I'm fairly new to drupal but I've got a couple of sites running on it. My issues seem to be more and more related to bugs, betas and a lack of updates to common modules for Version 6.
Of course I see Version 7 notes here and there too, and that's really confusing because so many modules for 6 are not updated or working.....views, cck, dates etc
Then I see references to the "bugs in the core of Drupal 6"....
At this point I can't decide if I should downgrade to Version 5 so that I don't run into these problems as frequently. I've bought the books and even the books refer to mudules that are still in Beta at this point, which only means the progress must be very slow.
I'm moving my current project to another platform because I need it done and working and it appears to me at this point that Drupal 5 will only mix my head up if I have one site working on it and the rest at 6.2.
When can I come back to Drupal and expect that most of the core modules will actually be working?
/Len
Comments
The drop is always moving
Hey Len, Drupal prides itself that "the drop is always moving." Because everyone on the project is a volunteer, it sometimes takes awhile for even key contributed modules to get updated; some never get ported. And it does seem odd that as soon as 6 was released, work on 7 was begun. It's tempting to think that 5 (and even 6) is obsolete already. This is not the case! There will be many great sites which will run Drupal 5 for a long time. Working in the current version buys you two key advantages; because more members of the community are familiar with the platform, you'll have better odds of finding someone familiar with your question or issue. Also, you'll have access to security updates. But it's not that Drupal 5 sites will one day stop working because the code gets too old. The key issues you must ask; What core (or contrib) functionality is added by going with 6? What contributed functionality is gained by staying with 5? How long do I want to wait? I am not a coder and know how frustrating it is to be dependent on a module only to hear the scheduled release date is "When it's ready." However, we must not forget Drupal's model of "scratch your own itch" has worked remarkably well. If you can't code and you can't wait, consider offering up a cash bounty and see if an individual with the required skill set is available. We have access to an incredible framework simply for the taking. Bugs and all, that's pretty damn cool. Blessings! -NP
Core modules are already
Core modules are already working in 6.2. If you mean when there will be no bugs, probably never. It is just a part of the "drupal culture" to keep all these things at maximum exposure, probably hoping for help.
A bullet-proof way of handling this is to keep to a version which offers all the features you want reliably (for many, this means Drupal 5), and to use only popular active modules. Then upgrading to the next version when the time is right will be (hopefully) a few minutes work.
In the meanwhile I can see new modules for Drupal 5 still appearing.
Backing from 6.2 down to 5.x
Hi Len (wow, a long time since we worked in HLO2!)
I have the opposite problem. I've started developing on 6.2 and just realized my hosting provider has 5.1. I've generally stuck to the built-in modules and haven't modified Drupal other than changing the banner graphic.
What are the chances I'll be able to migrate my work back to 5.1, and what issues might I have? There is very little user content so far, other than a handful of pages I can export via a text editor.
Can I just move the tree from one server to the other?
Chris