Thank you all for the responses. I hope my original email did not come off
as too abrasive.

The issue for me is that I am having a hard time figuring out what exactly
is the use case for Drupal. Do you want a dead-simple website? Use
Wordpress. Do you want to add some complex custom apps? Use a framework. Do
you want the worst of both worlds? Use Drupal. Getting a non-trivial Drupal
site up and running requires as much work as learning a full-fledged
framework like Rails, Laravel, or Django. And the experience you gain using
Drupal is not going to carry over at all into any future non-Drupal
endeavors because the Drupal platform is completely unique and doesn't seem
to follow any basic paradigms like MVC. When doing something like basic
data manipulation requires overriding core functions using custom PHP
functions in my theme, the entire point of using a CMS in the first place
has just been defeated. If I get hit by a bus, not only will someone have
to relearn Drupal and all its modules, but they will also have to wade
through my spaghetti-code efforts at patching functionality into Drupal.

What I would love is a CMS based on plain SQL tables, ActiveRecord, and
simple CRUD controls instead of abstract "entities" and "fields" that try
to be everything to everyone (and fail to be anything for anyone). But I
don't think such a thing exists, so I am interested in rolling my own with
a framework.

Right now, my framework choices are narrowed down to Ruby on Rails, Laravel
(PHP), Django (Python), and Flask (Python). For anyone who has used these,
do you have any insight into how maintainable your projects are and how
easily they are managed/inherited by others?

Josh


On Thu, May 15, 2014 at 9:02 AM, Jason Bengtson <[log in to unmask]>wrote:

> When I came into this position I inherited some work the former tech
> manager had done in installing and experimenting with Drupal as a tool to
> replace our current CMS-less ColdFusion environment. I also quickly grew
> unhappy with it. I've been experimenting with MODX, which I like so far. If
> you're a PHP developer, MODX will be of particular interest (and PHP is a
> pretty common server-side technology if you worry about the bus factor). I
> haven't had as much time to mess with it as I'd like, but I've built some
> wireframes with it and so far I like it.
>
> I second the low quality of most of the commercial, enterprise stuff. We
> used Cascade Server at UNM and it was absolutely wretched. It's been a long
> time, but when I last built a WordPress site I remember that as being easy
> to use and I think it's gotten more flexible/powerful. I've got a fiend
> who's really sold on it and HAM/TMC uses it for their website.
>
> Best regards,
>
>
>
> *Jason Bengtson, MLIS, MA*
>
> Head of Library Computing and Information Systems
>
> Assistant Professor, Graduate College
>
> Department of Health Sciences Library and Information Management
>
> University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
>
> 405-271-2285, opt. 5
>
> 405-271-3297 (fax)
>
> *[log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>*
>
> *http://library.ouhsc.edu <http://library.ouhsc.edu/>*
>
> *www.jasonbengtson.com <http://www.jasonbengtson.com/>*
>
>
>
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>
> On Thu, May 15, 2014 at 8:47 AM, Jason Sherman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > Joshua,
> >
> > From my perspective, the module ecosystem is the greatest strength that
> > Drupal has. Modularity is one of the central design goals of the system,
> > so if you if you want to avoid all third-party modules, you aren't going
> to
> > get any real advantage over something like wordpress. Having said that,
> > I've experienced module dependency hell with Drupal, and it can be
> > frustrating.
> >
> > I tend to take a hybrid approach. I try to limit myself to just a few
> > modules with any site. Things like Views, cck, chaos tools, and entity
> > reference are modules I use for almost any site. For functionality that
> is
> > specific to the site, I usually create a local module to store code and
> > configuration. I find that this kind of setup gives me the most of the
> > advantages of the modules, while limiting the potential for update
> > problems.
> >
> > Another option that a lot of people use is drupal distributions. These
> come
> > with quite a bit of customization for specific use cases ready out of the
> > box. I haven't used a distribution, so I can't speak to their
> usefulness.
> > I'm sure that their quality can vary just as much as modules and themes.
> >
> > Now for something completely different. Depending on what your
> requirements
> > are, you may have better luck using a narrower-purpose tool for the job.
> > Have you considered something like SubjectPlus?
> > http://www.subjectsplus.com/
> >
> >
> >
> > On Wed, May 14, 2014 at 8:35 PM, Joshua Welker <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >
> > > Warning: incoming wall of text.
> > >
> > > I've been working for the past several months on building a library
> > website
> > > with Drupal. This is my second try building a website with Drupal. I
> > chose
> > > Drupal for two main reasons: CCK/content types, and its ubiquity in the
> > > library community.
> > >
> > > Theme development was going relatively well, if a little overly
> > > complicated. But once I started trying to do anything beyond developing
> > > static pages, I have become more and more frustrated with Drupal.
> > >
> > > Drupal supports custom content types out-of-the-box, which is great,
> but
> > if
> > > you want to actually do anything with that custom content other than
> have
> > > it function as a plain page, you have to use the Views module. Views is
> > > great, but views can easily become very complicated, with custom
> > rewrites,
> > > grouping, relations, contextual filters, etc. Plus, a lot of
> > functionality
> > > in Views requires more modules (for instance, basic data manipulation).
> > > This is to build rather run-of-the-mill list features like a database
> > list
> > > or a list of events. And a lot of the advanced features in Views
> require
> > a
> > > solid understanding of SQL (groups, distinct, joins, etc), which kind
> of
> > > defeats the notion that it is easy for non-developers to administer.
> > >
> > > Now, at this point, I have modules extending my modules. And those
> > modules
> > > have multiple dependencies on other modules. I am getting worried now.
> It
> > > feels like my website is a house of cards. I've run into several
> > instances
> > > already where one of these plugins is updated and breaks compatibility
> > with
> > > the whole stack, and there is nothing to do in this case but open an
> > issue
> > > on the project tracker and pray for the best. I have looked into
> building
> > > my own modules, but the umpteen APIs and hooks required to do something
> > > simple as perform some regex on field data completely overwhelmed me
> > (and I
> > > am fairly experience with web app development).
> > >
> > > It's not just Views, either. Anything more complicated than static
> pages
> > > and navigation menus requires relying on the module ecosystem.
> > >
> > > Not only is the whole thing quite precarious, but it defeats one of the
> > two
> > > main purposes of a CMS: ease of administration. I want to know that if
> I
> > > get hit by a bus tomorrow, someone will be able to come in and take
> over
> > > without too much difficulty. But when I go back and look at my views, I
> > can
> > > sometimes barely understand the work I did a week ago. It is very
> > difficult
> > > to keep straight which functions are coming from which modules, and all
> > > those modules have separate (often poor) documentation.
> > >
> > > At this point, I am seriously contemplating dumping Drupal and moving
> to
> > a
> > > full-fledged framework like Django, Flask, or Laravel and adding some
> > > WYSIWYG CRUD controls for pseudo-CMS functionality. ActiveRecord-like
> > > systems are much easier to use IMO than fiddling for hours with Views,
> > and
> > > I have full control of what is happening. I honestly think it would be
> > just
> > > as easy for someone to inherit a custom-built framework app as it would
> > be
> > > to inherit my already-convoluted Drupal site. At least the framework is
> > > well-documented and should allow my app to be understandable to anyone
> > with
> > > some programming experience.
> > >
> > > Does anyone want to talk me off the ledge here? I know a lot of you are
> > > using Drupal for your websites. What are the killer features that keep
> > you
> > > using Drupal? If any of you have experience building websites using
> > > frameworks, what are your experiences? I really want to like Drupal,
> but
> > it
> > > seems to be more trouble than it's worth.
> > >
> > > --
> > > Josh Welker
> > > Information Technology Librarian
> > > James C. Kirkpatrick Library
> > > University of Central Missouri
> > > Warrensburg, MO 64093
> > > JCKL 2260
> > > 660.543.8022
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Jason Sherman
> > Systems Librarian
> > University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma
> > 405.574.1340
> >
>



--
Josh Welker
Information Technology Librarian
James C. Kirkpatrick Library
University of Central Missouri
Warrensburg, MO 64093
JCKL 2260
660.543.8022