dougvann

Authored Comments

Sorgfeit...
You "ran into functions..." What were you doing with functions? Which functions did you run into?
Were you trying to audit the code and alter it or were you trying to build a website the way the book recommended? I know of no book that tells you to pour through the core code and asess the naming conventions and trace their history.
If you're referring to a Drupal 6 module development book like the one authored by my friend Matt Butcher released in May of 2008, then again I can assure you that that book reveals no issues with legacy named functions. The names of our functions are not a complaint i hear from people.
I DO hear complaints about the predominance of PROCEDURAL code vs OO code. I do hear complaints that documentation is lacking or not up to date for newer versions.
I'll be the first to tell you that Drupal itself can turn off plenty of developers. We are continually doing housekeeping and making intentional efforts to make our own lives easier not to mention making it more attractive to potential new recruits.
But the experience you just described is a 1st for me.
The question in this interview was:
"What's holding back mainstream Drupal adoption?"
The answer is NOT legacy named functions, or "structures that were apparently designed for one particular effect, but were not good for general purpose use" , or problems that are impossible to fix because of backwards incompatibility.
We [as in Drupal] have our demons, but I have to believe that the lens you were looking through was very smudgy. I don't expect you to give it a 2nd shot. Just the same way that I'm never looking at EZ-Publish with XSLT ever again. I don't like it and I don't want to use it.
Drupal is doing extraordinarily well and I respect your right to not like it and do something else.
;-)

Heya... hit me up at my contact form at http://dougvann.com/contact and I'd be happy to spend a 1/2 hour or so screenshare with you showing you the power!
One thing the Drupal Community is really learning is that Drupal is best learned with a mentor.
;-)