[development] GPL policy: request for clarification

[Vladimir Zlatanov]

> I'm not familiar with "adept", but I've seen how RubyGems works.  It
> seems like a very good model to follow for command-line based
> installers/updaters.  I'm sure it using some magic meta programming
> that can't be ported to php. 
The meta programming is doable in php. In the end php is a template
programming language of sorts. It just doesn't really help you with the
task by hiding its strongest features very well indeed. With a bit of
hackery you can have lisp-like macros in php, which is quite a powerful
tool or a way to shoot your leg from the head down.

> Has anyone thought about using the PEAR installer?  I heard alot of
> hype about it in the PHP community at one point, then it died down.  I
> think http://pearified.com gives a list of a few channels already
> setup.  
Having a drupal pear channel is a possibility and it should be doable,
at least in theory, with the dependecies api. That could be of help
to the more adept end-user. This would essentially be a delivery method.
Unfortunately we have quite a few miles to go until we are concerned
with the delivery.

> We could create a drupal channel and have core, it's modules, and all
> the modules in contribs available through it.  Then to install drupal
> core after they've "discovered" our channel, someone could do "pear
> install drupal/drupal_core".   
Yep, it can be done.

> This could possibly lower the bar of entry to installing new modules.
> Following with Bèr's philosophy, a decent web-based module
> retriever/installer/updater could grow up around it allowing an
> administrator to update their site without ever leaving it. 
That is a good goal. But the required infrastructure is not there yet.

> Those are my (likely over-ambitious) thoughts on this.
Overy ambitious? You don't even reach the half of the Amsterdam pipe
dreams we share with Adrian for a while. It's just putting our time
where our dreams go is a bit hard.