Some of the things I’d like to achieve:
- The steps that are taken during indexing (and later during query parsing) should be made atomic and chained, similar to input formats and filters. This would combine the preprocess hook with text transformations that already happen (stripping punctuation, lowercase, etc.) I’ve considered building a prototype with the current filter system.
- hook_search(‘name’) needs to return more metadata. Ideally modules could provide multiple searches and allow themselves to be configured (such as adding elements to the search form, or defining their own search form). Perhaps other $ops are needed.
- The type column in all search tables should be removed and each type should maintain its own tables.
- The keywords should not persist throughout the request in the form of a string, but rather an object that handles adding fields, removing fields, cloning etc. I have such an object that is very near general purpose use in the ApacheSolr module.
Jerad Bitner and Dave Burns, both of whom are Drupal developers for SonyBMG, recently launched a new site, DrupalMAO. It is a site modeled in part on Diggnation, with a focus on Drupal. Their first pilot was released back in February. Recently the Dave and Jerad were busy at Drupalcon Boston filming and doing interviews. They interviewed me on the last day I was there in the middle of the MIT code sprint. I talk about the future of Acquia’s training and certification programs, and what Acquia’s entry into these markets might mean for companies like Lullabot. I also specifically call out for people to share their thoughts and wishes concerning training and certification. Feel free to share these thoughts with me in comments here, via my contact form, or through the Acquia website.
The interview:
http://drupalmao.com/robert-douglass-interview
At 1:00, in room 252A, we’ll be having a “Birds of a feather” meeting to discuss the future directions of the ApacheSolr module. I’ll be giving a short demonstration of what the module can currently do, and then we’ll talk about:
- Solr features that aren’t yet implemented
- How to expand the test coverage
- The relevance of search results and how to measure/improve them
- The state of ApacheSolr documentation
- ApacheSolr for Drupal 6
- Search and Drupal 7
Being involved in the Drupal project has given me the unique chance to put my talents and efforts to use in a way which directly benefits a lot of other people. When I write code for Drupal I have the deep satisfaction of knowing that it will likely run on a huge range of websites around the world and that it will enable people to accomplish things that they might not have accomplished otherwise. For me, one of the greatest perks of Drupal is that my contributions mean something to so many people.
For precisely these reasons I am beyond excited about joining the Acquia team. My role with Acquia will be very closely tied to the goal of helping “Drupal to grow by at least a factor of 10”, and will therefore make contributing to Drupal ten times more meaningful than before.
I love onions fried up in a pan, but they make me cry! The swim goggle let me do the cooking without wasting a box of kleenex. This is what hungry Drupal consultants look like when caught multitasking.
