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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<[log in to unmask]>
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
>
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