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The wait is (almost) over. Merlin of Chaos has just announced that the Views and CCK modules have reached release candidate status. Don't use on a production site blah blah blah... I like to live dangerously and once I find the time, I'll finally upgrade.
I'm still on 4.7 b/c there was nothing truly compelling for me in 6.x, but I hope to upgrade two drupal sites over the next weeks now that this is finally ready.
Now if they would just hold off for a couple years on Drupal 7 and let everything consolidate. Core upgrades move too fast in Drupal for module developers to keep up!
Anyway, here's the full announcement page:
[drupal.org...]
D6 really is a huge leap, very ajaxified if you want it, especially that Views console!
I'm still on 4.7 b/c there was nothing truly compelling for me in 6.x,
trouble I've found is (I have a 4.7 site too) is that you have to upgrade in version increments, so you can't go straight to 6 from 4.7 you have to go 5.x first to maintain the DB changes, it was in D5 that they brought in the update.php (based on .info files) for modules it's worth a wee curve IMHO
I have a site in development that crossed the border, was already built in 5.7 and didn't have much data so I took the leap and tried 6 once CCK and Views were out there, I only needed one patch and even it is committed now so Tally Ho! and thanks for the heads up that they are now RC's
There is so much functionality out there now, the templated theming in 6 has me very enthused (also based on .info files), but I haven't time to play yet because my themes always are custom and as you say it's hard enough to keep up, I have a very funny feeling that they will need to stop and consolidate now, not only for module writers to keep up, but to allow themers to get to grips with the new system. The Good news is themers, you no longer have to know PHP to create the theme (you needn't have a a template.php)
(IMHO) downside to 6, support for TinyMCE is stopping, it always required commitment anyway!, I don't need it but the folks I build the sites for do.. any suggestions for the next thing that will hold over 'til ?
I can't imagine what it takes to maintain the popular "standard/favourite" (i.e. almost core) ones
Drupal is growing up, perhaps this is the teenager (most difficult) stage? :o
I always just thought it was always the better CMS for non-blog sites, the more robust middle solution for community sites - anyway enough already .. the news Views interface is loverly but.. I don't think I'd understand it one single bit if I hadn't seen the classic one first, wonder how newcomers will find it?
Oh and a correction to earlier post, I found that not all the (core)modules are updated to the new theming system, so I was a little premature, with the "no template.php needed", sorry..
Well, that's the question I have. Drupal has never had a roadmap and has good reasons for not having one. But the question is will it evolve indefinitely?
There are a few things that drive API and DB schema changes
1. Origins.
Dries started Drupal as a simple way to keep people in his dorm updated on events. It had little pretensions or aspirations, so he wasn't thinking in terms of robust, extensible APIs and enterprise-level security. He wanted his friends to be able to tell him when and where the next free beer event would be.
Drupal was a quiet little also-ran through maybe version 4.3 or so. Then it started to gain momementum and then explode. It outgrew itself and it became clear that it needed to get serious. With versions 5 and 6 it has and, I think, version 7, which should have a unit testing suite and a security audit suite, and refined APIs, should pretty much get Drupal to the enterprise level. After that, this process of moving from dorm bulletin board to serious CMS should be pretty much complete.
2. Changing Needs.
Then there is feature creep. Any open source, extensible package has inevitable feature creep. I think Drupal has been pretty conservative here in terms of whether or not to add things to Drupal core. Adding CCK, Views, and robust media handling to core would be an obvious endpoint, and it's still not quite there (not full CCK and media handling still sort of limited).
Finally, there's a different sort of changing need that has to do with keeping up with changes in the way the web is used. That's the one I hope it will avoid. In other words, I hope that somewhere after version 7, API changes will slow down and version 8 or 9 will be basically a mature product. If the nature of the web changes to a degree that Drupal 8/9 starts to feel outmoded, I'm hoping that someone will just fork and those of us who just want to write stories and take pictures can leave well enough alone and count on long-term security support for Drupal without stressful and taxing upgrades as it is now.
Since Drupal strives for one major release per year currently, I'm hoping that in 2-3 years, it will be mature in terms of DB schema and APIs (i.e. the stuff that really breaks your site and makes upgrades hard).
