Drupal
Getting Started
Drupal is very easy to install and setup. You can download the latest version of Drupal and unzip it in your webserver's public_html directory.
Check out the excellent AMP (Apache HTTP Server / MySql Database / PHP Engine) products, which provide the full stack of Open Source server software that you need to run Drupal based dynamic web sites.
On Windows, you'll want WAMP, for Linux there's LAMP.
NetBeans 6.x and Drupal
I use the NetBeans IDE for my development work. Support for PHP was introduced a while ago and has matured quickly, paving the way for a Drupal plugin. I'm just starting to use this module, and are currently building ANT scripts in NetBeans to handle installing Drupal patches, running database backups, and deploying from my test environment to the server. Here's the link:
https://nbdrupalsupport.dev.java.net/
Links
Here are some links to Drupal related material which I have found particularly useful.
http://www.inertweb.com/2008/12/21/how-i-learned-love-drupal
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-9973824-16.html
http://ecmarchitect.com/archives/2008/09/18/849
Hacking a theme
Early on in a new project or POC I tend to want to focus on building solid content framework without refining the look and feel. In those cases, it`s best to stick to polished theme which is appealing to you for your site. The Acquia Marnia theme, which is a free theme from Top Notch Themes, is very popular and a good one to modify. This great video shows you how to do just that:
http://gotdrupal.com/videos/drupal-theme-makeover
Applying Patches
When you`re trying to get something working the way you want it to, you`ll fine that there are times when you`ll want to apply patches which were contributed by other users. Postings on Drupal.org will sometimes contain .patch file attachments which can be applied to your codebase.
Upgrading Drupal
The standard UPGRADE.txt files are very detailed and complete. But the time needed to manually execute all the steps is quite daunting, especially since you need to do this everytime there's a new bug fix or security patch. Manual processes always have room for mistakes. It's obvious you should fully read through the UPGRADE.txt file to understand all of the facts, but in the end you need to find a way of automating this routine process.
Advanced users tend to use a CVS linked sandbox, which allows them to syncrhonize their Drupal codebase with the latest and greatest version.
