Since the launch just a few short months ago, Drupal 7 has been put to the test by the entire Drupal developer community. Many rave reviews and detailed evaluations are starting to surface regarding the performance and strength of D7. If you have not had the opportunity to review the system yet I strongly recommend taking a look!

Here are just a few of the new features for you to take advantage of:

More Secure:

More secure implementation for scheduled tasks (cron.php) as well as a more secure password and log-in systems. Not to mention the security modules can be updated via the web. But these are just a few of the details regarding new secure features, find more info on security feature upgrades at drupal.org.

Better Usability:

With built-in administrative control links to edit every existing page element on each individual web page make for quick content edits for the system administrator. There is also better support available for the integration of WYSIWYG editing systems. There are many new “ease-of-use” features including drag-and-drop administrative tasks, permission meta descriptions, password strength validator, automatic summaries, and the list goes on and on. One of my favorite new features is the “One-Click” module install right over the web. The user also has the ability to customize their own menu with whatever you use most.

Database Improvements

Fully rewritten database layer utilizing PHP 5's PDO abstraction layer, Drupal now requires MySQL >= 5.0.15 or PostgreSQL >= 8.3., Added query builders for INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, MERGE, and SELECT queries, Support for master/slave replication, transactions, multi-insert queries, and other features. D7 also added support for the SQLite database engine, and even the ability to default to InnoDB engine, rather than MyISAM, on MySQL when available (This offers increased scalability and data integrity).

Drupal 7 puts even more power in the hands of the user, not just with the features listed above, but with improvements throughout the entire Drupal system like Performance Optimization, Hook API Documentation, News Aggregator, Improved Search Features, Testing Tools, Theme System, Improved File & Image Handling, Improved Multi-Site Support, Added RDF Support, Better Support for Web Linking and Search Optimization, and much much more!

Click here to see the complete Drupal change log.