Development Stages

Here's a quick proposal of what to address:

Release 1:
Perfect for the small business, a complete all-in-one package (with too much in the API core!) Getting something out ASAP to satisfy the release early/release often crowd.
development focus:
+ installer
+ manager overhaul
+ templates

Release 2:
Developer goodness starts to appear. Increasing amounts of abstraction, forcing as much as possible into modules/plugins.
some parts to abstract and other focii:
+ users/groups (front end and manager)
+ frame-free manager with Ajax/SODA-mojo
+ event triggers integrated
+ versioning of content
+ versioning of manager/installer rollbacks

Release 3:
Workflow and optimization. SME (small to medium enterprise) targets from a capability standpoint, wizard interfaces to allow us to better serve less-technically inclined folks (mom-and-pops of the world).
+ drag and drop workflow via flowchart objects
+ start taking advantage of PHP5
+ creating data access wizards, etc.

As soon as we come to a general consensus on the overall stages we're looking at releasing, we can then break down the tasks and update the Project Path (basecamp) site and assign the different stuff to do.

I would suggest caution in the PHP5 area; very few hosting companies are offering it as yet, so it would mostly be of use for those controlling their own servers.

As soon as we come to a general consensus on the overall stages we're looking at releasing, we can then break down the tasks and update the Project Path (basecamp) site and assign the different stuff to do.

Ryan, do we have expectations on approximate release cycle times, based on your initial release definitions?

No release timeframes at all, as we really don't have a good idea of the work involved. I view PHP5 a bit differently, though. With RHEL4 coming out in May, the PHP5 race will begin. I'm certain that we'll be at release 3 well after that point. One thing I can guarantee though, is that PHP5 is unquestionably the future.

Raymond,

Can you explain how the plugin system works a little bit more. Does it parse for plugins every time a page is rendered?

I guess what will be on multiple folks minds is how does it impact performance?

Thanks man! Too cool ...

Don't mind me too much, I'm always looking out for the low-end; I suppose that's because that's where I've always been!

I had this problem when PHP went from 3 to 4; I'd bought 2 years worth of cheap hosting from somebody local, and spent months hacking at scripts to make them work with PHP3. It all came to nothing in the end anyway. :roll:

Raymond,

Can you explain how the plugin system works a little bit more. Does it parse for plugins every time a page is rendered?

I guess what will be on multiple folks minds is how does it impact performance?

Thanks man! Too cool ...

Well in a nut shell...

Plugins are only executed when needed. Take for example the OnWebPagePrerender event is invoked everytime a page is loaded but it will only execute those plugins that are listening to that event. In other words if there are no plugins listening to the OnWebPagePrerender event then nothing is executed and the system continues as normal.

With much power comes much responsibility. IMO plugins should not affect performance if they are used properly. For example, I was able to invoke a two events on a plugin that generates two sets of debug messages a 100 times within a loop in a fraction of a second. That's 100 execution cycles and 200 debug messages on my slow 800mhz pc

IMO I think plugins will be mainly used within the manager to extend its functionality

IMO I think plugins will be mainly used within the manager to extend its functionality

I was considering plugins equivalent to say filters in WordPress, which are used on the front-end extensively. Are plugins appropriate for things like automatic search term highlighting, auto-link creation, etc.? Or do we need an alternate facility for "filtering"?

I was considering plugins equivalent to say filters in WordPress, which are used on the front-end extensively. Are plugins appropriate for things like automatic search term highlighting, auto-link creation, etc.? Or do we need an alternate facility for "filtering"?

Yes, plugins can be used for this kind of feature. IMO think we can add the filtering feature into the core or you can use the OnWebPagePrerender event and a plugin to offer such features. Either way should work fine