Drupal VS. Mambo 4
Nowhere are the above-mentioned design considerations more visible than in two add-on features we consider absolutely essential for both Mambo and Drupal: internationalization (i18n) and search engine friendly (SEF) URL addresses. Both require fairly low-level “hooks” into core functionality to function.
Internationalization
There is i18n support available in both systems, but in both Mambo and Drupal some patches are required to the core; this in our opinion is inexcusable, in both cases. Only unilingual users and websites would not need i18n, and those kind of websites are a luxury on the European side of the Big Pond, at least.
However, compare the patching required, and how the add-on is implemented in each case: that is, in Mambelfish versus Drupal’s i18n module. In such a comparison, Drupal’s clean design shines through very favorably: the i18n module is much less of a “dirty hack” than what’s required for Mambo, and builds upon the superb localization feature of Drupal. In fact, Drupal’s i18n patch is only about two dozen one-line code additions, and would be trivial to integrate into the Drupal core in a future release, should Drupal’s project leadership decide to do so.
More so, now having lots of practical experience building multilingual sites with both Mambo and Drupal, Drupal’s i18n works very well and as it is intended to, and feels fully integrated into the system, not “hackish” in any way.
This is not, however, intended to knock down the developer of Mambelfish; having reviewed the code and contributed patches to Mambelfish, we think he’s done pretty much the best job that’s possible in the constraints Mambo’s architecture places on him, and should rather be commended for his ingenuity in providing an adequate solution to a difficult problem.
Drupal VS. Mambo 5