Against the backdrop of snow-capped peaks and invigorating alpine air, attendees immersed themselves in a whirlwind of workshops, discussions, and outdoor activities showcasing the vibrant spirit of open-source technology and the beauty of the Swiss mountains.

We took this opportunity to ask Josef Kruckenberg, Product Owner at Liip and co-organiser of the Drupal Mountain Camp, a few questions.

What are the goals of the Drupal Mountain Camp?

The Drupal Mountain Camp brings together experts and newcomers in web development to share their knowledge of creating interactive websites using Drupal and related web technologies. We are committed to uniting a diverse crowd from different disciplines, such as developers, designers, project managers, agency and community leaders.

The main highlights include:

• Pre-conference with skiing, snowboarding and co-working in Davos in the Swiss Alps
• 3 keynotes on headless CMS, open-source funding and personal development
• 3 days with workshops, sessions and exchanges around the open-source CMS Drupal

What is your involvement in this, also as a Liiper?

As Drupal Community Coordinator at Liip, Jens Vranckx and I are part of the organising team that makes the Drupal Mountain Camp happen. For this year's edition, I have been focusing on recruiting keynote speakers and inviting speakers from other countries to provide a rich and diverse line-up. I also coordinate with our marketing team, coordinate some logistics at the venue, encourage Liipers to speak, and have fun taking pictures of the event.

In our workshop, Drupal for End Users, Jonathan Noack and I compared the different ways of creating landing pages with Drupal and allowed the audience to test blökkli, our interactive, open-source page-building solution.

As a board member of the Drupal Switzerland association, I’m also organising a Drupal Local Association Updates session that acts as an exchange format for open-source leaders in countries like France, Belgium, and Switzerland.

Which speech inspired you the most and why?

I especially enjoyed Tearyne Almandarez's talk about grit and personal development. It reminded me of how I dealt with difficult challenges in my career, how imposter syndrome can hold one back and how important it is to find clarity about where you want to go, especially if that means you have to go outside of your comfort.

What outcomes would you like to share following this edition?

The Swiss and international Drupal community had a lot to share within the days of the mountain camp.

It's inspiring to see the multitude of approaches to solve key problems, such as interactive page building with Drupal.

I'm proud of the Liip team for contributing substantially to open-source by sponsoring and co-organising Drupal Mountain Camp and sharing our knowledge in many sessions.

What are the next challenges?

The Drupal Mountain Camp is all about bringing people together. The organisers will get together, do a retrospective and get ready for the next iteration. What can we do to make it more accessible? Will we do it as usual in Davos? We had a lot of good discussions already at the conference, so I’m looking forward to seeing where we take the organisation next.

For Liip, we will continue investing highly in the open-source and Drupal community. We are excited to see how the community will use blökkli and what they contribute back to it.

Randy Fay, the maintainer of DDEV discusses the key features and functionalities of DDEV, a Docker-based development environment that streamlines setting up and managing local development for applications (no Docker knowledge is required). Whether you're creating applications in Python, PHP, or other languages, DDEV will save you tremendous time and effort. It also works great for managing multiple projects, or working with a large distributed team, ensuring everyone’s configurations remain in sync. Randy also demos DDEV, showcasing how fast and easy it is to set up a local Drupal development environment quickly. Additionally, he touches upon the history and future of DDEV, and the critical role of the DDEV user community in both supporting the project and shaping it’s development. This interview is perfect for any developer interested in efficient development tools, current DDEV users, or anyone curious about local development technologies and best practices. --- For a transcript of this video, see The DDEV Local Development Environment- Talking with Randy Fay --- ## Links - DDEV: ddev.com - Docs https://ddev.readthedocs.io - CMS Quickstarts https://ddev.readthedocs.io/en/stable/users/quickstart/ - DDEV 2023 Review https://ddev.com/blog/2023-review - [DDEV 2024 Plans](https://ddev.com/blog/2024-plans...

Welcome back to “Skills Upgrade” a Talking Drupal mini-series following the journey of a D7 developer learning D10. This is episode 2.

• Review Chad's goals for the previous week
  • DDEV Installation
  • Docker for Mac vs other options
  • IDE Setup
• Review Chad's questions
• Tasks for the upcoming week
  • DDEV improve performance
  • Install Drupal 10
  • Install drupal/core dependencies
  • Configure and test phpcs
  • Test phpstan
  • Set up settings.local.php
  • Install devel module

DDEV Performance DDEV Quickstart Drupal Core Dependencies How to Implement Drupal Code Standards Running PHPStan On Drupal Custom Modules Why you should care about using settings.local.php Rancher Desktop

Chad's Drupal 10 Learning Curriclum & Journal Chad's Drupal 10 Learning Notes

AmyJune Hineline - @volkswagenchick

Chad Hester - chadkhester.com @chadkhest Mike Anello - DrupalEasy.com @ultimike

The React team proposes a new way to improve page load speed and reduce TTI—the time it takes a page to become fully interactive.

***

One of the ways to improve website performance is to reduce traffic from the server to the user’s (client’s) device. The client-server architecture is essentially the queue of requests and responses between the client and the server, which in turn accesses the database.

Gradually, web development began to take on other tasks, such as where and how to cache the page or mark it up for SEO so that it could later go live and work for the user, or what part of the page rendering could be done by the client or by the server.

Eventually, there were developers who took the React library, built the Next framework around it, proposed the principle of Server-Side Rendering (or SSR) along with the framework.

Network, Learn, and Collaborate - The three key motivations for individuals and organizations to participate in conferences. Every regular conference has a theme or niche that serves as a focal point for discussions and advancement. These events serve as stages for personal branding and business promotion, with attendees aiming to gain insights and contacts that directly benefit their individual goals and organizational interests. 

Although open-source events rely on these key motivations too, they have a unique flavor of community spirit and collaboration that’s not found in traditional conferences. Open source events like DrupalCons thrive on shared knowledge, transparent innovation, and a sense of collective growth.

What is DrupalCon? 

DrupalCon is an annual open-source conference that brings together open-source enthusiasts, developers, designers, and end users for networking, learning, and collaboration, all under one roof. This is where you can meet the people who made the software, get inspired, and actively contribute to the project. The next upcoming DrupalCon North America event is being held in Portland, Oregon, from 06 May 2024 to 09 May 2024. We’ll give you some reasons why you should attend open-source events like DrupalCon 2024.

Benefits of Attending Open Source Conferences 

An open-source enthusiast knows that events like DrupalCons are celebrations of community-driven innovation. The energy is contagious, the ideas are limitless, and the camaraderie extends beyond the conference halls. 

Spirit of Open-Source

Open source is almost synonymous with collaboration. Collaboration by contributors who are the heartbeat of any open-source project. These events provide a platform for individuals and organizations to come together, contribute to the community, and drive the future of open source. It aligns with the open-source commitment to empowering innovation through the collective efforts of a vibrant and engaged community. In an event like DrupalCon, you get a chance to meet people who are passionate about Drupal and driving it forward. 

Career Boost

If you're launching your career or contemplating a switch to something more fulfilling, few experiences rival the rewards of joining an open-source community. And there’s no better place to kick off this journey than an open-source conference. You’re not just exploring job opportunities but also gaining the knowledge you need from training sessions and meaningful interactions with seasoned experts. You can also upgrade your skills through hands-on workshops and interactive sessions at the event. At DrupalCon, you can always find support if you’re new to the world of Drupal or Open source. A mentor will help guide you through your entire experience by suggesting what sessions you should attend for your professional development. You can even learn to make your first contribution to the project through your mentor.

Spot the Trend

Want to know what’s new in your area of interest? Open-source conferences are the best places to identify emerging trends, innovations, and shifts in the industry - much before they become mainstream! You come out well-equipped with insights into upcoming technologies and initiatives. This will not only help you in your professional development but also enable you to contribute meaningfully to innovative projects. All of this ultimately leads to improved user experiences and future-ready applications. At DrupalCon, immerse yourself in firsthand insights as Dries Buytaert, the founder himself, shares the current state of Drupal in his keynote (DriesNote). Discover upcoming initiatives and innovation on the horizon, and get a sneak peek into the exciting developments set to launch. 

The Power of Open Source Networking

We all know how powerful networking can be for your career or business development. But for an open-source community, networking is an indispensable aspect. It's impossible to have a successfully operating community without networking. Open-source events let you connect with like-minded individuals, developers, agencies, and contributors, fostering potential collaboration. Get mentorship, guidance, and exposure to new opportunities to aid your professional growth. Attend DrupalCon to connect with thousands of open-source enthusiasts and build meaningful connections with professionals just like you. Programs like BoFs (Birds of a Feather) at DrupalCon let you exchange information and share best practices around a common topic of interest. Make DrupalCon your opportunity to grow.

Real-World Learning

Learning from real-world scenarios truly refines your understanding of technology and innovation. Attending industry summits at open-source conferences is a great way to gain practical insights from industry leaders. It’s a chance to understand the real-world challenges faced by them and the practical solutions implemented. Through live demos, case studies, and applications, you can see the ropes in action. Industry summits often highlight the methodologies that are proving successful in the current landscape, providing actionable takeaways. DrupalCon has a full day dedicated to industry summits like the higher educational summit, non-profit summit, government summit and community summit. 

Final Thoughts

Whether it's networking opportunities, hands-on learning, or trend forecasting, open-source conferences offer a holistic approach to staying on top of ever-changing technologies. They contribute to the collective growth of the entire open-source community. It's an investment in continuous learning, professional enrichment, and the boundless possibilities of open collaboration. Did we mention that DrupalCons aren't just about coding and tech talk? There's a ton of fun to be had too! Take a look at the social events from last year. 

Drupal has done something unique with contributing to open source. Our community has made contributing to the open source project a marketing opportunity for organizations using Drupal. Generally, contributing to open source projects reflects at the individual level. There isn't a great way to reflect if the individual did it out of some intrinsic value to improve open source or by sponsored work with their employer or a customer. As far as I know, Drupal is the only open source project providing this kind of attribution.