[development] Node Rendering Debate

[Darrel O'Pry]

On Thu, 2007-06-21 at 18:32 -0700, Farsheed wrote:
> > I am 100% against you needing to use an interface to
> > assign variable  
> > names, because it makes
> > node template un-distributable, without distributing
> > the additional  
> > configuration too.
> 
> True, but I also don't think it's super easy for
> themers to rename or assign variables.  What happens
> is that themers inevitably have to figure out what
> drupal is sending them - and it's annoying having to
> print_r just to understand what kind of output you are
> getting.
> 
> I think a UI is a great idea. And I also think it's
> important for configurations to stay in the theme. 
> Maybe theme configurations could be written to a
> special file by the UI and shipped with the theme
> instead of stored in the database. That way all the
> configurations are in one place and end users and
> themers can both modify it either in a UI or by hand.


Ugh! is it really that hard to print_r($node) in your theme during
development when you're looking for a var? 

I personally think the print_r(object structure) is much easier to deal
with than having to get_defined_vars, which is normally a big
interesting mess.

And both are easier when I'm editing a file than make a couple click
through my website to find the right admin ui and variable interface,
then having one more window I have to switch to regularly.