[development] RFC: drupal as a moving target

[Earnie Boyd]

Quoting Robert Douglass <rob at robshouse.net>:

> 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*?
>

Hurray, statements I can agree with.

> 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.
>

If you can't wait pitch in and start working.

> 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 latest), you are effectively deciding to use outdated Drupal  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.
>

Well, since skipping isn't a recommended process for an upgrade you 
might want to reconsider.

> 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.
>

Yes, six months for contributions to catch up is a worthy goal.  Six 
months for a lone sole with little time may be a bit short.  Again if 
you need it, pitch in and help.

> 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.
>

Or learn PHP and the Drupal API so you can pitch in and help.

Earnie -- http://for-my-kids.com/
-- http://give-me-an-offer.com/