Adrian Rossouw wrote:
The install system makes provisions for this.
You can create virtual packages, which have no actual modules / code of their own except for depending on other packages and having some configuration and possibly an installation wizard.
That's great!
When I said that the forms api is a key component of the install system, I wasn't joking.
The new form api (only in 4.8 though. the 4.7 forms api is only phase one) will allow us to record macros, (ie: record all the forms you fill in), and create install profiles programmatically. It will also be possible to auto-create configuration wizards from these recorded macros, as wizards are just macros that have configurable values.
You're scaring me a little bit ;-)
I have a feeling we might even be able to clear up some of our menu mess.
Just as an example -and I have nothing against forum module: At some point, we are duplicating the taxonomy interface to handle a forum specific vocabulary. Then, this causes some bug -like this one, again just an example: http://drupal.org/node/24274 -, and then we have a *core bug*, module specific, but as it is a core module, this one has the same importance -in the bug tracking system- as any other critical bug -like a basic API not working properly.
I would like to see the relationship API take over forum, taxonomy and book. So we have one system instead of all these disparate implementations of the same thing.
The same with the aggregator module which implements it's own node system, and taxonomy.
The same with the project module which implements it's own comment system and taxonomy system.
Whenever we need to implement something like this, it means our core system isn't flexible enough.
Well, I think our core system is flexible enough -because all that implementations don't need to patch the basic taxonomy system. Only that our core system 'is not user friendly enough' but it shouldn't have to be that anyway. It's the whole thing of 'Flexibility/options' vs 'usability for end users'
And you have it wrong.
The Drupal mantra is 'we should write an API for that'
Ok, we should write an API for having one smaller core and may distributions :-)
But, anyway, that's an old idea. Just look at Linux.... Could you install 'Linux' --properly understood as the core OS- and pretend you have a nice OS ready to play with your computer?
I'd love to see core only be a handful of modules, but I really don't see it being an option before the install system is finished. Once 4.7 is out, I'm going to be putting together the DEP's for the rest of the install system, so we can discuss them (I actually have started writing my first DEP, it's just kind of hard since I don't have a format to follow, I am just playing it all by ear.)
Well, me too. I want to see Drupal 4.7 out. I din't mean changing anything now, but start thinking about it before it grows more and more. What worries me is that, at the end, we may have that install system with a lot of profiles in core too, so it will grow bigger after all :-( I have some DEP in mind too, but I'll wait to see your DEP first. Btw, did you know that 'DEP' is Spanish for 'RIP', --Anyway I'm not superstitious and see a good future por DEPs ;-)
-- Adrian Rossouw Drupal developer and Bryght Guy http://drupal.org | http://bryght.com