Today I'm happy to announce some important updates to the salesforce module 2.x branch. These are for the DRUPAL-6 version for now. I will backport to 5-2.x once we get closer to an official release.
Support for Custom Fields
This is a big step forward, as it gets us off of hard-coded object-definitions on the SalesForce side, just like the inclusion of a CCK-sensing engine got us off hard-coded Drupal objects. This allows you to create an arbitrary number of custom fields in your SalesForce objects (e.g. campaigns, contacts, leads, etc) and map them flexibly to elements in your Drupal nodes.
There's still work to be done here. I would like to get the module to the point of using the Partner (rather than Enterprise) client and wsdl, but that will require further refactoring.
Auto-Population of SalesForce
We're now able to automatically populate and update SalesForce with appropriate objects when they're created and updated on the Drupal end. A critical piece of functionality.
Common Field-Maps
Another common-sense systematic update: we're now using a single fieldmap to link Drupal and SalesForce objects. The use-case for separate maps for import vs. export of data was obscure, and so this complexity has been removed from the system.
I think this module is now ready for wider review and testing. If you've been looking to synchronize your Drupal nodes with SalesForce objects and want to provide feedback, now is a good time.
A development release should is available on the project page. Or you can click here. However, my update to the README.txt didn't make it in before the daily build, so check it in CVS.
Still to come:
- Performance considerations: need to keep the number of queries to SF to a minimum, so probably makes sense to cache object definitions, etc on the Drupal side.
- Webform and contact form integration: these are important features from the 1.0 branch that need to be retained.
- Partner WSDL/Client: for true flexibility, we should be using this rather than the Enterprise client. Will mean more internal refactoring.
- Mass import/export: for sites that already have a lot of data in Drupal (or SalesForce) there should be a way to sync that data when first implementing the module.
- Linking Drupal objects to Existing SalesForce objects: it would be good to be able to manually establish a link between pre-existing Drupal and SalesForce objects.
Once I'm sure that this module will perform well and not overrun SalesForce with needless queries, I will do a beta release. Additional features will come depending on interest, time, and contributions from others. I see webform and contact form support as "must haves" for an official 2.0 launch, but if someone wants to help by taking the old functionality and mapping it to the new API that would certainly speed the process.