Advice on direction and theme support

Wow! That looks awesome. When is it being released?

Jose, am I right in thinking that if I were to pick a starting point like Twenty Twelve, or Twenty Fourteen, really start reading the code and creating a site with my own sliders and such, that I’d be able to see similar things in other kinds of themes, and therefore begin to pick up on other ways to do things? Or, is wordpress built in a way that other theme builders do radically different things that require re-learning their process, as opposed to the ‘wordpress way’?
I know themes in the repository are all reviewed and need to meet a standard. I just want to make sure that what I choose to start with has some lateral options when I’m bit more theme savvy and want to use another theme. How far from core code do repository themes get?
I think what I’ve been seeing is that the more complicated themes have more elaborate file structures, and even finding the appropriate css can be hard sometimes. I suppose that comes with practice.

One of the things I liked about Ian Stewart’s Theme Shaper tutorial, an exercise in how themes are put together, was the way get_template_part works. I find this gave me new insight into file structure. I see the bundled themes are going that way. I also read an article last week by Justin Tadlock who (I think) is essentially moving in this direction, too; Theme template hooks are outdated.

Is this where the development community is headed in general? Just curious.

It’s interesting to know that there was a day when learning a WP theme was more accessible. Gives me hope that spending time with the code won’t make me more confused, but more focused.

As I mentioned at Theme Hybrid the other day Justin, I am looking forward to the theme you’ve been sharing glimpses of over the last months. This seems to me like the model most of us need who want to graduate from Average Joe to DIY user. I especially think the learning environment you have created around your code is important. I lurk because I don’t have a handle on the basics. I read the tutorials, but its just taking me awhile.

I don’t know that I’ll ever be a theme builder, but I still see a lot of value in being a competent DIY User. For this I, and probably others, need..

• accessible code that serves as a concrete process for learning
• identifiable themes that actually use that code on an everyday basis and have teaching/learning commentary built in
• an open environment to ask questions, such as is offered here at the WP forum and at Theme Hybrid
• maybe even some background material on how WP themes have evolved over the years, like your post that talked about theme template hooks being outdated

This last point may be more a sign of the success of WP. So many ways to do things, which is great. But, its obviously an ever changing entity.

I get that these things are all available in the WP community, that the codex has lots of this material, which I’ve read, that there are sub-communities all over that I can join. However, I personally have found it a little challenging to pull the pieces together. I simply haven’t been able to reach a basic starting point so I can choose my path to becoming a competent DIY user. The things Jose has told me about in this thread, and the things Justin is doing have helped me to finally get some sense of orientation.

I’d like to see a set of materials that pull this stuff together more clearly. Maybe its out there and I just haven’t found it? The Theme Shaper tutorial that Automatic is maintaining would be a great piece. Justin’s ideas would be very helpful.

WP is obviously brilliant, organic, and accessible in nature. Maybe its simply time for an island of simplicity. There will always be people who just get it. But, I bet what Justin is doing will pull in a lot people who are in my boat. Could the codex do this too?