Hi :-)
I've been working a bit on what I call HTML-import, a utility to import existing static pages into drupal-nodes. Either from existing source files and folders, or (eventually) remote sites.

I've built a content selection system (analagous to, but quite different from the existing import/xml screen.

I'm using XSLT to do the first couple of processes, massaging the content before import. In discussion here

Currently, I target the import/export XML schema as the format to create just before plugging the new data into drupal. Although I'm not sure that's totally justified, it seemed to provide some sort of touchstone where I could co-operate with work already done.

My questions are -

  • Would it be rude of me to place my new admin options under the existing admin import/export menu tree? They suppliment its functionality, but as a separate module, with no patches.
  • Is it likely that the import/export admin pages will get any more user-friendly? I find them a bit unhelpful currently. If my system matures, maybe some integration would be in order, but currently I think of it as separate.
  • How well-thought-out is the current default XML schema? Was it designed to be extended or just a quick does-the-job thing?
    I think would prefer the static, default representation of a node to be actual well-labelled XHTML, or it could probably be shoehorned into something like static RSS files, (with DTD extensions as needed).
  • Why is import/export xml not using PHP XML handling at all? Doing everything by hand is prone to all sorts of hoopy errors. I think XML support is now common enough on most installations. xml_util.inc may be adequate, but I use the DOM where possible.
  • Are there any methods or methodologies in the existing module that I should know about and take advantage of when moving in this direction? I'm using the entire module as a template for my code building, trying to pick the meat off any functions that seem to do what I also want as I learn drupal-think. I haven't actually cannibalized much more than the hooks yet.

Any thoughts?

.dan.