[development] Rename hook_menu ?

[Rob Barreca]

> As we are going to completely overhaul the menu system in Drupal 6, 
> this is the right time to make semantic improvements.
I wasn't thinking about this, but if there is going be an overhaul, I 
agree that a name change is no big deal.

So hook_router() gets my vote as hook_dispatch() is a bit confusing to 
me and I assume the less-technical developers feel the same about 
dispatch (I have no idea what a dispatch table or jump table is).

Rob Roy Barreca
Founder and COO
Electronic Insight Corporation
http://www.electronicinsight.com
rob at electronicinsight.com



Dries Buytaert wrote:
>
> On 12 Dec 2006, at 22:19, Michael Favia wrote:
>> Karoly Negyesi wrote:
>>> Today it was raised in #drupal that hook_menu has so little to do with
>>> menus nowadays that
>>
>> I was initially confused by this and underestimated the hooks importance
>> and functionality. At first i thought the name wasn't as important as
>> it's proper documentation as a pillar of the drupal system. But after a
>> moment of reflection, I remember being confused by this on my first time
>> through as well.
>>
>> I'm not saying the documentation isn't there I'm just relating that i
>> didn't find it by default like I found FAPI and the other hooks
>> intuitive, etc probably because it was called a Menu system and I
>> discounted it as what i was looking for. Anything more descriptive
>> sounds good to me. Control, route, path, etc. I hope I would have
>> noticed any of those for what they are.
>
> Great feedback, Michael. I know a few people that told me the exact 
> same story.  Karoly senses this as well -- otherwise he would not have 
> made the suggestion.  It's a real problem and I think we should fix it.
>
> Renaming hook_menu() causes some pain, but in the long term, it will 
> pay off.  As we are going to completely overhaul the menu system in 
> Drupal 6, this is the right time to make semantic improvements.  Like 
> it or not, but your menu code is going to break anyway.
>
> Thus, I'm in favor of renaming hook_menu() to hook_router() as that is 
> semantically more accurate and matches the terminology used in other 
> systems (eg. RoR and PEAR).
>
> I'd be happy to debate and weigh alternative names but let's not 
> invent new terminology for an existing pattern.  Let's go with 
> hook_router() for now, or come up with a list of names that other 
> systems use.
>
> Thanks,
>
> -- 
> Dries Buytaert  ::  http://www.buytaert.net/