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Roadmap/Update 2.6.0

I get questions about the timing and status of XOOPS 2.6.0, along with questions about how to help. I apologize for not doing a better job of communicating in this area. It is great to know that there is such interest!

The short answer is, we've come a long way, but there is still more to do. But, the good news is the end is in sight!

I've have entered a list of issues on GitHub that represent what I consider the essential changes that are still required. These issues are tagged "roadmap" and can be seen here:https://github.com/XOOPS/XoopsCore/labels/roadmap

This roadmap is only to the completion of the 2.6.0 target and is where development resources will be directed. This roadmap gives us a great base for future enhancements.

The list is quite manageable, and even more so with more help. If you see anything on the list that you would be interested in helping with, please jump in. Even if a given issue is assigned to someone, coordinated collaborative help would likely be greatly appreciated. Just indicate your interest in a given issue as a comment, and we can make sure we are not duplicating each other's efforts.

I will be happy to answer any questions and expound on the issues as needed. The best way to ask questions is probably as a comment on the issue on GitHub, that way everyone benefits from the discussion.

We have recently added some contributing guidelines on GitHub. The GitHub environment is a bit different from the SVN environment used for earlier XOOPS versions, so it includes some explanations and links to resources that might help in the new environment. See:https://github.com/XOOPS/XoopsCore/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md

In addition to the the roadmap issues, there are ongoing efforts to improve the quality of XoopsCore codebase. One example is unit testing. Alain91 has been doing a fantastic job creating and maintaining unit tests. (Insert a round of applause here. )

Unfortunately the rate of change in the remaining issues makes that effort a frustrating job. While we hope the individual developers will assist in updating the tests related to their changes, having "specialists" that watch that area and help keep up with the changes is a huge help. If you are familiar with or interested in unit testing using phpunit, this might be an opportunity to contribute.

Even if you can't program, you can still help out. Install a current copy of XoopsCore and try it out. Reporting bugs or other issues you notice is a big help.

With your help we can make this the best XOOPS ever!

Thanks for your attention. I'll get back to coding now.
-Richard

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XOOPS Bug Squashing Week! We need your help!

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We are in the process of fixing open Bugs in the XOOPS 2.5.7.

This weekend we've reviewed and closed so far following bugs:

Static Constants Needing Fixed

A session had already been started - ignoring session_start()

X_ITEM_TILE in /​language/​english/​mail_template/​default_notify.tpl

Notifications encoding

_AM_SENDMTOUSERS missied

Sorting bug in Profile module search

dhtmltextarea editor accent not displayed

Bug in fresh install in page_configsave.php

TinyEditor only loading in the 'Scoop' part of the News modu

Image Manager category creation restrictions

Calendar shows 40 days

balise code and \

News 1.67 and Xoops 2.5.4

template duplicate issue

template set is not updated based on template file

install last page no css/​js

Some of them were old and already solved but not yet officially closed, some needed a solution, some bugs were reported already with a solution, but it's important that we review them all.

Our goal is to close ALL open bugs for the release of XOOPS 2.5.7!

There are still 18 bugs open, so please help us with closing them as well!

We hope, XOOPS 2.5.7 will be the last release in the XOOPS 2.5.x series, so we can then focus on helping Richard with the XOOPS 2.6.0 development!!!
Comments?

JQuery Mobile Framework For Xoops

I had already created the mobile site in a third level of my site, but had no more than one page index.php

Now I have installed xoops 2.5.5 and did some tests locally with this framework as you can see from this picture is just the beginning.

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I hope soon after a period of inactivity for a minor surgical procedure to resume work on this idea that you can share building a real framework to integrate into xoops with the creation of themes for this.

If you like the idea I would be happy to hear your opinion about it for more ideas.

Let's talk about the jQuery Mobile framework

Read the latest news about it and discuss it in this thread
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Roadmap for XOOPS 2.6

This is a proposed Roadmap for XOOPS 2.6.0. Please read it, and provide us with feedback and suggestions.

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The development of XOOPS 2.6 will take place in three stages. These three stages are characterized every time by the release of an alpha version. So we will have three alpha versions. These versions allow module developers have enough time to change their modules and make them compatible and fully functional with XOOPS 2.6.

Alpha 1

· Update the XOOPS Core and all classes to PHP5 (public, protected, static) and E_STRICT.

- This is the main goal of this version. Of course, some modules may have some difficulty in the beginning, but E_STRICT will help developers to minimize errors and significantly improve the quality of XOOPS.

· Create a central class "xoops", this class will help developers and will give a direct access to XOOPS API

- This class will help to simplify the development of XOOPS.

· Delete unused files in XOOPS.(cache and template_c).

· Remove the extra themes and have a single theme for the administration and user interface.

- Provide a "theme model" as a reference for all themes.

· Remove / clean up old source code.

- remove legacy code of older versions (eg. XOOPS 1.0 with the use of PHP in the themes).
- remove all HTML code found in the PHP files.

· Automatic loading of all XOOPS classes

· Do not use global variables, these variables can be used from XOOPS class (e.g. $xoopsModule -> $xoops->module).

· Create a folder for all multimedia public frameworks (jQuery, CSS, JS, images, ...).

· Create Module Class Admin to give the same admin interface for all modules, this class already exists in such frameworks, but now it is included in the core and uses HTML templates.

· moving of some libraries, such as Smarty, to the xoops_lib folder.

· Refactoring the system module.

· Extract some parts of the system module in order to recreate them as a separate module create as a module (eg. Banners).

· Adding a new feature: System Extensions.

- Now some modules in the admin will be called Extensions (eg. Protector). Some features of the current System module are removed and recreated as Extensions. Added to XOOPS (eg. Avatars, Smiles, User ranks, ...).
- All these Extensions are runing as modules, but they cannot be renamed, and they will be shown in a separate menu module

· Integration of CSS Frameworks Bootstrap from Twitter.

· Removal of all queries for the block templates and modules.

- Now, XOOPS reads directly the templates for each part.

· Reduction of queries in all pages.

· New theme in the Admin interface.

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· New theme in the User interface.

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· New contact form.

- Use of templates.
- Forms Validation with HTML5 attributes.
- CSS3 and HTML5 compatibility.

Alpha 2

· Adding a theme manager in the system module.

- This section allows you to manage themes like modules so you can install, uninstall, or disable a theme.
- We can of course add a few settings in the theme (eg. Logo, size, etc. ..) and all these settings will be visible in the theme.

· Add of new plugins.

- Comments.
- Notifications.
- Image manager.
- Search.

· Integration of PDF library.

· Content module.

- In order to easily add content "out of the box" .

· Menu Module.

- This system allow to create all kind of menus.

Alpha 3

· Integration of rewrite mode in XOOPS.

· New connectors to access the data bases.

· Modification of blocks positions.

Beta

· Adding other features..
· Bugs fixed

RC

· Correction of the latest bugs.

Estimated Dates (Subject to change!)

Version Alpha 1: July 2012

Version Alpha 2: September 2012

Version Alpha 3: October 2012

Versions Beta ( 1, …): From November to December 2012

Versions RC ( 1, …): From January to February 2013

Final Version: March 2013


This timeline seems to be long, but it is based on current available resources. If more people will get engaged in Core development, testing, and bug fixing, we'll be able to release it earlier. So it is really up to the community to speed up the process by getting involved and providing help.

XOOPS 2.6 brings many new features and several important changes in the XOOPS Core. These changes were required to keep XOOPS as a world-class CMS. The Blue Move modules might need some small modifications, but they should be pretty straight forward, and appropriate tutorials will be provided. Older modules will need to be updated to Blue Move first.

The period from July 2012 to December 2012 is necessary to make modules developer more familiar with the kernel changes, and to update their modules.

If you are interested to join the team, don't hesitate to let us know, every help is most welcome. The more help we get, the faster we'll arrive at the XOOPS 2.6.0 Final release!

Your Core Development Team

Grégory Mage (Mage) and Nicolas Andricq (MusS)
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Multilingual features of XOOPS - White Paper

Multilingual features of XOOPS - White Paper

Michael Beck (mamba) wrote to me a number of days ago to ask me to write a basic white paper on making use of multilingual features of XOOPS better in modules, as alot of my modules including the Content Module X-Centre as well as the Forum - X-Forum make use of the multilingual centres in XOOPS and will strap with X-Language to allow content based on the language provided.

If you write modules I would encourage you to read this whitepaper it only goes for 7 pages and start to implement something similar in your modules to take advantage of multilingual centres in XOOPS so more modules support the API X-Language and/or other APIs and language centres in XOOPS.

Foreword:

This document will show you how to make your module multilingual and interact with X-Language or similar API for XOOPS to enable content and function of content to be multilingual within the module. The idea for example is to have One URL for many different languages with the same IDs etc so that XOOPS multilingual features can be used in conjunction with your module. In this module I will use X-Forum 5.78 & X-Centre 2.16 as example so you can download the source code and use it as a basis to make your module multilingual as well.

PDF Whitepaper:

Download: Multilingual-features-of-XOOPS.pdf - 192Kb
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Converting old modules to XOOPS 2.5.0 GUI: Tutorial

We've talked in the past about releasing updated “XOOPS Module Packs” for our users, focusing on some basic functionalities of the Website, e.g. Personal Website Pack, Community Website Pack, etc.

We are now working on a “XOOPS Basic Module Packs” and our goal is to modify existing modules so all of them have the same consistent GUI and thus increase the user productivity, especially for the first-time users.

Originally we took the GUI idea from the TDM Team's modules, but while we were working on implementing it, Mage came up with a ModuleAdmin class that generates the whole Admin GUI based solely on the Menu definitions in /admin/menu.php and data in xoops_version.php file - see the simplified diagram:

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In order to make it easier for other developers to convert their module to this new GUI utilizing Mage's ModuleAdmin class, I've created a set of files helping with this conversion, and a short tutorial showing how to convert xDirectory (you can download the converted module here).

Files:

1) Tutorial as PDF file: view it here

2) Conversion Files incl. Tutorial as Zip file: download it here


NOTE:

a) This is just a 1st Draft of the Tutorial, so your feedback and improvement suggestions are appreciated. Please help us to make it simple and easy to read and follow.

b) Please also let us know any ideas/suggestions that you might have about improving the Module GUI:

- beginners and first-time XOOPS users: how can we make the GUI simpler and more user friendly for you?

- experienced module developers: how can we make it better? Is this ModuleAdmin class making module development easier for you?

Please discuss the GUI and the Tutorial in this thread.
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Interview of Mage by ArabXOOPS Community

The Arabxoops Community was pleased to interview Mage in the monthly newsletters.
to meet this creative and modest person more and to benefit from his experience in XOOPS.
Below the english version of the interview :

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Who’s Mage?
My name is Gregory Mage, I am from Switzerland and I live in a small town near Geneva: Lully. I am 26 year old and I work in a watchmaking industry, I'm in charge of technical development of new models.

What got you to XOOPS?
I discovered XOOPS in 2006 by chance when I researched for a CMS for an association of climbing (www.sertec-escalade.org ) where I am active in. I’ve tried many CMS and XOOPS was the only one that fulfilled my requirements.
Starting with XOOPS has been difficult because I didn’t know PHP and CSS, I knew just the HTML, but after few months I just was able to make changes to modules and themes.

How did you get started in programming?
I have been programming since 2001. I have started with programming on ADA95, C and C++ during my study in the engineering School of Geneva.
Since 2008 I have been interesting by PHP and took some lessons to improve my knowledge and to be able to develop Xoops modules. I learned a lot from Venom, DuGris, Kraven30 and Muss.

What do you like the most about XOOPS?
It's hard to say ... I think I like everything in xoops. There are certainly many things to improve but overall Xoops is really good

What is the most interesting experience you have ever had from XOOPS:
I learned a lot in the module development, but TDMDownloads is my best exeperience because it was my first module. Now I'm learning daily new things in php during the development of new modules.

If you could add one feature to XOOPS, what would it be?
It lacks two very important things in xoops:
- The multi-language.
- URL rewriting.
Unfortunately today the multi-language does not function well and the URL rewriting is relatively complex to implement. I hope the next version of xoops will improve these 2 points.

What is your major achievement in programming that you're most proud of?
I think my best module is TDMDownloads but I am not yet satisfied with its performance ... Actually, I work on other modules and I hope they will be better than TDMDownloads.

what about your experience in xoops 2.5 ?
Participating in the development of the new xoops core was a great experience for me because I learned a lot of things.
First I have improved my knowledge of PHP and XOOPS architecture.
Secondly I learned to know better Kraven30 and Muss.

In 2.5 I have coded the simplest things because I don't have yet the level of programming of Kraven30 or Muss. In fact, these two are really the ones who have made a lot of new development

What are your hobbies, when you're not coding?
I like sports like badminton, walking and climbing (several times a week). And to be in the mountains

What wishes and advises would you have for the Arab XOOPS community ?
I wish this community to continue to grow because there is lot of potential in it. A big thanks to Mariane and Mowaffak for all their generous participations in XOOPS and Arabxoops community.
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"Web Tools" Package 0.9 is released

Added one new tool for manage virtual desktop (VirtualWin) to complete the package, which already contained text editors (Notepad + +, Kompozer), a Css editor (Oiky Editor), a web browser (Opera), tools for images (Gimp, PicPick), FTP transfer (Filezilla), a client Svn (subcommander), a tool compression/decompression (7zip), a file synchronizer (Toucan), a file compare (WinMerge), a task manager (ToDoList), an ability to connect remotely to any computer (TeamViewer), a link checker (Xenu), a Web Server (Apache 2.2.16, MySQL 5.1.50 and PHP 5.3.3), a software to cut files sql (SQLDumpSplitter) and a Database Browser/Editor.
List of portable applications:
- 7zip 4.65
- Filezilla 3.3.4.1 (updated)
- Kompozer 0.8b3
- DataBase Browser 3.2.2.10 (updated)
- Opera 10.62 (updated)
- PicPick 2.3.4 (updated)
- Winmerge 2.12.4
- Gimp 2.6.10 rev2
- Notepad++ 5.8 (updated)
- OikoCSSeditor 1.00 RC3
- SubCommander 2.0.0 Beta 5 (updated)
- ToDoList 6.0.8
- Toucan 3.0.3 PR6 (updated)
- Xenu 1.3.8 (updated)
- TeamViewer 5.0.9104 (updated)
- MiniServer : Apache 2.2.16, MySQL 5.1.50, PHP 5.3.3 (updated)
- VirtuaWin 4.3 - Virtual Desktop Manager (new)

You can download the package "Web Tools" on Tutos.XooFoo.org from this LINK

Read the original article in French
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Tutorial - Build a CSS 3 Main Menu

Learn how to create a cool main menu using css 3 features.
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TXMod Developer

A new website is online TXMod with new graphics to download themes and modules

link txmod:http://www.txmod.netsons.org

link directory xoops:https://xoops.org/modules/mylinks/visit.php?cid=4&lid=1710

timgno
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