A "theme" is a collection of files that define the presentation layer or "look and feel" of a Drupal site.
With a theme you can:
* Define one or more page layouts.
* Specify the display of images and other graphical elements
* Specify the display of fixed or variable text
* Specify the attributes of fonts and graphics
* Override (change) the output from modules
A theme can be configured to dynamically respond to changes in the content, content types, user input, user role etc.
A theme can also be used to override (modify or replace) the text and variables that are generated by modules. For example, a theme can be used to replace the default label on the Search button or to hide and display certain fields that are part of a particular content type. You can also override the default CSS classes that might appear in your content.
Often a theme is used simply to define the look and feel of an entire site, but it can also be used to customize the look and feel of certain sections of a site, of certain types of content, and even of individual nodes or pages. For example, your theme could specify a different look for the front page of your site.
Depending on the kind of theming work you are doing, you will need some knowledge of the following subjects:
* xHTML and CSS.
* JavaScript and jQuery (only if your theme needs scripting).
* The terminology used in Drupal.
A basic knowledge of PHP is needed for some tasks, but it is possible to avoid it entirely, especially if you do not have a need to override functions.
[Source: http://drupal.org/node/221881]
With a theme you can:
* Define one or more page layouts.
* Specify the display of images and other graphical elements
* Specify the display of fixed or variable text
* Specify the attributes of fonts and graphics
* Override (change) the output from modules
A theme can be configured to dynamically respond to changes in the content, content types, user input, user role etc.
A theme can also be used to override (modify or replace) the text and variables that are generated by modules. For example, a theme can be used to replace the default label on the Search button or to hide and display certain fields that are part of a particular content type. You can also override the default CSS classes that might appear in your content.
Often a theme is used simply to define the look and feel of an entire site, but it can also be used to customize the look and feel of certain sections of a site, of certain types of content, and even of individual nodes or pages. For example, your theme could specify a different look for the front page of your site.
Depending on the kind of theming work you are doing, you will need some knowledge of the following subjects:
* xHTML and CSS.
* JavaScript and jQuery (only if your theme needs scripting).
* The terminology used in Drupal.
A basic knowledge of PHP is needed for some tasks, but it is possible to avoid it entirely, especially if you do not have a need to override functions.
[Source: http://drupal.org/node/221881]
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