158 Using the Group module as an Alternative to Organic Groups in Drupal 7 and 8 with Kristiaan Van den Eynde - Modules Unraveled Podcast

Modules Unraveled Podcast

## Group Module* What is the Group module? * A really awesome tool to basically create subsites within one site, private content, manage groups of people or all that combined.* Why did you create it instead of just using OG? * OG DX experience...* There are versions for D7 and D8. Which are you more focused on? * D8* How is the Group module different from Organic Groups? * Good question! The key difference is how the modules decide to structure their data, how that affects the user flow and how the configuration model is built.* What is the underlying architecture? OG uses entityreferences heavily. How does Group work? * Dedicated Group Entity* What’s the status? Is it usable now? (D7 and D8) * Available for Drupal 7 and 8, with the 8 version being a large improvement over D7. There’s a few minor things I need to add to the D8 version, but it looks and works great already!* Is there much difference between the Drupal 7 and 8 version? * Yes and no: the key concept remains the same, but the UX and data model was improved even further. I would really recommend going forward with D8 from now on if you have the chance.

## Use Cases* Why should I use Group instead of OG? * UX, UX, UX * data structure * DX * But most of all: dedicated functionality, it will all make sense!* Users that get something special that you can’t do with Roles* Groups of people* Groups of content* There are so many!!!

## Questions from Twitter* Michelle Lauer [@bymiche](https://twitter.com/bymiche)How many subgroups can you nest? How are permissions inherited?* Michelle Lauer [@bymiche](https://twitter.com/bymiche)Can you easily categorize roles within a group?* Michelle Lauer [@bymiche](https://twitter.com/bymiche)If you have many roles and want to expose them to "managers" - for UX purposes, roles in categories would be easier to look at* Erich Beyrent [@ebeyrent](https://twitter.com/ebeyrent)Sounds like a great UX, what about DX - is there a well-defined API as well?* Damien McKenna [@DamienMcKenna](https://twitter.com/DamienMcKenna)Any plans to port some OG modules, e.g. og_menu or og_menu_single?* Damien McKenna [@DamienMcKenna](https://twitter.com/DamienMcKenna)Would it be possible to create og_forum's functionality out of the box or will it require custom work?* Damien McKenna [@DamienMcKenna](https://twitter.com/DamienMcKenna)Are the join forms configurable/fieldable?* Ted Bowman [@tedbow](https://twitter.com/tedbow)Interested in this. Can you add fields to a membership? * Erich Beyrent [@ebeyrent](https://twitter.com/ebeyrent)What doesn't Groups do? Are there features that you feel need to be added before 1.0 release?