Drupal in 2020

Drupal 8 is a major leap forward for Drupal.  We've upgraded our architecture, coding style, and language usage by about 9 years in just the last 3.  That's a major achievement, and one of which we should all be proud.

And should all strive to never have to do again.  Because really, we don't want to have another tear-down cycle. Let's not do that.

But that means getting out in front of coming changes in PHP and the web.  Rather than fighting the last war, how do we prepare for the next big shift in PHP, and in the web?  How can we prepare ourselves so that we're not caught flat footed the next time a Responsive Web Design, or a Decoupled Components, or major language change comes along, when we (obviously) don't know what those are going to be?

In this session, we'll cover some just-emerging trends in the PHP, web development, and CMS industries.  Which of these will really take off in the next 5 years?  What will be the impact on Drupal?  And most importantly, what can we as a project do now in the 8.x cycle to hedge our bets and make the next big transition, whatever it ends up being, easier and less stressful? (Hint: actually, quite a bit.)

Slides are available, including many links for further reading: https://www.palantir.net/presentations/dcbcn2015-drupal-2020/