Dotclear

As is often the case, we'd planned for the best, but along the way we've become reasonable again, given our respective availabilities, with a few visible improvements and, above all, a lot of invisible work to modernize the code and get rid of old stuff.

This quarter, version 2.27 introduces theme previews with the blog's current content, which can be useful for a visual check before activating a theme, and we've added and completed (with the help of translation engines) a few languages; but above all, this version is the last to support PHP 7.4 and PHP 8.0.

We therefore advise you to switch to PHP 8.1 or PHP 8.2 if you wish to continue upgrading in the future. Note that not doing so will not prevent you from using 2.27 for a long time to come - it's up to you.

Finally, we'd like to wish DotClear a happy 20th birthday with a capital C, as Olivier wrote in his announcement post (in French)!

A new version which update should pass without major problem for most of you.

Nothing extraordinary this time, mostly small improvements here and there, and it is especially on the side of the code that the main thing has been done because for the first time since the first version of Dotclear 2, the Clearbricks library is no longer part of it, or rather has been integrated directly into the code of Dotclear.

It was also the occasion to reinforce the unit tests and the static analysis of the code (with PHPStan, PSalm and Rector) which will continue to be progressively modernized (there is quite a lot left).

A new theme is under development and it should, if possible, be part of the next major release — which will also mark Dotclear's 20th anniversary —, but as we've often said here: "It will be when it is ready!".

Moreover, the redesign of the administration architecture is under study, in particular to benefit from the latest HTML and CSS possibilities. There might be some breakage, but we'll try to limit the damage, as usual.

Have a good update!

An update that fixes some bugs encountered with the last 2.25.1.

A new version of Dotclear for which you should encounter fewer problems, if any, than at the time of the update to 2.24.

This version essentially incorporates a code modernization - a modernization that should continue for a few more quarters.

It is possible that in the near future the required PHP version will change, especially to allow us to focus on code modernization. For now it is still PHP 7.4, but the 2.25 administration interface will tell you, if you are still using this version, that it is time to consider switching to PHP 8.0 or PHP 8.1, or even PHP 8.2 for which we have worked hard to ensure compatibility.

A small note to plugin developers: It was optional until now to define the module type in the _define.php file; it is likely that the future 2.26 will require it, so add this line in the properties:

'type' => 'plugin',

Take example on one of the plugins distributed with Dotclear if necessary.

The changelog of the 2.25:

• 🐘 PHP 7.4+ is required, PHP 8.0/8.1 compliance (and as far as we know PHP 8.2)
• Core: New plugin/theme code structure (using a brand new autoloader), old plugins/themes remain compatibles
• Core: Clearbricks is now included in Dotclear code, not more as a git sub-module
• Core: Update last step will not redirect to the safe-mode login page
• Core: No more need to add namespace (blog-settings) / workspace (user-preferences) before using them
• Core: Add possible using of external db driver (Experimental)
• Core: Add support of .mjs ECMAScript module files
• Core: Remove unnecessary and weak protection code
• Core: Move some legacy and proxy code in dcProxyV2 plugin
• a11y: Some aria attributes have been set in backend
• Theme: Merge default smilies and blog's smilies (the blog's smilies have a higher priority)
• Theme: Merge plugin blowupConfig into theme Blowup
• Admin: Some jQuery javascript scripts have been rewritten in pure ECMAScript
• Admin: Add Atkinson Hyperlegible font (used by default in admin, may be disabled in user pref)
• Admin: Add some shortcuts (CTRL+letter) to dcLegacyEditor toolbar
• Admin: Add a specific warning message on update page if necessary (breaking changes)
• Admin: Cope with no user TZ defined (use UTC in this case)
• Admin: Fix admin permission management for blogroll and pages plugins
• Admin: Cope with float/double values in about:config and user:pref
• 🐛 → Various bugs, a11y concerns and typos fixed
• 🌼 → Some locales and cosmetic adjustments
• 📣 Warning: Next major release (2.26) may require PHP 8.0 (announced in backend) or PHP 8.1

The new version for the holidays. It is strongly recommended that you do the update in safe mode, which will then allow you to update the plugins that need to be updated.

If you have trouble logging in after the update, delete the associated cookies before refreshing the login page.

The 2.24 CHANGELOG:

• 🐘 PHP 7.4+ is required, PHP 8.0/8.1 compliance
• 🗑 Remove XML/RPC system (keep only minimum for Pingbacks)
• New blog parameter to close comments/trackbacks after a period of inactivity on the blog
• Core: Large code review has been done, may break old code (3rd party plugins and themes)
• Admin UI: New default icons for media items
• Admin UI: Message look reviewed
• Admin UX: Preserve current dir and current view of media manager
• Admin UX: Password strength use an entropy indicator
• Admin UX: Improve navigation in about:config and user:preferences list
• Admin UX: Allow activation and de-activation of plugins in safe mode
• Admin UX: Allow update of disabled/activated plugins in safe mode/normal mode
• Admin UX: Add folding capability to widgets group
• Theme: Cope with theme defined widget container format
• Theme: Smilies are available for every theme (Blowup theme not more mandatory)
• Lib: Update CKEditor to 4.20.1
• Lib: Update Codemirror to 5.65.10
• 🐛 → Various bugs, a11y concerns and typos fixed
• 🌼 → Some locales and cosmetic adjustments

And in the meantime, a maintenance version to correct a bug with the addition of comments.

The new version for this quarter — we're keeping up, that's a good thing — with some improvements to the program:

• 🐘 PHP 7.4+ is required, PHP 8.0/8.1 compliance
• Remove anti-FLoC system
• Add a live preview button to standard Dotclear editor (wiki syntax)
• Use native Javascript in scripts shiped with Berlin and Ductile theme (no more need jQuery)
• Improve retrieval of origin metadata on Webmention or Pingback
• Add a "Reset to now" button near the publish datetime input field (post/page)
• Reduce number of CSS mediaqueries' breakpoints to 3 (mobile, tablet, laptop) for backend
• Add a sticky position to "quick access to section" menu for about:Config and user:Prefs
• Toolbar icons reviewed for standard Dotclear editor