Multisite is somewhat something to do at install time (well, this is easier at install time), so making it easy straight from install would be great. It could be a profile by itself (I don't know) or, coupled with the blog profile, would allow creating “blog farms”. I recognize this is something I would like to see (not even Multisite for dummies helped me) although I am not interested in blog farms, just in running several “regular” websites on a single Drupal install.

Although this is not a viable option, I was thinking of this for Drupal 6.0

Comments

schuyler1d’s picture

schuyler1d commented

I'm going to disentangle some of the things you seem to be suggesting and respond to each (some of them are mutually exclusive interpretations, but I'm responding to them regardless):
1. Make multisites (part of) a 'profile'
This is certainly possible. Profiles are not currently responsible for writing settings.php, and that's a good thing. But making multisite an option at core, would help write these files correctly.

2. Make drupal initial installation friendlier to people without shell access
This seems like a worthy goal, but one that would need significant changes in core that are unrelated to this module (e.g. a lot of the file configuration in settings.php, would need to be somewhere else). However, once you've installed, this module should make further installations easier.

3. Move Multisite Manager into drupal-core (for 6.0)
There are a couple issues here. Firstly, drupal core seems to be very conservative wrt module inclusion. If they were interested (or enough others, I suppose), then I'd be willing to do the work to make this module a patchset to core. That said, there are a bunch of sub-issues that make me reticent to do that at this time:
a. I wouldn't say the code is tested well enough to go into core.
b. The feature set isn't mature for a 'full' multisite-manager yet. (I'd want to allow delete, update, and module installation across sites first).

4. Running several drupal sites on a 'single install.'
This seems to be tangling some things that aren't really related. First, 'Multisite Manager' specifically makes _multiple installations_ --i.e. multiple instances of databases. If you want to maintain 'separate' sites on a single install, I would simply advise against it. If, however, you want to run multiple sites on a single codebase and only enter DB password/etc information at the beginning, then this module is for you! Nonetheless, before it's useful, you need to do that single install successfully first.

All in all, I think you need to clarify your use cases. What does someone do after they go to install.php? What options do they have when setting up and what options do they configure once 'installation' occurs. I have to admit that I think the core team did a good job in minimizing the amount done on installation, and leaves most things in configuration of the site (one of which could be installing and using multisite_manager :-)

David Latapie’s picture

David Latapie commented

Hello and thank you for your reply. I will follow your numbering for replying.

  1. I’m not sure I understood the implication, but I think I understood enough.
  2. I understand as “This is too much major for now. Maybe Drupal 6.1”
  3. Ditto
  4. Here, I am sure I did not understand. My idea was being able to manage several site, like I do with Dotclear, a multiblog application. Whether we are talking several sites or several codebase, I don’t really now.

So, I understand your reply as “your feature requests are worth reading but that could not be done now, for several reasons (major revamp and testing required, plus something not clear enough about what you are expecting”). This is not a critic, just a summary. I hope I hve it correct.

Have a nice day.

schuyler1d’s picture

schuyler1d commented

Ah, perhaps there's a misunderstanding. Drupal's core download is very small and has a minimal set of features. Extra features are supported by the Drupal community by way of modules available at drupal.org.

So, can you do multisites through core?
The answer now is that it's only possible through the file system and direct database access.
However, if you install drupal core AND my module multisite_manager and install it into your modules directory and follow the instructions, you can do exactly what you want right now!

So, I originally thought you were asking whether the features in my module are available in Drupal core. That might be a worthy goal, but as you say, the nearest it will be is drupal 6.1

David Latapie’s picture

David Latapie commented

Hi,

Clarification

Thank you for the clarification. My initial understanding was that multisite manager was used for handling (managing) already “multisited” Drupal installation, not for making such an install multisite-compatible. Consequently, multisite manager (which happens to be closer to “multisite installer and manager”) seems perfect for me. Could you confirm I understood correctly?

Proposal

The way I see it: function and technique

  • function: to be able to set up a multiblog/multisite when installing. Multi-* is sort of a strategic decision and strategic decisions are better made at install time.
  • technique: whatever, as long as it works. As a user, this is not that much relevant. Suggestion: the same way one can install another language, one could install the required module. Think of a Drupal version of dpkg (Debian package handler). That is: you install the bare minimum, a wizard ask you what you want and downlaod and install this.

The beauty with this is that it both satisfy the user (install time, no delving into the code or database) and the technician (core is kept minimal, modules are used where it is possible).

Have a nice day.

schuyler1d’s picture

schuyler1d commented
Status: Active » Closed (won't fix)

i think this is something that needs to integrate into the core more. or, at least, as a profile rather than a module.

sorry i didn't reply for so long. somehow, i missed your response.