[development] CVS HEAD, code freeze, zeitgeist

[Larry Garfield]

On Thursday 17 August 2006 19:29, Derek Wright wrote:

> i don't have a concrete proposal, but, since dries is fishing for
> "zeitgeist", i just wanted to register my unease (not dissatisfaction).
>
> thanks,
> -dww

Personally, I think this is an issue best handled by the oft-discussed but 
not-yet-implemented golden/recommended/endorsed/first class citizen contrib 
concept.  

1) Drupal, to be really useful, relies on various contrib modules.

2) Not all contrib modules are really major or widely used.  Those that are 
probably number two dozen or so (not counting those already in core).  We can 
debate about which those are, but let's ignore that question for the moment 
and simply agree that some modules are more important to the general masses 
than others.

3) It is imperative that those "top tier" modules work with a given Drupal 
version for Drupal to reach its full potential in any given version.

So:

4) The freeze period of a release is the time to update those "special" 
modules.  Drupal Core doesn't actually get tagged for a new release until all 
(or some significant majority) of those special modules are upgraded to work 
with it.  CCK (to use an example for argument's sake) not working with a beta 
release is a critical bug itself on the Drupal ecosystem and should be 
treated accordingly.

This concept has been discussed on and off for as long as I've been around 
Drupaldom (which is now a year and a fraction), but if any work has been done 
on it I am not aware of it.  "Code is gold" and all of that, but this is 
really as much an infrastructure issue as it is a code issue.  That makes it 
hard for we code monkeys to really help out with it, without clear direction 
from the de facto powers that be.  

We've discussed before that Drupal has no formal roadmap, and I'm not going to 
challenge that process.  However, trolling through the devel list and issues 
subscription (I'm a sucker for lots of email), one does get the impression 
that there is an informal feeling that a given release has one or two really 
key goals of "let's make this RIGHT this time!"  For 4.7, it was FAPI.  For 
whatever this version is called, it's frankly the install system.  

I propose that we address the "first class modules" question in the next 
release, and make that the informal rallying point.  Not being in 
infrastructure person I don't know what I can offer to that effort other than 
kibbitzing, but I am open to suggestions. :-)  There's a lot that needs to be 
hashed out concept-wise for that, but for Drupal's exponential growth to 
continue, The two-tier system we have now simply must expand and become more 
robust.

I believe that would solve, at least to a large extent, several of Drupal's 
current management growing pains, including those mentioned in this thread.

-- 
Larry Garfield			AIM: LOLG42
larry at garfieldtech.com		ICQ: 6817012

"If nature has made any one thing less susceptible than all others of 
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which an individual may exclusively possess as long as he keeps it to 
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of every one, and the receiver cannot dispossess himself of it."  -- Thomas 
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