[drupal-devel] [feature] Enable multiple block regions (not just "left" and "right" sidebars)

[Boris Mann]

On 21-Jul-05, at 12:49 PM, Dries Buytaert wrote:

>> I've never personally had a need for multiple themes.  I view the
>> functionality as mainly a novelty.  And, it's worth remembering, it
>> would still be possible to have multiple styles, since styles  
>> based on
>> the same theme would have the same regions.  So, e.g.,  an admin  
>> style
>> would still be feasible.
>
> What do other people think about having multiple themes versus  
> having a single theme (with optional styles)?  Having only one  
> theme would greatly simplify the forthcoming block adminsitration  
> page, and would allow us to tidy up the theme administration page.   
> See http://drupal.org/node/16216 for details.  Please read up on  
> the issue and share your concerns or cast a vote.

The very fact that we are talking about removing existing  
functionality seems to suggest to me that this is being approached  
wrong. I'm -1 for an option or otherwise not allowing for multiple  
themes. The blog_theme is one instance where this would completely  
break. Also, I always develop a new theme as an alternate option,  
setting my account to that theme in order to be able to test it.

What does a themer care about? A themer cares about (1) being able to  
easily have different regions to place chunks of content and (2)  
having a non-code way for admins to work with these content chunk areas.

I say, have the theme define it's regions, and drive the block admin  
page. Essentially, two modes of operation. If there is a  
block.admin.php (or whatever) in the theme, use that. Otherwise, fall  
back to defaults (which might just be left/right). Heck, I can see  
options where I put complicated logic in a theme and/or block admin  
section to allow users to control what blocks appear on their user page.

--
Boris Mann
http://www.bmannconsulting.com