Xaraya...

I'm looking at the module architecture that Xaraya uses. To me, I'm wondering if the convenience of modules being able to use othermodule's functionality is a tradeoff, since complexity of interactions usually leads to unpredictable consequences, perhaps a performance hit.

But I can't say, since I have no data. I'm interested, though.

I don't know what exactly you meant by "non developer" but I know basic html, css, and enough databasing to be able to set up both and try them both out. And though Xaraya is completely extensible, for the nondeveloper whose skill set lies in a different field from computers, getting Xaraya configured for my unique needs was ridiculously complicated.

For a lot of their "nodes" to display you have to program (with a smarty-like language unique to Xaraya) a template to display the information you've configured before using it that "node type". Then you have to write the css to display it, if I remember correctly. For a lot of functions, there is no basic template, which is great if you want to learn their language and want a completely custom site that can basically do whatever you'd want. But if you don't or can't, most any other CMS is easier.

I guess it is a tradeoff. I was really excited about Xaraya at first, but the learning curve is HUGE to actually use it. But if that's what you're looking for, then it can do a heck of a lot. I found Drupal to be, for my needs--a small community site--a breath of fresh air in that it could do almost as much, it has a much more active developer community (since you and I are not developers, that makes a big difference because Drupal has so many contributed modules), and it's just plain simpler to use. Drupal has its quirks, but to me, Xaraya had about 10 times as many.

Just my 2 cents...