This session will introduce the Bean module, developed for Energy.gov by Treehouse Agency.

Bean allows the creation of fieldable block entities. Similar to node types, different block entity types can be created with different fields and configurations. This allows your editors to create blocks with the ease of creating a node, without needing to write code or deal with a complex admin. The session will demonstrate how to create Beans, both in code and in UI. The session will also show different ways of using block entities, including the Blockreference module, which allows editors an easy-to-understand way to place blocks within a node, and demonstrate how Beans can be used to provide an alternative method of creating Views-driven blocks.

What will be covered:

• The concept of Block Types.
• API-driven design: code first, UI second.
• Building Block Types in Code
• Building Block Types in the UI
• Replacing Views Blocks

Slides: 

bad_beans.pdf