Nina - I do share the frustrations, however I'm getting too old to let these issues get to me, certainly the highest level of frustration was that I assumed that this latest release was just that "another production release". However like all software I have a rather rigid process of test, preprod and prod, so the frustrations are minimised, and if it starts to get to me I put on some of my fravorite playlists and get back on track.
Any additional effort is a cost to us as implementers or users, however this is the IT world. I would not like to see the DNN community or delivery of DNN change from it's original vision, this is unique and having been involved in IT for over 20 years, I welcome this aproach. Microsoft .Net is a great framework and a different development framework from the past, DNN is a strong project which explotes the .Net framework.
Like most of us, I have to document my discoveries along the way, the DNN project is dynamic and subject to new "discoveries" along the way, however I hate having to address the same issues each time, my repository of technical bulletins resolves this.
I feel that since .Net was released, our toolbox needs to be filled, by this I mean that we need knowledge across many technologies, some of the posts to this site are not caused by DNN but from an uderstanding of other related configurations and technologies, and we are all learning as we go.
I think that DNN needs to be a diverse product, putting into a box would limit the audience, I personally like to diversity that it delivers.
What we must expect and accept is that the underlying architecture for DNN is changing and for this reason the existing documentation may not address some of the discoveries that we are seeing, It's changing for the better and I have yet to find a commercial product that quickly adopts such change so quickly - this does translate to benefits. Having said that the existing documentation is of extreme value and is always providing a very value reference to me, In fact I have a hardcopy close at hand at all times.
I know have a need for Oracle data providers and I will expense more effort into understanding this subject, however like everything in the project this effort has high reuse within DNN and outside the effort is worthwhile.
I work towards my clients saying "WOW" at the time of delivering a solution, and yes I go through some pain to achieve this, but the end result is very much worth the effort and at time the effort may not be commercially viable, however providing I have control over the effort I can accept this.
Craig Hubbard