The early decisions that a Drupal site architect makes regarding their site's information architecture can be some of the most important to a project's scalability and usability. CCK (Content Construction Kit) and Taxonomy are key elements to a solid foundation on which to build a rocking Drupal site. Knowing when, how, and why to leverage them in a given situation is a crucial starting point for anyone building a site in Drupal.

1. Drupal CCK and Taxonomy
Striking a Balance for Your Information Architecture
Kenny Silanskas Bryan House
Client Advisor Sr. Director, Marketing
Acquia Acquia
@webkenny @bryanhouse

2. Upcoming Webinars
Tuesday March 30th
Drupal Gardens Preview at 8:30am
Register Today - http://acquia.com/webinars

3. Introduction
• Kenny Silanskas
– Client Advisor, Acquia
@webkenny

4. What is CCK and Taxonomy?
CCK: Content Construction Kit
Community Contributed Module (For Now)
Provides API for custom field definitions.
Provides a UI for custom field definitions.
There are nearly 450 CCK related modules.

5. What is CCK and Taxonomy?
Taxonomy
Part of Drupal core
Provides a method for users to classify content in a
hierarchical structure
Consists of one or more vocabularies with one or more terms
Can be used for “Free Tagging”

6. A Delicious Example of CCK
ice_cream

7. Tantalizing Taxonomy
• Flavors
 Chocolate
 Fudge
 Vanilla
 Cherry
 Maraschino
 Cream

8. “Why isn't the flavor a field on our Ice Cream?”

9. Consider My Favorite Flavor!
cake
Chocolate
Vanilla
candy_bar
Cream
Cherry
Many of these flavors (terms) can apply to many different types of treats (content).
ice_cream

10. “Ok. So, how do I choose?!”

11. CCK or Taxonomy?
• Are you listing
attributes?
• Do you need to store
data other than plain CCK
text?
• Do you need more
control over the
theming?

12. CCK or Taxonomy?
• Do you need a
hierarchy?
• Should users be able
to “free tag” content?
Taxonomy
• Do your objects exist
in the real world? (e.g.
a U.S State?)

13. CCK or Taxonomy?
Both! Let the features decide!
(You wouldn't split up Peanut Butter and Jelly would you?)

14. CCK: Various Data Types

15. CCK: Validation in the User Interface

16. CCK: Wide Variety of Field Types
There are over 430 modules in the
community tagged with “Content
Construction Kit (CCK)”

17. CCK: Relationships through References
Define a “Node Reference” and create relationships between your content.
Decide which content types
can be referenced using
simple controls or get as
granular as you need to be
using the Views module.

18. Taxonomy: Free World. Free Tagging.
Let the users speak for themselves.

19. Taxonomy and Views Sitting in a Tree
March (32)
February (10)
January (4)
December (12)

20. Taxonomy: Cool UI Through Contrib

21. A Simple Rule to Remember
CCK Defines. Taxonomy Classifies.
(And Ice Cream is delicious, but we've covered that)

22. Drupal 7: What's Coming
Growth is on the horizon!

23. Drupal 7: Field API (CCK, The Sequel)
 Fields can be attached to more than just nodes!
Yes, that means users and taxonomy terms.
 Consistent Way of Storing and Referencing Fields
Consistency == Efficiency == More Beer Time
 Field API Bundles to Group Related Fields
No more awkward nodes!

24. Taxonomy: A Class(ifying) Act Now
 Taxonomy Terms with Fields
Now you get to see and hear the chocolate.
 Bind Vocabularies to Content Type
Different occasions. Different widgets.
 Path Aliases
Taxonomy goes incognito.

25. Wrapping Up
 CCK Defines. Taxonomy Classifies.
 Know the Feature Set of Each.
 It's Never One or the Other. Always Both.
 Apply Careful Thinking to Make Decisions.
 Drupal 7 is Going to Rock (Of Course)

26. Questions
For more information, visit:
– http://acquia.com
– http://twitter.com/acquia
Contact us:
– sales@acquia.com Recording of today’s event and slides
will be posted at:
– 888.9.ACQUIA http://acquia.com/community/resources/
recorded_webinars
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– http://acquia.com/trial