things changed. • I joined Four Kitchens, birthplace of Pressflow, and was surrounded by major league Big Website foo.
- 30. Then, things changed. • I joined Four Kitchens, birthplace of Pressflow, and was surrounded by major league Big Website foo. • In time, I became the team lead for the Austin (aka Janus) team working on The Economist online. Rob is currently the team lead.
- 31. Then, things changed. • I joined Four Kitchens, birthplace of Pressflow, and was surrounded by major league Big Website foo. • In time, I became the team lead for the Austin (aka Janus) team working on The Economist online. Rob is currently the team lead. • I went from a one-woman expertise factory to a developer who *needs* her teammates to survive the workday.
- 32. How The Economist changed my (work) life
- 33. How The Economist changed my (work) life • Most of the functionality I add is custom built or at least customized.
- 34. How The Economist changed my (work) life • Most of the functionality I add is custom built or at least customized. • I often have to study more (custom) code than I write when implementing new functionality.
- 35. How The Economist changed my (work) life • Most of the functionality I add is custom built or at least customized. • I often have to study more (custom) code than I write when implementing new functionality. • I build a branch for every task and merge code into the codebase when it's done.
- 36. How The Economist changed my (work) life • Most of the functionality I add is custom built or at least customized. • I often have to study more (custom) code than I write when implementing new functionality. • I build a branch for every task and merge code into the codebase when it's done. • I am rarely the only person working on that branch.
- 37. How The Economist changed my (work) life • Most of the functionality I add is custom built or at least customized. • I often have to study more (custom) code than I write when implementing new functionality. • I build a branch for every task and merge code into the codebase when it's done. • I am rarely the only person working on that branch. • If I do use a contributed module, it has it’s own vendor branch.
- 39. • Every bit of code I write (even in the theme) is reviewed (more than once) before it is merged.
- 40. • Every bit of code I write (even in the theme) is reviewed (more than once) before it is merged. • I test everything in four different environments (versions of the website) before it is "Done".
- 41. • Every bit of code I write (even in the theme) is reviewed (more than once) before it is merged. • I test everything in four different environments (versions of the website) before it is "Done". • I write a test (Selenium, currently) for any new functionality I create.
- 42. • Every bit of code I write (even in the theme) is reviewed (more than once) before it is merged. • I test everything in four different environments (versions of the website) before it is "Done". • I write a test (Selenium, currently) for any new functionality I create. • I work in the command line every day, not just during install.
- 43. • Every bit of code I write (even in the theme) is reviewed (more than once) before it is merged. • I test everything in four different environments (versions of the website) before it is "Done". • I write a test (Selenium, currently) for any new functionality I create. • I work in the command line every day, not just during install. • Local work is done using VMWare running a Centos enviroment (no MAMP) configured to match the production environment.
- 44. • Every bit of code I write (even in the theme) is reviewed (more than once) before it is merged. • I test everything in four different environments (versions of the website) before it is "Done". • I write a test (Selenium, currently) for any new functionality I create. • I work in the command line every day, not just during install. • Local work is done using VMWare running a Centos enviroment (no MAMP) configured to match the production environment. • It takes hours to download a new database for my local environment.
- 46. • The havoc I could wreak if I’m not careful keeps me up nights.
- 47. • The havoc I could wreak if I’m not careful keeps me up nights. • I *always* have to think about caching, in layers.
- 48. • The havoc I could wreak if I’m not careful keeps me up nights. • I *always* have to think about caching, in layers. • Performance and scalability is a science involving. multiple servers, load balancers, CDN, Varnish, etc that I need to understand.
- 49. • The havoc I could wreak if I’m not careful keeps me up nights. • I *always* have to think about caching, in layers. • Performance and scalability is a science involving. multiple servers, load balancers, CDN, Varnish, etc that I need to understand. • Complicated tasks running "in the background" (cron, drush/Hudson) are Chuck- Norris-level customizations.
- 50. • The havoc I could wreak if I’m not careful keeps me up nights. • I *always* have to think about caching, in layers. • Performance and scalability is a science involving. multiple servers, load balancers, CDN, Varnish, etc that I need to understand. • Complicated tasks running "in the background" (cron, drush/Hudson) are Chuck- Norris-level customizations. • I will never know enough Javascript.
- 51. • The havoc I could wreak if I’m not careful keeps me up nights. • I *always* have to think about caching, in layers. • Performance and scalability is a science involving. multiple servers, load balancers, CDN, Varnish, etc that I need to understand. • Complicated tasks running "in the background" (cron, drush/Hudson) are Chuck- Norris-level customizations. • I will never know enough Javascript. • Everything must be in code, even admin configurations. I never click a button.
- 52. • The havoc I could wreak if I’m not careful keeps me up nights. • I *always* have to think about caching, in layers. • Performance and scalability is a science involving. multiple servers, load balancers, CDN, Varnish, etc that I need to understand. • Complicated tasks running "in the background" (cron, drush/Hudson) are Chuck- Norris-level customizations. • I will never know enough Javascript. • Everything must be in code, even admin configurations. I never click a button. • I apply relational skills as often as software development skills to problems or inventing
- 54. • I attend a lot more meetings.
- 55. • I attend a lot more meetings. • I read and answer a river of emails - every day.
- 56. • I attend a lot more meetings. • I read and answer a river of emails - every day. • I always know what time it is in London and New York and Seattle and Los Angeles.
- 57. • I attend a lot more meetings. • I read and answer a river of emails - every day. • I always know what time it is in London and New York and Seattle and Los Angeles. • Besides writing code together, the other devs and I have bowled, snowshoed, played with dry ice, seen Weird Al in person, pub crawled in London, drank awesomesauce in Copenhagen, watched Tron 3D at the IMAX, and smoked hookah together.
- 60. Categories of differences • Version control
- 61. Categories of differences • Version control • Workflow and development environments
- 62. Categories of differences • Version control • Workflow and development environments • Quality control
- 63. Categories of differences • Version control • Workflow and development environments • Quality control • Back-end processes
- 64. Categories of differences • Version control • Workflow and development environments • Quality control • Back-end processes • Performance and scalability
- 65. Categories of differences • Version control • Workflow and development environments • Quality control • Back-end processes • Performance and scalability • Project management (Scrum!)
- 66. Categories of differences • Version control • Workflow and development environments • Quality control • Back-end processes • Performance and scalability • Project management (Scrum!) • Group think and relationship management.
- 67. Version control
- 68. Version control • I <3 Bazaar (launchpad)
- 69. Version control • I <3 Bazaar (launchpad) • Drupal uses Git (github)
- 70. Version control • I <3 Bazaar (launchpad) • Drupal uses Git (github) • I !<3 SVN or CVS but they are better than nothing.
- 71. Version control • I <3 Bazaar (launchpad) • Drupal uses Git (github) • I !<3 SVN or CVS but they are better than nothing. • Branching
- 72. Version control • I <3 Bazaar (launchpad) • Drupal uses Git (github) • I !<3 SVN or CVS but they are better than nothing. • Branching • Questions?
- 74. Workflow and dev environments • Sameness in local environments is good.
- 75. Workflow and dev environments • Sameness in local environments is good. • Plan development well or die.
- 76. Workflow and dev environments • Sameness in local environments is good. • Plan development well or die. • Establish version control flow.
- 77. Workflow and dev environments • Sameness in local environments is good. • Plan development well or die. • Establish version control flow. • Questions?
- 78. Quality control
- 79. Quality control • Code reviews
- 80. Quality control • Code reviews • Testing
- 81. Quality control • Code reviews • Testing • Definition of Done
- 82. Quality control • Code reviews • Testing • Definition of Done • Questions?
- 84. Back-end processes • Cron tasks
- 85. Back-end processes • Cron tasks • Custom drush commands
- 86. Back-end processes • Cron tasks • Custom drush commands • Custom scripting
- 87. Back-end processes • Cron tasks • Custom drush commands • Custom scripting • Questions?
- 89. Performance and scalability • Caching: Varnish and memcache
- 90. Performance and scalability • Caching: Varnish and memcache • Multiple servers, load balancing, CDN
- 91. Performance and scalability • Caching: Varnish and memcache • Multiple servers, load balancing, CDN • Questions?
- 93. Project management • Absolutely, positively, essential to do this well.
- 94. Project management • Absolutely, positively, essential to do this well. • Scrum
- 95. Project management • Absolutely, positively, essential to do this well. • Scrum • Questions?
- 97. Relationship management • Relationship skills are as important (more important?) as geek skills.
- 98. Relationship management • Relationship skills are as important (more important?) as geek skills. • Questions?
- 100. Thank You!
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