I'm so tired of taking over sites where the former "developer" used a Drupal or Joomla installation.
It is inevitable that the requirements of a custom web app will eventually exceed the capability of these systems. Knowledge of a particular CMS does not a developer make! These are tools in a toolbox and should be used as such. I hate it when people sell themselves as freelance "programmers", but really they only know how to use a particular CMS. So lets write a book and encourage this behavior - bluagh..
I installed a Joomla site for a latino non-profit in Baltimore who's previous site was a mess. It was a mess because my "predecessor" threw a bunch of random things together (directory using a database and articles in plain html only) and those who run the charity don't know anything about web design at all. I came in and installed Joomla and designed a few things to work in that installation because it is easy for someone to use AFTER I step away.
If your argument is that Joomla and Drupal have no place because web apps will outpace their development then why is the Joomla extension repository so extensive and growing? For every new app or site that comes along someone will develop a module or plugin for the CMS's because a CMS is easier to handle for a business that doesn't conduct even 50% of it's business online and so there will be a market for easy to use plugins.
If your main argument is your other one: freelancers who install a CMS and call themselves programmers are frauds then I can't really argue with you. For someone to call themselves a developer or programmer simply because they've installed a CMS is silly, but there are plenty of us who are programmers of one type or another that still use a CMS because there is no need to completely redesign the wheel every year. I'm all for people learning to write code, but if everyone wrote code then my abilities would be worthless...
All I'm saying is that the capability threshold of any CMS is irrelevant in terms of web applications because anything can be branded obsolete by anything else at any time (see Wolfram|Alpha [wolframalpha.com] vs. Google [google.com]); and while installing or administrating a CMS doesn't make you a developer on its own, plenty of us developers give a CMS it's value and that's what this book is pointing out!
I'm all for people learning to write code, but if everyone wrote code then my abilities would be worthless...
Well, everyone (practically) drives nowadays, but that doesn't mean YOUR ability to drive is worthless. And there's still a need for people like bus drivers, taxi drivers, etc.
I don't think that analogy works exactly...what I was saying is that coding, unlike driving, is more specialized. It would not be beneficial for everyone in society to take the time to learn PHP or Java, however it would benefit everyone to know how to transport themselves great distances in a small amount of time. It would not benefit anyone for everyone to learn how to code, it would only cheapen it all.
Also drivers did get paid well until driving was common...and I don't mean to sound elitist but softw
Tired of crappy CMS' (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm so tired of taking over sites where the former "developer" used a Drupal or Joomla installation.
It is inevitable that the requirements of a custom web app will eventually exceed the capability of these systems. Knowledge of a particular CMS does not a developer make! These are tools in a toolbox and should be used as such. I hate it when people sell themselves as freelance "programmers", but really they only know how to use a particular CMS. So lets write a book and encourage this behavior - bluagh..
Re:Tired of crappy CMS' (Score:5, Insightful)
I installed a Joomla site for a latino non-profit in Baltimore who's previous site was a mess. It was a mess because my "predecessor" threw a bunch of random things together (directory using a database and articles in plain html only) and those who run the charity don't know anything about web design at all. I came in and installed Joomla and designed a few things to work in that installation because it is easy for someone to use AFTER I step away.
If your argument is that Joomla and Drupal have no place because web apps will outpace their development then why is the Joomla extension repository so extensive and growing? For every new app or site that comes along someone will develop a module or plugin for the CMS's because a CMS is easier to handle for a business that doesn't conduct even 50% of it's business online and so there will be a market for easy to use plugins.
If your main argument is your other one: freelancers who install a CMS and call themselves programmers are frauds then I can't really argue with you. For someone to call themselves a developer or programmer simply because they've installed a CMS is silly, but there are plenty of us who are programmers of one type or another that still use a CMS because there is no need to completely redesign the wheel every year. I'm all for people learning to write code, but if everyone wrote code then my abilities would be worthless...
All I'm saying is that the capability threshold of any CMS is irrelevant in terms of web applications because anything can be branded obsolete by anything else at any time (see Wolfram|Alpha [wolframalpha.com] vs. Google [google.com]); and while installing or administrating a CMS doesn't make you a developer on its own, plenty of us developers give a CMS it's value and that's what this book is pointing out!
Re: (Score:2)
I'm all for people learning to write code, but if everyone wrote code then my abilities would be worthless...
Well, everyone (practically) drives nowadays, but that doesn't mean YOUR ability to drive is worthless. And there's still a need for people like bus drivers, taxi drivers, etc.
Re: (Score:1)
I don't think that analogy works exactly...what I was saying is that coding, unlike driving, is more specialized. It would not be beneficial for everyone in society to take the time to learn PHP or Java, however it would benefit everyone to know how to transport themselves great distances in a small amount of time. It would not benefit anyone for everyone to learn how to code, it would only cheapen it all.
Also drivers did get paid well until driving was common...and I don't mean to sound elitist but softw