Drupal 8: Detecting An Anonymous User

When developing plugins in Drupal a common task is to inject context so that certain tasks can be performed.

Whilst working on a module I found that I needed to do something that was difficult to find information for. I think part of that is because the solution is simpler than I was thinking, but it did cause me to get lost in source code and internet issues for a while.

I have been using the Drupal dependency injection system for a while now, even giving talks and writing articles on the subject.

Drupal has a number of coding standards and best practices that govern the way code should be written. This has many benefits but can allow for a consistent and maintainable code to be created.

Client requirements can be complex and those complex requirements often require custom code to be written. This includes making sure that the editing process conforms to certain validations.

Derivers in Drupal are one of the ways in which you can inform Drupal about the presence of plugin types. This allows you to generate multiple custom types of a plugin so that it can be represented as multiple different plugins within the system.