Tags: Technologies, Managed Teams, IT Staff Augmentation
Share
Table of contents
Quick Access

Learning a new system usually means learning about its little quirks. Drupal 8 has its fair share of quirks. Here are some quick tips that I have learned in the past few months working on my first Drupal 8 project.
### addExpression
Suppose you need to get the last time an item in a table was edited. You can build a dynamic query and, instead of using fields(), you'd use addExpression() like so:
`$query->addExpression('MAX(mod_date)', 'col_alias');`
Now you will get the highest timestamp.
`$timestamp = $query->execute()->fetchField();`
### Differences between `$entity->field_name` and `$entity->get('field_name')`
`$entity->field_name` will return null if the field does not exist while `$entity->get('field_name')` will throw an Exception. Sometimes you'll want one behavior over another so keep that in mind.
### Adding a class to a item list elements
I almost went mad looking for an answer until I dived into the code and learned about `#wrapper_attributes`. Just add this to your item list render array and you're good to go. It will apply those attributes to each `
` tag within your item list.
### appendItem
If you need to add a value to a multivalue field in an entity, you can use `appendItem()` to get the job done.
`$entity->field_multivalue->appendItem($some_other_entity_id);`
Over the coming weeks, I or any of my fellow developers here at [Rootstack](http://rootstack.com) will be posting quick tips for other developers new to Drupal 8. I'm sure you will learn a thing or two or, at the very least, we will save you from a mild headache.
Let's work together!
Related Blogs
Using Akismet in Drupal 10: Protect Your Forms from Spam
February 18, 2025
Tags: Technologies
In this article, we'll explore how to integrate Akismet, one of the most popular tools for blocking spam comments and registrations, into Drupal 10
This article explores the benefits of Acquia DAM, demonstrating why it is the ideal choice for organizations looking to optimize their asset management strategy