function hook_install_tasks

Return an array of tasks to be performed by an installation profile.

Any tasks you define here will be run, in order, after the installer has finished the site configuration step but before it has moved on to the final import of languages and the end of the installation. You can have any number of custom tasks to perform during this phase.

Each task you define here corresponds to a callback function which you must separately define and which is called when your task is run. This function will receive the global installation state variable, $install_state, as input, and has the opportunity to access or modify any of its settings. See the install_state_defaults() function in the installer for the list of $install_state settings used by Drupal core.

At the end of your task function, you can indicate that you want the installer to pause and display a page to the user by returning any themed output that should be displayed on that page (but see below for tasks that use the form API or batch API; the return values of these task functions are handled differently). You should also use drupal_set_title() within the task callback function to set a custom page title. For some tasks, however, you may want to simply do some processing and pass control to the next task without ending the page request; to indicate this, simply do not send back a return value from your task function at all. This can be used, for example, by installation profiles that need to configure certain site settings in the database without obtaining any input from the user.

The task function is treated specially if it defines a form or requires batch processing; in that case, you should return either the form API definition or batch API array, as appropriate. See below for more information on the 'type' key that you must define in the task definition to inform the installer that your task falls into one of those two categories. It is important to use these APIs directly, since the installer may be run non-interactively (for example, via a command line script), all in one page request; in that case, the installer will automatically take care of submitting forms and processing batches correctly for both types of installations. You can inspect the $install_state['interactive'] boolean to see whether or not the current installation is interactive, if you need access to this information.

Remember that a user installing Drupal interactively will be able to reload an installation page multiple times, so you should use variable_set() and variable_get() if you are collecting any data that you need to store and inspect later. It is important to remove any temporary variables using variable_del() before your last task has completed and control is handed back to the installer.

Return value

A keyed array of tasks the profile will perform during the final stage of the installation. Each key represents the name of a function (usually a function defined by this profile, although that is not strictly required) that is called when that task is run. The values are associative arrays containing the following key-value pairs (all of which are optional):

  • 'display_name' The human-readable name of the task. This will be displayed to the user while the installer is running, along with a list of other tasks that are being run. Leave this unset to prevent the task from appearing in the list.
  • 'display' This is a boolean which can be used to provide finer-grained control over whether or not the task will display. This is mostly useful for tasks that are intended to display only under certain conditions; for these tasks, you can set 'display_name' to the name that you want to display, but then use this boolean to hide the task only when certain conditions apply.
  • 'type' A string representing the type of task. This parameter has three possible values:

    • 'normal': This indicates that the task will be treated as a regular

    callback function, which does its processing and optionally returns HTML output. This is the default behavior which is used when 'type' is not set.

    • 'batch': This indicates that the task function will return a batch

    API definition suitable for batch_set(). The installer will then take care of automatically running the task via batch processing.

    • 'form': This indicates that the task function will return a standard

    form API definition (and separately define validation and submit handlers, as appropriate). The installer will then take care of automatically directing the user through the form submission process.

  • 'run' A constant representing the manner in which the task will be run. This parameter has three possible values:

    run once during the installation of the profile. This is the default behavior which is used when 'run' is not set.

    the current installation page request. It can be used to skip running an installation task when certain conditions are met, even though the task may still show on the list of installation tasks presented to the user.

    on each installation page request that reaches it. This is rarely necessary for an installation profile to use; it is primarily used by the Drupal installer for bootstrap-related tasks.

  • 'function' Normally this does not need to be set, but it can be used to force the installer to call a different function when the task is run (rather than the function whose name is given by the array key). This could be used, for example, to allow the same function to be called by two different tasks.

See also

install_state_defaults()

batch_set()

Related topics

Hooks
Allow modules to interact with the Drupal core.

File

drupal/core/modules/system/system.api.php, line 3128
Hooks provided by Drupal core and the System module.

Code

function hook_install_tasks() {

  // Here, we define a variable to allow tasks to indicate that a particular,
  // processor-intensive batch process needs to be triggered later on in the
  // installation.
  $myprofile_needs_batch_processing = variable_get('myprofile_needs_batch_processing', FALSE);
  $tasks = array(
    // This is an example of a task that defines a form which the user who is
    // installing the site will be asked to fill out. To implement this task,
    // your profile would define a function named myprofile_data_import_form()
    // as a normal form API callback function, with associated validation and
    // submit handlers. In the submit handler, in addition to saving whatever
    // other data you have collected from the user, you might also call
    // variable_set('myprofile_needs_batch_processing', TRUE) if the user has
    // entered data which requires that batch processing will need to occur
    // later on.
    'myprofile_data_import_form' => array(
      'display_name' => st('Data import options'),
      'type' => 'form',
    ),
    // Similarly, to implement this task, your profile would define a function
    // named myprofile_settings_form() with associated validation and submit
    // handlers. This form might be used to collect and save additional
    // information from the user that your profile needs. There are no extra
    // steps required for your profile to act as an "installation wizard"; you
    // can simply define as many tasks of type 'form' as you wish to execute,
    // and the forms will be presented to the user, one after another.
    'myprofile_settings_form' => array(
      'display_name' => st('Additional options'),
      'type' => 'form',
    ),
    // This is an example of a task that performs batch operations. To
    // implement this task, your profile would define a function named
    // myprofile_batch_processing() which returns a batch API array definition
    // that the installer will use to execute your batch operations. Due to the
    // 'myprofile_needs_batch_processing' variable used here, this task will be
    // hidden and skipped unless your profile set it to TRUE in one of the
    // previous tasks.
    'myprofile_batch_processing' => array(
      'display_name' => st('Import additional data'),
      'display' => $myprofile_needs_batch_processing,
      'type' => 'batch',
      'run' => $myprofile_needs_batch_processing ? INSTALL_TASK_RUN_IF_NOT_COMPLETED : INSTALL_TASK_SKIP,
    ),
    // This is an example of a task that will not be displayed in the list that
    // the user sees. To implement this task, your profile would define a
    // function named myprofile_final_site_setup(), in which additional,
    // automated site setup operations would be performed. Since this is the
    // last task defined by your profile, you should also use this function to
    // call variable_del('myprofile_needs_batch_processing') and clean up the
    // variable that was used above. If you want the user to pass to the final
    // Drupal installation tasks uninterrupted, return no output from this
    // function. Otherwise, return themed output that the user will see (for
    // example, a confirmation page explaining that your profile's tasks are
    // complete, with a link to reload the current page and therefore pass on
    // to the final Drupal installation tasks when the user is ready to do so).
    'myprofile_final_site_setup' => array(),
  );
  return $tasks;
}