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Chris Morton <salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com> asked about (assumed) web CMS,
able to manage docs for FDA compliance.
----
Chris,
As the routine it all depends on needs, level of experience going in,
and level of desire to learn during maintenance.
Drupal pros:
- Best feature based on perceived need: Drupal with Alfresco is a
preexisting solution - slides http://www.slideshare.net/alfresco/tech-talklivealfrescodrupal ,
webinar (needs login) http://www2.alfresco.com/TTL_Episode_52
- optimized for performance
- more a Lego set than a black box
- you can develop applications by adding modules
- you can get away with knowing only HTML/CSS but if you want to go
further some understanding of PHP helps
- can run independent multiple sites
- specialized access permissions
- lots of free resources, and O'Reilly publishes a ton of books on it
- The DITA for Drupal project is interesting
- The community is actively seeking help from TechComs to improve documentation
- Drupal 7 is good, 8 promises to be even better,
Cons:
- Over years of development, the system is more a methodology than an
application -- if you're used to rolling your own, or plug and play
(the extremes) Drupal will bite you if you take shortcuts
- Releases are vastly different. Upgrading a customized site often
requires a complete rebuild (at least thought process)
- WYSIWYG editing takes work to implement, but it works well
- A lot of things will be fixed "in the next release" which could come
"at any time"
- Numerous free resources means navigating the wilds of multi version
documentation
My greatest asset, and also my greatest challenge, is that I have
built and maintained sited in a variety of systems. Each time I return
to Drupal, for the hope that it will bring great returns. But my
understanding of how Drupal does stuff is still shakes because I don't
have the time.
However others have listened to my evangelical bent on Drupal and with
less technical skill than myself, have built numerous sites. I'm
talking about the 65 year old retired grandpas in my local Drupal
meetup.
Cheers,
-Tony
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