drupal 5

I had a chance to test drive the latest version of Drupal today, version 5.1. This was also the first time that I installed Drupal on my own, without the help of Fantastico. Realistically, I don't know why I hadn't tried this before. After all, if you've ever installed Drupal via Fantastico, you know that the install process is less than thorough. For example, it fails to install the "update.php" file, so you'll need to add this yourself via FTP if you plan on installing any modules or doing any updates to your site (duh!).

When you go to install Drupal yourself, you need to create your database and a user with full access first. Drupal doesn't do it for you, so hopefully you have a basic understanding of MYSQL. My Cpanel access has a very easy to use MYSQL interface that took me a whopping 30 seconds to figure out. Then you can upload the contents of the Drupal tar file into your public directory and pull it up in your web browser to run the installation script.

The Drupal install script did have an issue with the default permissions for the "settings.php" file, so I went ahead and added the database info to the file myself. Drupal then installed itself very quick. The only other step that it seemed to miss out on was to create a "files" folder and CHMOD it for read/write permission. Easy enough if you know your FTP program.

You'll also need to create your own "master admin" account. I had always wondered why my Drupal 4.7.x installs via Fantastico had given me the "create your first user" message when I first looked at it in my browser - it turns out that this was left over for self-guided Drupal installs. I was a little surprised at the lack of security to create that first account. What if someone else just happened by the site before I had a chance to create that first user account - the one with "everything" permission? Would they be able to essentially create the first "super admin" account for themselves if they showed up first, and then shut you out? Word of advice - if you're installing Drupal yourself, you better be ready to create your own account immediately, too.

I also didn't like how the install automatically set it so that new users can create their own accounts without approval. That was one of the first changes I implemented once I had my login and was cruising through the settings. After all, if your site isn't even ready (or if you're a Drupal newbie and don't even know how to regulate content yet), wouldn't it be better to have new user requests require admin approval by default?

One immediate difference that you may notice in the new version of Drupal (compared to version 4.7.x) is the new organization of the admin and content settings. Everything is broken down into sections instead of throwing this long obnoxious list at you. I also dig the new Garland theme, and the fact that you can change colors on the fly via the "theme" settings. I haven't played around with it yet, but the flexibility of the CCK module was supposedly included in Drupal v.5 core, so adding fields and/or creating new content types should be even easier.

Maybe it is just coincidence (or the overall lack of content), but the test site seems to be responding quicker than my previous version installs. The new admin modules page is awesome, as it separates the core modules from the add-ons and allows collapsible details for each. I also noticed that they automatically placed each core module in its own directory folder, which is convenient and makes things a bit more organized when surfing via FTP.

I tried out the category add-on module for Drupal 5, and I am a little annoyed with it. I had tried it once before in 4.7 but couldn't get it to work, so I removed it pretty quick. First off, I don't like how it creates what are essentially "nodes" for each category and container term. Who needs a node "body" for a category? I am also having a spot of trouble getting the parent terms and related parent terms to work as I would like. The breadcrumbs for the related parent terms show you the original parent term when viewing a sub-term (if that makes sense) instead of showing the related parent term in the breadcrumbs. It would also be nice if there was a way to assign default options for categories under different containers when adding lots of them. There are so many menu and display options to check off that it will probably be easy to miss something here or there when adding numerous child categories.

Anyways, enough geek speak for now, but check out the new version of Drupal if you're looking for a robust and very customizable CMS system for your web projects. Highly recommended.