Drupal - Drupal Versus Movable Type

Sorry for the slow reply but I've been stuck working all week.

> Flexible data storage The system supports both MySQL and Berkeley DB for

> your data storage, with plans to support for PostgreSQL and Oracle in the

> future. Berkeley DB is available on almost all systems with Perl installed.

> [SJ] Same for Drupal but no berkley support.

Drupal supports MySQL and does work on PostgreSQL but we need a person

to maintain the table definitions. We should be able to support other db

types (and we would like to), but we need someone who is skilled at

other dbs, has time and makes a commitment to support it.

> XML-RPC API implements the Blogger and MetaWeblog XML-RPC APIs, allowing

> you to use existing client tools (BlogBuddy, Bloggar, BlogApp, etc) to

> manage your blog.

> [SJ] Yup. I've used it and it's great.

Drupal supports the Blogger API as that is the one mostly used still.

Currently nobody has requested MetaWeblog API, but it shouldn't be a

big job to modify the blogger api module.

> Extensible, library-driven code if you have experience programming in

> Perl, you can write custom dynamic applications using the Movable Type

> libraries.

> [SJ] Same. Very nice module interface.

Drupal is written in PHP which is easier to master for most people. It

also has a very modular structure, so much so we can use it for other

purposes besides content.

> Elegant, intuitive interface View some sample screenshots.

> [SJ] Not as elegant. Needs some work.

It is being worked on and should be implemented in a future release.

There was a thread on the mailing list about this a while back and there

is some discussion on drupal.org as well.

> TrackBack Movable Type's TrackBack system allows peer-to-peer

> communication and conversations between weblogs. For more information on

> TrackBack, see this document.

> [SJ] Not sure. Kjartan? I know that Drupal has distributed authentication

> that's pretty cool.

We have distributed authentication (supports jabber and yahoo logins as

well as some others). I've done some work on distributed posting which

will let you post content to multiple Drupal sites at once (or any site

that supports Blogger API.

> Support The support forums are staffed by both a dedicated set of Movable

> Type users and the creators of the software, allowing you fast access to

> answers from expert users of the system.

> [SJ] See this url for an example of Drupal community support:

> http://radio.weblogs.com/0103807/documents/opensource_performance.pdf

All the core Drupal developers are active on the support list and forums.

Sometimes we prioritize development over support, but there are plenty

of other knowledgeable Drupal users helping out.

> Import data allows you to import your entries and comments from other

> content management systems (Blogger, GreyMatter, NewsPro), then manage those

> posts through Movable Type.

> [SJ] Not sure. I'll be implementing a radio import myself since I have to

> do it for my own blog.

There is a PHP-Nuke script around somewhere, but we haven't made import

tools from other systems. We would welcome an effort to make it happen,

or able to give some used databases we can use to make a script to do

it. The biggest problem is that I don't want to setup blogs in other

systems and use them for a while so I have some data to convert.

> Multiple output templates enables one-click publishing to multiple

> destinations and formats: XML RSS headlines from your site, HTML indexes,

> etc.

> [SJ] The architecture is there and RSS support is integral. I think that

> the UI needs some work to better support it.

We have RSS export and it would be very easy to make new modules to

support other forms of output. Just a matter of knowing a little PHP and

the output format desired.

> Support for multiple weblogs/journals one Movable Type installation can

> support as many blogs as you wish.

> [SJ] Same.

We support it, but we have ideas on how to make it better.

> Support for multiple authors register multiple authors, and set their

> access levels using Movable Type's role-based permissions system.

> [SJ] Same.

There should be some major changes to this in the future. There is some

talk about making some more advanced workflow as well so you could use

Drupal for an intranet site and have a dedicated editor etc.

> Entry categorization group your entries into categories for your own

> reference, for archiving purposes, and for display in your blog. You can

> assign multiple categories to a single entry (for example, if an entry about

> a book you read belongs in both "Reading List" and "Daily Activities").

> [SJ] Full Taxonomy support, very, very powerful.

And it will just keep getting better. Currently we have two people

working putting all the categories into proper use and find some

exciting new ways to use it.

> Search and replace save time by performing a global search and replace on

> all of your entries; use the search feature to look up a particular entry.

> [SJ] Search but not search and replace.

I don't really understand how this works but it would be easy to make a

module to do it.

> Multiple archiving options create monthly, weekly, and daily archives of

> your content; individual pages for each entry; and archives by category.

> Archive file names are fully customizable, and you can associate multiple

> archive templates with each archive type, allowing you to create, for

> example, several versions of your archives: printer-friendly, PDA, normal,

> etc.

> [SJ] Not 100% sure yet.

We have some of it, but someone with some time should be able to make

modules to support it. We have a few people hanging around with nothing

much to code so if someone could spec up features like this I'm sure

someone with time will pick it up and implement it.

> Built-in comment system allow your visitors to post comments on your

> entries and engage in conversations. Movable Type supports comments either

> inline in your blog, or in popup windows; it also allows you to selectively

> exclude commenting on certain posts.

> [SJ] Very nice comment model although popup support not currently there but

> I think would be fairly trivial.

> Comment IP Banning lock out unwanted visitors from commenting on your site

> by banning their IP addresses.

> [SJ] Not sure but simple to add if not there.

We have some banning on IPs, but I don't remember if it supports this.

I've never had a need to do it.

> Email notification system maintain lists of users to whom notification

> messages can be sent when you post a new entry.

> [SJ] No but I'm planning on adding it anyway.

New stories and comments can be sent out regularly to users. Currently

you can't specify which type of content you want sent (other than nodes

or comments), but its planned for a future release.

> Integration of file and image uploads upload files and images into any of

> your blog directories, then seamlessly integrate them into new posts.

> [SJ] Not at present. See next.

> Thumbnail creation automatically create thumbnails from uploaded images.

> [SJ] I have a photoblog module in the works for drupal.

We have an image module that supports uploads and categorization of

images, and they can easily be included in posts. Has a bunch of other

features as well, and there are plenty of things on the TODO list that

are being worked on.

http://cvs.drupal.org/viewcvs.cgi/contributions/modules/image/?cvsroot=contrib

> Bookmarklets post to your site from anywhere on the web, without entering

> the Movable Type system.

> [SJ] Cool idea. I'd be willing to do this definitely.

I have a bookmarklet that opens up my Drupal site and lets me post a new

blog entry with a reference and quote selected text.

> Template-based site customization combine Movable Type's template tags

> with standard HTML (or whatever markup language you choose) to build and

> customize your site.

> [SJ] There is a full template architecture in Drupal.

> Pre-date or post-date entries Movable Type allows you to override an

> entry's date stamp.

> [SJ] Don't know.

You can change the date of entries. If you date it to the future it

won't show up till that date, date it to the past and it will end up in

the past.

> Delete entries Movable Type allows for true entry deletion, allowing you

> to clean out old or unwanted entries.

> [SJ] I believe so.

We support complete deletion of content, or just to disable the post but

keep the data there.

> Hold/Release status allow for content editorial and approval by setting

> entries to "Hold", then let an editor approve by marking "Release", at which

> point the entries will be published on your site.

> [SJ] Yup.

> Publicity and notification sends XML-RPC pings to weblogs.com and the

> movabletype.org Recently Updated List.

> [SJ] Yup (weblogs.com, don't know about movabletype.org but would be

> trivial)

Drupal pings weblogs if enabled to do so.

> Mail this entry allow visitors to your site to mail your entries to

> friends, driving traffic to your site.

> [SJ] Easy to add at the template level in about 5 lines of code.

Yup.

--

Kjartan <kjartan@drupal.org&gt; (http://natrak.net/)

:: "Women are made to be loved, not understood." - Oscar Wilde