[drupal-docs] Re: drupal-docs Digest, Vol 9, Issue 35

[ruben d canlas jr]

Hi NK,

My 2-cents. Although the concept of node has precise definition in
graph theory and it does make sense from that perspective, it usually
foils end users. By end users I just do not just mean non-techies
(lots of programmers i know will have difficulty understanding node
from that context, hehe).

I consider myself a techie but  at the start, I just couldn't figure
out what "node" meant because I was approaching Drupal as a CMS and
all I wanted to do was to upload a story. Only later did I begin to
grasp that a node is a basic unit of content. If i arrived at this
realization naturally, then other ordinary users would most probably
experience the same realization too.

Therefore IMHO, to an end-user, the definition of node as a "piece of
content within Drupal, it could be a poll, a story, a book page an
image etc." is more useful and makes more sense.

So maybe we could make two levels of definitions. For end-users, the
quoted definition will suffice. And then another definition could be
supplemented to the basic user-oriented definition.





> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 3
> Date: Mon, 29 Aug 2005 01:51:18 +0200
> From: "Karoly Negyesi" <karoly at negyesi.net>
> Subject: [drupal-docs] node definition
> To: "drupal-docs at drupal.org" <drupal-docs at drupal.org>
> Message-ID: <op.sv8sjso7q2e0ri at ip-62-93.tvnetwork.hu>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; delsp=yes; charset=utf-8
> 
> http://drupal.org/node/937
> 
> Node
> Nodes are probably the hardest Drupal concept to grasp but they are really
> quite simple. Almost all content in Drupal is stored as a node. When
> people refer to "a node" all they mean is a piece of content within
> Drupal, it could be a poll, a story, a book page an image etc.
> 
> I doubt this being correct. Is a 'product' in a webshop content for
> example? A group of users as in og.module? No. We need something better
> here. Here are my two cents on the definition -- note that I am a math
> freak. Node is among other things is a synonym for vertex in graph theory.
> I can imagine two types of graphs in this context: one is that nodes are
> built by node type modules and nodeapi stuff and these cross, we find a
> node. Also, taxonomy terms can be thought of edges between nodes (that
> taxonomy also has hierarchy is irrevelant this context).
> 
> In layman terms, node is something where stuff comes together. ..
> 
> Regards
> 
> NK
>