Drupal Watchdog #2: Mobile Drupal

We are thrilled to bring you the second issue of Drupal Watchdog! A PDF-version will be freely available for download to all attendees of the London DrupalCon from this website this week. Read on for more details about the issue, and various ways to obtain it even if you're not attending the DrupalCon.

Features
Dries Buytaert, the creator of Drupal, contributed a column in Issue #1 titled “Making Drupal A Go-To Platform For Building Mobile Applications.” Issue #2 of Watchdog tackles this same topic in much greater depth, exploring the present state and future course of Mobile Drupal.

Larry Garfield kicks things off in style by asking, “What Does Mobile Mean?” He explores the many definitions people apply to the word “mobile” and provides a roadmap for keeping Drupal relevant in the rapidly arriving future, where visits from mobile devices outnumber those from desktop and laptop computers.

John Albin Wilkins continues the discussion in his article, “Finding Our Path In The Mobile Wild.” In his article, you will find an in-depth comparison of the most prominent methods of serving mobile content, with each method applied specifically to Drupal. He compares and contrasts websites built specifically for mobile devices with those favoring the fluidly adaptive Responsive Design. While reviewing the pros and cons of each, he discusses the current revolution we're facing with site building and content management.

In “Responsive Web Design: Look Great On Any Device,” Bruno De Bondt and Kristof Orts offer a compelling case for Responsive Design. Patrick Teglia documents the real-life efforts required to develop the mobile app released for Chicago DrupalCon in “The Drupal Mobile Process.” And Matthew Farina provides four simple yet effective tips on obtaining “Big Performance Wins On The Front End.”

Exploring topics outside of mobile Drupal, Matt Butcher provides an excellent tutorial in “Writing Drupal 7 Modules,” walking through the basic steps required to create a fully functional Drupal module. And Emma Jane Hogbin completes her two part series on creating a theme based on a Photoshop image in “PSD To Drupal 7 Theme, Part II.”

Read on to find a goldmine of other articles beyond the few mentioned above. Our regular columnists have returned along with new authors who have contributed their voices and ideas to the collective consciousness.

Watchdog News
We've heard your feedback on Issue #1! In addition to the printed format of our magazine, we're also offering several digital versions. Everyone attending DrupalCon London has received free access to download a PDF version of this magazine from http://drupalwatchdog.com/; from the same website, DrupalCon attendees can share download access to the digital magazine with friends and peers that weren't able to attend the DrupalCon themselves.

Readers desiring a high-resolution digital copy of Drupal Watchdog on their mobile devices can purchase one from Zinio at http://www.zinio.com/. While we gave some thought to creating a custom Watchdog app, we ultimately decided, at this point in our evolution, to remain primarily focused on generating quality Drupal content.

Finally, the complete text and all images from every article in this issue will also soon appear on our website—for free—viewable with your web browser at http://drupalwatchdog.com/, be it a mobile device or a desktop computer.

We're committed to publishing two issues of Drupal Watchdog in 2012, one in March and one in August. Please help us determine the future direction of this periodical by sending feedback to jeremy@drupalwatchdog.com. Reach out if you're interested in contributing to, advertising in, commenting on, or otherwise participating in future issues of Drupal Watchdog!