[development] RFC: drupal as a moving target

[Robert Douglass]

On Apr 30, 2008, at 6:45 PM, Daniel F. Kudwien wrote:
>
> D6 is a great release, but given these facts, we might consider to  
> release Drupal core not by date, but when important modules in  
> contrib are ready.  I.e. what buys me a modular system, if there are  
> only a few modules available?

I'm sorry but I think the idea of delaying Drupal 6 until - let's say  
Views - is ported, is nonsense. I understand that for a lot of people  
no Views makes Drupal 6 unusable, but this is not everybody. There are  
actually a lot of Drupal 6 sites that have already launched, and we  
have already released two point upgrades to the original 6.0. What  
kind of interest would there have been in finding the bugs that  
prompted 6.1 and 6.2 if it were *unreleased*?

What is so wrong with waiting for contrib to catch up? This is a  
problem that you will never solve. As soon as Views is adequately in  
core and thus tied at the hip to core's release cycle, there will be  
another killer module that everybody comes to love, in contrib. It too  
will have to wait until a release to really finalize its porting.

Now, if you as a business decide to skip D6 because Views isn't ready  
now (where it clearly will be in a small number of months, at the  
latest), you are effectively deciding to use outdated Drupal  
technology for most of a year, if not longer, until Drupal 7 is  
released. My guess is that the killer modules that add great value to  
Drupal 6 won't be all ported the day Drupal 7 is released, either, so  
you'll be stuck again. In case, I pity you for deciding not to do  
projects on Drupal 6 at all, and holding out for whatever you imagine  
Drupal 7 is going to be. I can't see how this will be an advantage for  
you.

Furthermore, I don't see it as worrisome if people aren't rushing to  
do projects on D6 yet. They will. When Views and CCK and OG are all  
stable there will be a stampede to D6. The fact that this is separated  
from the release of D6 by some months is totally normal, in my opinion.

Let Drupal 6 mature. Sure there are some things we can do to  refine  
the process, but you just can't have it all at once. Not now, not  
ever. Learn some patience.

-Robert