I originally intended to use EFQ to list the posts in a single thread because I didn't see any advantage in using Views for this list. But at DrupalCon, I spoke with fubhy and he recommended going with Views. I'm a little fuzzy on the arguments (it was late night after Friday's sprint :) ) but one that stands out is being able to add and re-arrange the various fields on a post.
I decided to go that route but, when I actually went to implement it, I ended up unsure how best to proceed.
- If I make it a "fields" view that opens up options to customize in the view but makes it difficult to use a template file as well and keep them in synch.
- If I go with view modes, that makes the template part easier but loses the advantage of customizing the view. If I go that direction, is there really any advantage in using a view over EFQ? (To be clear, this isn't a generalized EVQ vs Views debate but specific to this one use case where there isn't much need for many of Views' advantages.)
- merlinofchaos mentioned a custom row style but I'm still not entirely clear on what that means. When I Google it, I end up at tutorials that are customizing the template of a fields or view modes based view which I don't _think_ is what he meant.
- Using just EFQ isn't off the table but I'd like to know the pros and cons before going back to that.
I haven't done much with Views in Drupal 7 and, even in D6, didn't delve into it programmatically very often. So I could really use some advice here on how best to proceed. My goal is to have this be as easy as possible for the site builders to customize their threads but still provide a sane default.
I also want to have the option of using Panelizer because I think that's perfect for this. However, I don't think making it a hard requirement would be a good idea because many people will resist adding Panels to get a forum. So I want to keep the ability to make use of it if installed but still have a sensible default when it's not.
I would appreciate any advice on this as it's a pretty big roadblock in basic functionality that I need to get decided and implemented before I can do much else.
Thanks!
Michelle
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More thoughts
I've been thinking about this more while I was weeding the yard and I'm even more convinced Views makes sense here. I had forgotten about searching within a thread which is certainly easier with a view. Also, being able to switch between ways of viewing the thread will likely be easier with Views, especially if I can get a threaded list with Views.
So there's not much sense avoiding Views here unless someone thinks of something I've missed. The question of how to structure the view remains, though.
Michelle a custom row style
Michelle a custom row style is like 'unformatted list' or 'gird view' or 'views slide show'. You can define how the row is assembled.
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Forgot to respond here since I did on IRC. So saying thanks here as well. Not sure why I didn't think of that. Brain fart I guess. Something about the terminology was making me think it was harder than that I guess... LOL!
My question is why would you
My question is why would you provide a view at all. Why not provide the tools to assemble the forum in views, but not give any to start with. In my opinion this should be moved into d8 core and should not have a dependency on views.
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Because Artesian aims to be a forum, not a build-a-forum kit. ;)
I don't have any designs on core before D9. There's no way I could get it ready by December. Since there's always a chance of Views going into D9 and since a simpler, EFQ based version could be added to core otherwise, I'm not worried about Views as a dependency at this point.
Sounds like to me there
Sounds like to me there should be multiple modules developed here
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While I'm not against the idea of submodules, I don't intend to break it along those lines. Also, this is getting waaaaay off topic. Since we're also talking in IRC, let's keep the OT stuff there, please. :)
Views sounds more flexible.
I am not as familiar with how the Entity pieces would come together, but I do like the idea of being able to over ride or replace views with my own. I could see exposing the sort, and allowing users to read replies in newest or oldest first, for example. My only concern would be performance. Does one approach represent a noticeable performance advantage over the other?