Greetings!
There is a lot going on behind the scenes in the world of Midgard. The
first
version of the Midgard 2.0 requirements document has been released along
with
a rewrite of the documents for 1.4. The final touches of 1.4 are being
finished
as David Guerizec rewrites the Admin interface. We should see one last beta
release of 1.4 before the final candidate is released.
Contents:
Editor's Note
1.4 documentation, 2.0 requirements, and your contributions..
- Two new documents and a place for your input.
Asgard is almost ready for public preview.
- Most of us will have to do it eventually, planning a roadmap from 1.2.x
to 1.4
============================
1.4 documentation, 2.0 requirements, and your contributions.
----------------------------
Over the last few weeks two new important documents have been released on
the Midgard-project.org website, along with a new Midgard feature which, in
addition to being very cool, allows the user community to contribute
directly to the development and editing process. All of these can be found
at the link on the homepage called Annotation Forum,
http://www.midgard-project.org/topic/352.html
Jean-Phillipe Brunon, of Aurora, released the Midgard 2.0 requirements
document. While those who have followed the various discussions of the
wants
and needs will find few surprises in the requirements documents, the big
picture provided by a comprehensive overview is invaluable. The document is
a good summary of where we are at this point with Midgard. There are early
sections devoted to what 1.4 is, as well as a good assessment of the
limitations inherent in Midgard 1.*. In response to the limitations of
1.4, Brunon offers a point-by-point series of requirements that 2.0 must
meet to be successful, as well as a concise table of technical
requirements.
The requirements document provides contextual landmarks by which progress
and quality can be measured over the course of the development life cycle.
That same context also provides a framework into which feedback from the
extended Midgard community can find meaningful and useful placement...but
more about that later.
Last week, Ron Parker released the first version of the new complete
documentation for version 1.4. The Midgard project has suffered from
incomplete documentation almost from the start. Over the last few months,
though, Ron Cedric Musso, Simon Kerr and Armand Verstappen have all
done a great job of putting together a comprehensive framework for a
complete
set of documents as well a function reference which covers all of the new
functionality of 1.4. Ron, and the other writers, as been working at
following
a fairly disciplined work flow with a goal of arriving at a document which
is easy to use, predictably structured, and, most important, easily answers
the questions put to it. Notable in this document are a number of
contextual
documents that provide a better basic understanding of why Midgard does
what it does and how it gets the job done. Combined with a complete
function
reference, the 1.4 manual is a much more comprehensive document and should
prove much more useful to new users.
In both cases these documents represent a lot of work for the authors but
also the work of the extended Midgard community. A lot of what we are
seeing in 1.4 and in the plans for 2.0 comes in response to the suggestions
and demands of the list serve over the last year. The annotation feature in
the new website is a direct response to the integral role of the community
in the development process. Annotation is a feature written by Emile in
response to the need for enduser participation in development. This
feature is an easy add-on script and is applicable to 1.2.* and 1.4. The
goal of this addition is to solicit feedback and input from endusers as
they
work with the docuements. Suggestions, input, and corrections will be
considered by the editorial staff and included as appropriate into the main
body of the work.
============================
Asgard will be available for public preview soon.
----------------------------
The first beta version of the new administrative interface
will soon be available for preview. David Guerizec has been
working away on a ground-up rewrite of the admin site. The
site implements the all of the new features of Midgard 1.4 but
also adds a number of new features which build on 1.4's new
functionality. A clean look and more navigation aids should
make running a Midgard installation even more efficient.
Asgard also includes a number of customization features
which will make the end user experience smoother.
Asgard is one of the last major parts of 1.4 to be finished before work on
a final candidate release is started. We should expect that one more beta
version will be released.
============================
About Midgard
Midgard 1.4 is a content publishing tool for small and medium sized sites.
It is based on Apache, MySQL and PHP. The application and its documentation
are licensed GPL, LGPL and GFDL. This licensing strategy guarantees that
developers, webmasters, ISPs, and business managers are investing in a
strategy where they're free to share solutions and participate in the
application design.
-> http://www.midgard-project.org
----------------------------
About MWS
The Midgard Weekly Summary is a bi-weekly newsletter
for the Midgard user and developer community,
as well as the extended web community.
If you would like to release it or publish it,
please contact Ken Pooley
([EMAIL PROTECTED]).
Previous issues of Midgard Weekly Summary can
be found archived at the Midgard web site.
-> http://www.midgard-project.org/topic/169.html
Midgard mailing list.
The Midgard mailing list is one of the most vital and
visible aspects of the Midgard Community. Questions
get answered, suggestions debated and work gets done.
E-mail:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
----------------------------
Places to see Midgard in Action:
http://www.midgard-project.org
http://www.hklc.com
http://www.5fthigh.com/
http://www.linuxde.org/
http://www.hec.nl/
http://www.stonejobs.com/
-More to come
============================
