Announcing CMSMS 2.0 RC1

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calguy1000
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Announcing CMSMS 2.0 RC1

Post by calguy1000 »

We are here! After many, many rounds of internal testing and bug fixing we finally made it! It has been a long road, but the Dev Team is now very pleased to announce CMSMS 2.0 RC1 (Release Candidate 1) for widespread public testing.

In the release candidate we are looking to find and resolve critical issues, and ensure that this version of the software is well tested in numerous environments, well rounded, and stable. It is a time for module developers to adjust their modules, and for translators to catch up on translation. We will not be adding features, or changing much in the way of functionality. Our goals are only to fix issues, and work on documentation.

During the beta process, CMSMS 2.0 has undergone extensive testing by beta users, and the members of the Dev Team. Thanks to this, we are hoping that there will not be many critical issues with the release candidate, and that we can do a final release as soon as possible. Therefore, we expect the release candidate program to run for 30 to 45 days, or until people are no longer significantly reporting issues.

Although 2.0 is not a complete rewrite of the 1.x code, we can honestly call it a "significant refactoring". Almost every piece of code has been adjusted in some way (some in minor ways, others have been rewritten completely). Therefore, as previously announced, there are compatibility issues, and there may be considerable effort required to upgrade websites from 1.x to 2.0.

The Development Team is excited and proud of this release, and we know that once you start to feel the power of 2.0, you'll forgive us the speed bumps you may encounter during the upgrade process.

To Translators:
It is now the last chance for translators to catch up before final release. If you have not done so already, please take the time to update the translation of core projects as much as possible. Thank you to those who have already contributed countless hours on translations.

To Module Developers:
It is very important that module developers update their modules now (rather than after the final release). This will allow us to identify and fix—or at least document—compatibility issues. We will be available via the forum or IRC to assist in diagnosing and resolving these issues, and we are working on a module conversion document to assist module devlopers.

What will change throughout the life of the RC:
There are still some minor things that will be changed during the RC process, these things do not relate to functionality:

- Default content and theme

We will be replacing the default content installed with new installations of CMSMS with content and themes that are cleaner, fresher, more appealing, and more modern.

- Documentation

We will be updating the documentation: the documentation web site(s), and the documentation shipped with the package, to ensure that it is as up to date and complete as possible.

Production Use:
We do not recommend that you use anything other than a full release for production use. If you have a longer term project (something that will be in development for a month or two), and you feel that the RC is ready for your use, then you may want to try the RC for that site. That said, please be aware that that it is at your own risk. There may still be some issues to resolve, and the documentation is still in progress.

Tip: Freshen your install using the 'Installation Assistant'

The new installation assistant supports the ability to freshen the files in the installation with files contained within the installation assistant, provided the version matches. This is like upgrading in that it writes over the core files, and generates a new config.php, but it will not touch the database, or any third party files. It is useful for fixing a corrupted installation, or for updating your install with the files in the latest 'release candidate' snapshot.

To use it, you place the installation assistant .php file into the site root, and browse to that file. The system will automatically detect your installation, and provide the freshen option.

Reporting Issues:
We expect that some people will encounter issues with the release candidate, and we encourage you to report them. To report issues with the release candidate, please post them into the "CMSMS 2.0 Beta" section of the CMSMS Forum (http://forum.cmsmadesimple.org). As always, provide specifics and enough information to allow us to easily reproduce the problem. Take the time to provide system information, steps to reproduce, and information from your error logs.

Twice Daily Snapshots:
During the "RC" program, we will be generating snapshots of CMSMS and the various installers twice per day. These snapshots are downloadable from:

http://www.cmsmadesimple.org/cmsms-2.0-rc1-snapshots

We will not be changing the version number of the application for each release.

When reporting issues, watch the 2.0 section of the forum, and try to make sure your issue has not already been addressed—a solution may be available in a more recent snapshot. Also, let us know the build date of the package that you downloaded, and—if possible—the the build number (the build number date is visible from within the installation assistant.

Fin:
We are very proud of CMSMS 2.0, and are happy to respond to any and all polite and well explained questions. If you have a question, we encourage you to post those on the 2.0 section of the Forum, or talk to us in IRC. Again, please provide details if asking a specific technical question about functionality, or API's.

Thanks, and have fun with CMSMS 2.0! We look forward to hearing from you.

The CMSMS Dev Team.
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