On Jan 31, 2007, at 3:03 PM, Zohar Stolar wrote:
With regards to that - I feel that from 4.7 to 5 Drupal changed in such a extreme manner, that it will take most of the developers 4 months only to get to know Drupal 5 properly... Most of Drupal developers are not core developers, and might be intimidated by rapid, extreme changes. I'm talking about API, not, for example, the CCK integration. Drupal is already reputated to have a slow learning curve, and every time you get to the summit, the mountain becomes higher :-)
I can see the need to release a newer, better CMS when possible, certainly in a very competitive surrounding, and maybe that's the right thing to do, ideally. BUT (and here comes the "but"), don't we risk being a bit too fast?
As a Drupal enthusiast since Drupal 4.4 days, I can say that I'm delighted and relieved that Drupal is evolving so fast. I remember when 4.5 was the bee's knees. Then it was just awful compared with 4.6, which was just not good enough once 4.7 came out.... I'm not so sure the world is flat, but time stands still for no one, and the web is developing at such a rapid rate that it behooves the Drupal community to continue to not only keep apace but even set the pace. Each major release has involved a major learning curve, yes, but this amounts to learning one's way around a better cms. I wouldn't go backwards on a bet. I believe your concern about clients who are happy with their existing sites is well placed. However, I would suggest that this is more on the matter of maintaining support for older systems, and not a matter of how rapidly the newest and bestest stuff rolls out. June 1 -- that's not even summer! That is fabulous! Laura