In the fast-paced and ever changing world of open source CMS web development exists an endemic issue of perception versus reality. Drupal 7, introduced in January nearly one year after the release of its very popular predecessor, Drupal 6, is mired in misconceptions of its readiness and reliability. D7 conjecture is often blogged, tweeted, and whispered about in office corridors. But the truth about Drupal lies with the real Web Leaders – those of us sitting in the top 20% of the trade – who have ventured into every corner of the system and emerged espousing the benefits of the seemingly unendingly amazing Drupal.
Over the last year, D7 has emerged from its infancy as a mature, robust platform. Two major revisions have stabilized the core in a production platform, and allowed module and theme contributors to be much more comfortable porting code to the new API. Other major improvements have been achieved through the migration of popular and critical third party modules into the core, as well as an improved and efficient file handling system. These updates have pushed D7 into high demand. In both the private and public sectors, particularly in the Federal web space, the adoption of the D7 CMS is astounding. WhiteHouse.gov runs on D7, and many of the new members of the House of Representatives are following closely behind.