Everyone knows about the big changes in Drupal 7 but the details matter too, especially when they’re the kind of details that make life simpler and save time every day. Here’s some nice ones in Drupal 7.
db_query
No need to mess about with fetching rows any more, db_query() returns a Traversable object which can be foreach-ed. Also, placeholders no longer need quote marks. (The Numiko API has taken care of these conveniences for a while now, glad they are no longer needed).
Comments
It’s now easy to output comments separately, meaning they can be placed anywhere on a node. No more hacking it.
Profiling
The Devel module now integrates the XHProf Profiler, which looks useful for finding bottlenecks in code.
Checkboxes
Now simple and logical to create on types. Previously I always had to refer to how I did it the last time.
More Granular Permissions
Which is good, and they are more logical. It will require a bit more thought from developers when defining roles e.g. all of the following permissions would generally be required as a base for a site editor: “Use the administration toolbar”, “View the administration theme”, “Use the administration pages and help”, “Access the administrative overlay”, “View the administrative dashboard, “Access the content overview page”.
Thankfully the infamous “Administer content” permission has been tamed.
Content List Page
This page now has sortable columns, and an “Updated” column, instantly making content easier to find and identify. AJAX auto-complete filtering here would make it complete.