Introduction
The Acquia Certified Developer exam is intended for Acquia customers, partners, and employees who perform a Developer role. This exam validates a candidate’s ability to:
- Design, develop and deploy Drupal based solutions
- Understand the core Drupal basic architecture best practices for front and back end development
- Develop and maintain applications using Drupal front and back end development
- Develop and implement new Drupal modules and themes
- Customize and extend existing modules and themes
The basic knowledge and skills required at this level should include all of the following areas and objective components below.
Drupal
- Professional experience using Drupal technology
- Set-up and configure Drupal sites
- Develop and implement new Drupal modules
- Develop new or customize existing themes: knowledge of existing themes, HTML, CSS, JavaScript/JQuery
- Customize and extend existing modules: knowledge of existing modules, PHP
Web and IT Knowledge
- Experience in developing enterprise Drupal websites and web applications
- PHP knowledge
- OOP knowledge
- HTML, CSS, JavaScript/JQuery
- MySQL
- Basic Linux server administration skills
- Experience with security and performance
- Version control systems
These training courses or other equivalent methodologies will assist in exam preparation:
- Drupal Documentation http://drupal.org/documentation
- Acquia Certified Developer course
- Drupal 7 Site Building
- Drupal 7 Module Development
- Drupal 7 Layout and Theming
Note: This exam blueprint includes topics /domains and test objectives to help guide the test taker. They should not be construed as a comprehensive listing of all of the content of this examination.
The table below lists the domains measured by this examination and the extent to which they are represented. (subject to change)
| Domain | % of Examination |
| 1.0 Fundamental Web Concepts | 13% |
| 2.0 Site Building | 27% |
| 3.0 Front end development (theming) | 25% |
| 4.0 Back end development (coding) | 35% |
| TOTAL | 100% |
Test Format:
Test item formats used in this examination are:
- Multiple-choice: Examinee selects one option that best answers the question or completes a statement.
- Multiple-response: Examinee selects more than one option that best answers the question or completes a statement.
Content
Domain 1.0: Fundamental Web Development Concepts
1.1. Demonstrate knowledge of HTML and CSS
1.2. Identify PHP programing concepts
1.3. Identify JavaScript and jQuery programing concepts
1.4. Demonstrate the use of Git for version control
Domain 2.0: Site Building
2.1. Demonstrate ability to create and configure Content Types with appropriate fields and field settings for building basic data structures
2.2. Demonstrate ability to configure field display and view modes for content types
2.3. Demonstrate ability to create and use Taxonomy vocabularies and terms for classification and organization of content
2.4. Demonstrate ability to configure Blocks for building layouts from information widgets
2.5. Demonstrate ability to build main and alternative navigation systems by using Menus
2.6. Demonstrate ability to create and configure Views for building content list pages, blocks and feeds
Domain 3.0: Front end development (theming)
3.1. Given a scenario, demonstrate ability to create a custom theme or sub theme
3.2. Demonstrate knowledge of theming concepts
3.3. Demonstrate ability to build or override PHP templates for defining layout content
3.4. Demonstrate ability to use theme () functions for overriding custom output
3.5. Demonstrate ability to write template pre-process functions for overriding custom output
Domain 4.0: Back end development (coding)
4.1. Demonstrate ability to develop Custom Modules using Drupal API for extending Drupal functionality
4.2. Demonstrate ability to work with Drupal's Database Abstraction Layer for managing tables and CRUD operations on data
4.3. Demonstrate ability to debug code and troubleshoot site problems
4.4. Demonstrate ability to write code using Drupal Coding Standards
4.5. Demonstrate ability to analyze and resolve site performance issues arising from site configuration and custom code
4.6. Demonstrate ability to analyze and resolve security issues arising from site configuration and custom code
