[development] backwards support [WAS: RFC: drupal as a moving target]

[Earnie Boyd]

Quoting Karoly Negyesi <karoly at negyesi.net>:

>> Could it be a starting to have a release cycle where functions
>> in spite of disappearing are marked "deprecated" and disappear in a
>> later release?
>
> I have not entered this thread, but enough is enough.
>

I agree, enough is enough.

> An API is not a heap of functions. It's database storage, in memory 
> data storage and operations defined over them. Can you imagine the 
> amount of code that would be required to create the $_menu data 
> structure available in Drupal 4.5-5 to make the menu system backwards 
> compatible? No, you can't because you are not participating in 
> anything going forward, just blustering on this list on and on, 
> draining precious development resources and not adding anything. 
> Prove me wrong! Review patches and then you will see that we are not 
> breaking backwards compatibility because we want to hurt someone or 
> some group. Instead, we are working day and night, relentless to make 
> Drupal better and then all people can bleat is "but, but backwards 
> compatibility".
>

Backwards support is the responsibility of the Drupal core user (and I 
mean those who develop using core).

<?php
$version = split('.', VERSION);
switch ($version[0]) {
  case '6':
    do_version_6_things();
    break;
  case '5':
    do_version_5_things();
    break;
  case '4':
    switch ($version[1]) {
      case '7':
        do_version_4_7_things();
        break;
      case '6':
        do_version_4_6_things();
        break;
    }
    break;
}
?>

I don't know that I would want to use your contribution but if you care 
about backwards support; that support is your responsibility.  It is 
true for a major portion of the information industry.

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