// $Id$

CONTENTS OF THIS FILE
---------------------

 * About Drupal
 * Configuration and features
 * Appearance
 * Developing for Drupal

ABOUT DRUPAL
------------

Drupal is an open source content management platform supporting a variety of
websites ranging from personal weblogs to large community-driven websites. For
more information, see the Drupal website at http://drupal.org/, and join the
Drupal community at http://drupal.org/community.

Legal information about Drupal:
 * Know your rights when using Drupal:
   See LICENSE.txt in the same directory as this document.
 * Learn about the Drupal trademark and logo policy:
   http://drupal.com/trademark

CONFIGURATION AND FEATURES
--------------------------

Drupal core (what you get when you download and unzip a drupal-x.y.tar.gz file
from http://drupal.org/project/drupal) has what you need to get started with
your website. It includes several modules (extensions that add functionality)
for common website features, such as managing content, user accounts, image
uploading, and search. Core comes with many options that allow site-specific
configuration. In addition to the core modules, there are thousands of
contributed modules (for functionality not included with Drupal core)
available for download.

More about configuration:
 * Install, upgrade, and maintain Drupal:
   See INSTALL.txt and UPGRADE.txt in the same directory as this document.
 * Learn about how to use Drupal to create your site:
   http://drupal.org/documentation
 * Download contributed modules to sites/all/modules to extend Drupal's
   functionality:
   http://drupal.org/project/modules
 * See also: "Developing for Drupal" for writing your own modules, below.

APPEARANCE
----------

In Drupal, the appearance of your site is set by the theme (themes are
extensions that set fonts, colors, and layout). Drupal core comes with several
themes. More themes are available for download, and you can also create your
own custom theme.

More about themes:
 * Download contributed themes to sites/all/themes to modify Drupal's
   appearance:
   http://drupal.org/project/themes
 * Develop your own theme:
   http://drupal.org/documentation/theme

DEVELOPING FOR DRUPAL
---------------------

Drupal contains an extensive API that allows you to add to and modify the
functionality of your site. The API consists of "hooks", which allow modules to
react to system events and customize Drupal's behavior, and functions that
standardize common operations such as database queries and form generation. The
flexible hook architecture means that you should never need to directly modify
the files that come with Drupal core to achieve the functionality you want;
instead, functionality modifications take the form of modules.

When you need new functionality for your Drupal site, search for existing
contributed modules. If you find a module that matches except for a bug or an
additional needed feature, change the module and contribute your improvements
back to the project in the form of a "patch". Create new custom modules only
when nothing existing comes close to what you need.

More about developing:
 * Search for existing contributed modules:
   http://drupal.org/project/modules
 * Contribute a patch:
   http://drupal.org/patch/submit
 * Develop your own module:
   http://drupal.org/developing/modules
 * Follow best practices:
   http://drupal.org/best-practices
 * Refer to the API documentation:
   http://api.drupal.org/api/drupal/7