[development] Unified image/video management module

[Vernon Mauery]

On Monday 28 August 2006 06:55, Konstantin Käfer wrote:
> Hi,
>
> you are asking a good question: upgrade an existing module or write a
> new module from scratch. The latter is the easier way.
>
> But imho, it's not the way you should go. There are plenty of good
> reasons to upgrade acidfree module (using the same name or choosing a
> new one doesn't matter here. We talk about "compatibility", not about
> naming issues).
>
> 1. There are really plenty of acidfree users out there who would not
> like to see the module they use extensively being abandoned. If users
> find lots of modules being abandoned after one or two release cycles,
> they may get frustrated very quickly and leave Drupal. Of course,
> Drupal is a kind of DIY, but without all the John Does, there would
> not be such a large community.

I must not have said it clearly.  I don't want to abandon my users.  I would 
certainly provide an upgrade path for whatever option I do.  I guess the real 
question is are users going to care if they get switched over to a different 
backend.  You know, it's like your bank selling your mortgage loan to a 
different lender.  Does it really affect you?  Do you really care?  Well, it 
in the long run, not really, but still it is a bit disconcerting that it can 
happen at all.  I don't want all the users who are so happy to have Acidfree 
get mad at me.  But I guess if they really can't tell, it shouldn't matter.

> 2. There are already a lot of modules who deal with media in whatever
> way. We actually don't need yet another module, but a module that has
> a really strong featureset while being actively supported and
> maintained.

The reason I would want to just upgrade acidfree in a future version is 
because I don't want to have another deadbeat module laying around.  But I 
want to make sure it is done right.  I see a lot of duplicated work between 
Acidfree and other modules and I think I have a plan to make most of it okay.  
I guess we will see in a while if I can actually figure out how to implement 
all this. :)

> > My opinion is that I should release a 4.8 version of Acidfree that
> > defines 0 node types and simply works with the appropriate node types to
> > offer a unified management interface.
>
> You could solve this issue either by providing an
> acidfree_legacy.module that defines the content types you have so far
> defined in acidfree.module or provide a kind of update script
> (hook_update_N()) that creates new simple node types which replace the
> 4.7 node types.

Yes, there will certainly be an upgrade path.

--Vernon

> > I remember a while back that the fact that Drupal does not really have a
> > unified way of dealing with multimedia was a big deal.  Are people still
> > interested in this?  Or should I just crawl back in my cave and continue
> > plugging away at Acidfree?
>
> Definitely not. There are lots of people interested in media
> management. Just ask some of the Lullabots and the "troubles" and
> workarounds they needed for putting out mtv.co.uk.
>
> You might also be interested in joining http://groups.drupal.org/file-api.
>
> Konstantin