Roadmap for 2.3 and 2.4
Linc
Admin
Here's what's on tap for 2.3, with current status of each:
- Dashboard redesign (led by @Todd and @beckyvb, currently in design process).
- Basic test coverage (partially implemented in a feature branch).
- Automated releases & plugin directory updating (partially implemented on
master). - Centralized default avatar management (partially implemented on
master). - HTML emails (partially implemented in a feature branch).
The dashboard redesign is the headline for the 2.3 release. It will also raise the minimum PHP version requirement to 5.4. We're tentatively scheduling its release for March 2016.
For 2.4, we're going to be reworking the dispatcher and a great deal of controller methods to implement a proper native API in Vanilla. We're not yet formally planning out what other changes may be in it, but I'm guessing the Profile Extender is going to be on the short list for some love by then. It's tentatively scheduled for the second half of 2016.
As you can see, we have a pretty ambitious R&D schedule ahead of us. Especially when you consider our last few releases:
- 2.0.17 - Jan 18, 2011
- 2.0.18 - Nov 3, 2011
- 2.1 - Apr 28, 2014
- 2.2 - Nov 12, 2015
Four years to get thru the last 2 releases! But before that we were on a whirlwind - 19 releases in 17 months (we used the third point number for marking both feature and security releases during the 2.0 series). So what we're going to do now is find a happy medium: 2-3 releases a year. This will keep things sane for folks who need to upgrade (and coordinate the releases), but quick enough that folks contributing will see the fruit of their efforts sooner than later.
I've opened the 2.3 beta milestone on GitHub to track what we're targeting before we fork for the next release. Let us know what else needs to get in there!
Comments
Whan is the Design aviable?
I don't know yet. The review and feedback process is ongoing, currently. It's a priority right now tho.
Okay, will we see a Demo?, How it Looks
It will be developed on a public branch, so you'll be free to download and evaluate it at any time. I do not expect we'll be setting up a demo page for it, no.
Coming in 2.3, for plugin devs:
Plugins will be mobile-friendly by default from 2.3 on.
Will there be 2.2.x releases, and if so, will they be security fixes only, security and bug fixes, or something else?
Primarily security fixes, but I'm fine with backporting small general fixes too like your latest PR, which I've already cherry picked.
Garden.Charset is being removed in favor of hard-coded UTF-8.
The application namespace in URLs and menus is being removed.
No more
/vanilla/discussion/123or/dashboard/settings/.I like the Vanilla settings controller being removed, and I am sure this will simplify the dispatcher.
I highly suggest revisiting the URL section of the docs before making this live.
This PR sets an implicit requirement that controller names be globally unique. This combined with the fact that plugins can have controllers makes collision more likely.
I am sure there has been some internal dialog on this already, mind sharing anything you can?
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That's the crux of the matter. We're refactoring the dispatcher in order to accommodate a native API (what we're calling "API v2", slated for 2.4) and to improve its performance (a perennial sore point in our architecture). Controller names will indeed need to unique starting with that release.
Happy to answer anything else I can about it, that's all I can think of that's relevant.
What are your plans regarding supporting PHP7?
Can 2.2 already work on PHP7 with simple fixes or it requires a lot of work?
I am not sure if 2.2 is ready for PHP7, but the plan is that 2.3 will be. If you identify specific, limited causes why 2.2 is not ready for PHP7 I'd be happy to backport.
Is there a community voting mechanism for future features?
If so, where?
http://vanillaforums.org/discussion/27971/pull-requests-you
https://github.com/issues?utf8=✓&q=is:open+is:pr+user:vanilla
Our first automated testing has been merged. https://github.com/vanilla/vanilla/pull/3249
I am now sure 2.2 is not really ready for PHP 7, fyi. It may run but it throws notices like confetti. It's under active work right now. We'll be tightened up for 2.3. We're super excited to get those performance gains. @Tim is gonna sleep a little easier.
HTML emails: ready to ship! We're going to stick the new config for text vs HTML emails in 2.2.1 so that, if you're keeping up with your updates, it'll keep your text email format until you opt-in. Trying to avoid surprises.
New forums from 2.3 onward will default to HTML emails. Awwwww yeah!
CSS is moving to a Grunt/Sass compiling workflow.