[development] One core, many distributions

[Dries Buytaert]

> These modules will have to be rewritten for 4.7 to do exactly the  
> same thing they are already doing. This will take time. Time = money.

if (benefits > costs) {
   upgrade_to_47();
}
else {
   stick_with_46();
}

Whether the benefits of upgrading to Drupal 4.7 outweight the costs  
of upgrading to Drupal 4.7, is something only you can determine: it's  
unique to your situation.  For the exact same reason, people are  
still using WinNT or Win98.

> Every time we break backwards compatibility there is a cost.

True, but at the same time we gain things too.  Similarly, not  
breaking code often comes at a cost as well; it holds back  
improvements, makes code harder to maintain, makes it harder to  
customize Drupal, has performance implications, etc.

Clearly, there is a tension between breaking backward compatibility  
and not breaking backward compatibility.  Unfortunately, there is no  
"winner" because the costs can't be quantified.  Not the absolute  
costs.  Not the relative costs.  I'm in the camp that, we are best of  
breaking backward compatibility when necessary; it buys us  
maintainability and flexibility, which, in turn, makes for a longer  
product lifecycle.

--
Dries Buytaert  ::  http://www.buytaert.net/