I just got done learning how to script some of the classic(?) modules like shortcut2, popup2, desktop2, label, etc etc.. from http://www.scriptorium.se/westep/rebuildintro.html. (It was the only detailed tutorial I could find that that really went step by step into each module.)

So after I got done modifying everything and touching up my theme, I decided to come and download some themes to try and figure out the coding. But everything now seems to use the x-modules (like xpopup, xdesktop, xlabel, etc etc).

These modules do seem more recent, but how much better are they to use? How much do they differ from the modules I learned? And ultimately would be it worth it to relearn everything?

It really depends on how passionate you are about theming. If you like bells and whistles, the xmodules are easily the best, and well worth studying. Only you can really answer that for yourself.

it's worth it if your willing to relearn some stuff. some of the commands change and whatnot, but generally speaking the x mods have most of the problems you see in older mods fixed and are being updated, so its useful to know them

Thanks for the responses.

I guess I should clarify what I'm trying to do with theming.

I'm really not interested in the transparencies and fancy graphics and all that, but more of a minimalist theme.

x-modules do seem to have a lot of extra configuration and options. But I'm wondering if it comes at a price from performance.

of course...nothing is free in life

That's not true devilboi. Opera's installation file and memory usage isn't any bigger than Firefox, but Opera has like a thousand more functions than Firefox built-in.

But then you have to learn how to use them all. Nothing is free in life.

I'll relearn them and convert my theme to xmodules, and compare the performance myself.