Drupal musings 13: Packaged care and modules

Although I do not need to sit at the front for presentations anymore, I did so at Drupalcon as the electricity plugs were few and forward. There was a bonus. Being in the right place... I picked up a free book c/o Packt Publishing who were among the exhibitors and valued sponsors. The book is Michael Peacock's Social Networking (don't panic I'm not going to review it!). Since returning from Copenhagen I've been using Drupal 6 and 7 on a daily basis. Checking just what some of the key modules, such as Taxonomy, Taxonomy Manager, and Groups have to offer. What are the configuration options and how well do modules integrate?

In the book Michael lists the Drupal modules he relies on to create a site worthy of the book's title. He explains that many modules are themselves 'packaged' for example - the Activity module:

Activity: Activity
Activity: Activity history
Activity: Comment activity
Activity: Node activity
Activity: OG# activity (#organic groups) p.140

This highlights the multifunctional capability of modules which leads me to wonder about what functionality might be found in future modules:

Intrapersonal: Communication Intrapersonal: Mood Intrapersonal: Cognition Intrapersonal: Diagnosis Intrapersonal: Interests Intrapersonal: Risk Intrapersonal: Skills-Education	Sciences: Observations Sciences: Physical attributes Sciences: Mobility Sciences: Nutrition Sciences: Diagnosis Sciences: Physical safety
Sociology: Relationships Sociology: Ethnicity Sociology: Interests Sociology: Religion Sociology: Carer assessment	Political: Marital status Political: Employment Political: Benefits-Welfare Political: Capacity Political: Autonomy Political: Mental Health Act status