[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #31693: Feature Request - Child theme as standard feature

[WordPress Trac]

#31693: Feature Request - Child theme as standard feature
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 Reporter:  W.P. Ginfo       |       Owner:
     Type:  feature request  |      Status:  new
 Priority:  normal           |   Milestone:  Awaiting Review
Component:  Themes           |     Version:  4.1.1
 Severity:  normal           |  Resolution:
 Keywords:                   |     Focuses:
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Comment (by Shapeshifter 3):

 Replying to [comment:8 greenshady]:
 > Having done child themes for 8 years now and being one of the first
 people to promote the usage of them, I feel pretty confident in saying
 that this is not something ideal for core.  I've been able to see all the
 pitfalls and gotchas that plague users.  As an admin on the Theme Review
 Team, I can also tell you that such a feature would certainly break a
 large number of sites at this time.
 >
 > There really has to be a lot of assumptions made about the [parent]
 theme if core is going to start auto-generating child themes.  Namely, how
 styles are loaded is a major issue.  Theme authors have differing views on
 this, and many of them (including myself) are passionate about their own
 method.
 >
 > Not to mention, we'd still need to get theme authors to figure out the
 difference between the "stylesheet" and "template" directories.  I
 routinely catch themes utilizing the wrong function.  However, we've made
 great strides in correcting this with the Theme Review Team.  One fatal
 error caused by a theme author using `require_once(
 get_stylesheet_directory() . '/some-file.php' )` is one fatal error too
 many because the blame gets shifted away from the theme onto core.
 >
 > When it comes right down to it, child themes are the secondary, not
 primary, method that we should be promoting to users.  Something like
 Jetpack's custom CSS module or another CSS plugin is a far better method
 for today's average user.  Once a user feels comfortable enough modifying
 anything beyond CSS (e.g., PHP within the theme files), they really should
 be comfortable creating a basic child theme or using something like the
 Child Theme Configurator plugin.
 >
 > A dismissable message on the theme editor in the admin that the user is
 about to edit their theme files is a better solution to me.  This could
 include a link to a page on WordPress.org about using a CSS plugin or
 creating a child theme.

 Justin,

 Do you have any thoughts or recommendations on "forcing", "strongly
 recommending", or "mandating" how ALL Theme Developers should load Styles
 into their Parent themes (it seems to me that Child Theme Plugin
 Developers would then have less issues to deal with in creating their
 products)?

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Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/31693#comment:9>
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