Chapter 1. The Elements of a Drupal Theme
In this chapter, we will introduce themes and their role in the Drupal system. The chapter also covers the various types of themes, the basic elements of a theme, and the functions those elements fulfil. Near the end of the chapter, we will also look at the themes contained in the distro and examine exactly what it is that makes each theme distinct.
The contents of this preliminary chapter provide the general comprehension necessary to grasp the big picture of Drupal. Think of the knowledge communicated in this chapter as a framework from which we will hang the various skills that follow in the subsequent chapters.
What is a Theme?
In the context of Drupal, the term "theme" means a collection of files that are responsible for the look and feel of the website. Other systems use different names for the files that perform the same function in their particular systems—the most common term used elsewhere being "template."
Throughout, we will use "theme" to refer to the collection of files responsible for displaying the information on the page. We will use "template" to refer to certain specific elements of the theme, particularly in relation to the templating engine used in Drupal.
Conceptually, a theme is a visual container that is used to format and display data on the screen. Expressed in terms of its component parts, a theme is a collection of files that format data into the presentation layer viewed by site visitors and system administrators. Expressed in simplest terms: The theme determines how your site looks!
A theme will contain many files that are familiar to web designers, including typically, style sheets, images, and JavaScript. They are also likely to carry some files that may not be so familiar, for example *.theme, or *.tpl.php files. The former is used by pure PHP themes; the latter extension appears in themes that employ the PHPTemplate templating engine bundled with Drupal.
Official Drupal Online Resources
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Main Drupal Site | |
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Drupal Forums | |
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Download Extensions | |
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Drupal Theming Handbook |
