Weekly dev chat summary for March 31, 2014

IRC Chat Logs

Agenda

  • WordPress for iOSiOS The operating system used on iPhones and iPads. update
  • WordPress for Android update
  • Google Summer of Code 2014
  • Anything else

WordPress for Android

2.7 is nearing completion and we’ll probably have a 2.7.1 next week to follow up the release. 2.8 is in the planning stage but we have no major features pinned for that release. @mrroundhill will be passing the baton for Android updates to either @mbiais or @sendhil starting next week.

WordPress for iOS

4.0.1 was submitted to the App Store for review today. It should be in the store by Friday. 4.1 is next on the radar and the code freeze date is 19-APR-2014. Expect a week of testing before submitting to the App Store.

Anything else

GSoC application reviews are still in progress.

Next dev chat

The next dev chat will be held at 16:00 UTC on Apr 7, 2014 in #wordpress-mobile on Freenode.

#android, #dev-chat, #gsoc, #ios, #wpandroid, #wpios

WPAndroid and WPiOS Status: Holiday Edition

In our last dev chat, we decided to make an adjustment for the holidays to forego the Dec 22nd chat and instead post a progress update for the week.

WPiOS

We’ve been very busy wrapping up issues with the 3.9 release. We still have some work in front of us before its ready, but we expect to start testing our first release candidateRelease Candidate A beta version of software with the potential to be a final product, which is ready to release unless significant bugs emerge. Dec 30th.

WPAndroid

We’d planned our second public betaBeta A pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process. on Wednesday. The team decided to push this date back a couple of days to focus on fixing some issues identified in the first beta. We’re releasing the second WPAndroid 2.6 beta today.

Platform leads @mrroundhill and @sendhil, please add any comments you have.

Happy Holidays!

#android, #dev-chat, #ios

Dev Chat Summary for Dec 9, 2013

Chat log

Agenda

  • iOSiOS The operating system used on iPhones and iPads. Status
  • Android Status
  • Dev Blog and Forum merger
  • This Week

iOS Status

The bug fix update was in testing last week and just entered review with Apple. It looks like it’ll be out shortly. Over the past week 3.9 progressed further and the issue count is going down. The new tab bar navigation is semi-final and we’re putting in the final touches there.

We’ve also assigned most open issues to the next few milestones, 3.9.1, 4.0, and 4.0.1. We’ll make another pass at it this week to make sure we can get each release out in a timely fashion (~3 weeks on average).

Android Status

2.6 is almost BetaBeta A pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process. ready — should happen tomorrow, Dec 10! QA & code freeze by end of week. Big merges came in last week for the Reader, improved “NUX” (log in/set up), and Posting improvements.

Dev Blog and Forum merger

We talked about the need to keep the ball moving for the forums migrationMigration Moving the code, database and media files for a website site from one server to another. Most typically done when changing hosting companies.. Looks like MetaMeta Meta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress. will only be able to tackle it sometime in the first half of 2014, so we’re now thinking to instead start fresh and carrying all important topics over by hand. It would be relatively easy to do and we could close posting in the individual forums and direct people over.

We did a quick show of hands and it seemed everybody like this option, so @isaackeyet will keep going with it.

@mrroundhill brought up the need to close down the dev blogs for real as some people have still been posting there. We’ll check and make sure that posting is disabled on the dev blogs and see what comes of that.

This Week

  • iOS: Work continues on 3.9 this week, we’re hoping to wrap up dev work towards the end of the week but it might slip a few days. The plan is to have it all tested and good to go for right after New Years (Jan 2nd).
  • Android: A few more issues to knock out for 2.6, then Beta, then QA.

Next Dev Chat

The next dev chat will be held at 17:00 UTC on Dec 16 in #wordpress-mobile on Freenode.

#android, #dev-chat, #forums, #ios

Updated Mobile Handbook Todos

Here is an updated todo list for the Mobile Handbook. I’ve put names next to some items as a suggestion of who might be a good fit for a topic and in most cases I’ve doubled up our developers since they have big demands on their time. Its not complete so please feel free to grab an item that interested you or take your name off a topic to let someone else have a go.

I’ve also consolidated some items into General Guides to avoid having some single page sections. Some of the pages don’t have stubs and need to be created. The contents list on the handbook front page is a little out of date at this point and we might just remove it and go off what is in the sidebarSidebar A sidebar in WordPress is referred to a widget-ready area used by WordPress themes to display information that is not a part of the main content. It is not always a vertical column on the side. It can be a horizontal rectangle below or above the content area, footer, header, or any where in the theme. TOC. Its going away at some point anyway.

iOSiOS The operating system used on iPhones and iPads.

I moved the UIUI UI is an acronym for User Interface - the layout of the page the user interacts with. Think ‘how are they doing that’ and less about what they are doing. Guidelines stub to the Contribute Style section since it seems a better fit there. The “Enabling Safari’s Web Inspector on iOS” topic from Tips and Tricks might be a good fit under Tutorials and Guides.

Other Apps

  • Other apps – blank. Should be the introduction. @aerych
  • webOS – blank. @beaucollins
  • Nokia – blank.

I think it makes sense to devote a short page to each of the other platforms so I’ve added those items. I think the content can be an abbreviated version of what we’re doing for the other platforms. Push back if I’m off in left field here.
Also, we have some great documentation that Sayak wrote for the webOS app that could probably have a home here.

Contribute Design

I’m not sure we need to include styles for the legacy BlackBerry app, mostly because there is more demand for native BB10 and we’re not actively involved in legacy BlackBerry dev. @daniloercoli do you have an opinion about this?

Support Help

XML-RPC & APIAPI An API or Application Programming Interface is a software intermediary that allows programs to interact with each other and share data in limited, clearly defined ways. Contributions

I’m not sure what this section was supposed to be about. Maybe we’re talking about native libs that interface with XML-RPC and other APIs? If we’re talking about XML-RPC itself it would belong to the coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. handbook.

General Guides

  • General Guides – blank. Should be a short intro.
  • Using GithubGitHub GitHub is a website that offers online implementation of git repositories that can easily be shared, copied and modified by other developers. Public repositories are free to host, private repositories require a paid subscription. GitHub introduced the concept of the ‘pull request’ where code changes done in branches by contributors can be reviewed and discussed before being merged be the repository owner. https://github.com/ & TracTrac Trac is the place where contributors create issues for bugs or feature requests much like GitHub.https://core.trac.wordpress.org/. – blank.
  • Changing Hosts on Mobile Devices using Charles – blank. @beaucollins
  • Testing with the pre-flight checklist – blank. @aerych

Credits

There has been some conversation about the best way to denote a page’s status: drafting, draft, editing. The handbook pages don’t seem to support tags, so I wonder if it would work to just append the status to the title. This way it would at least be easy to see a page’s status at a glance from the admin. Thoughts? If we like this idea I’ll go through and update the page titles for Rachel.

#mobile-handbook

Dev chat summary for July 29, 2013

Chat log

Agenda

  • Project Status (iOSiOS The operating system used on iPhones and iPads. and Android)
  • Handbook Update
  • GSoC Update
  • REST APIREST API The REST API is an acronym for the RESTful Application Program Interface (API) that uses HTTP requests to GET, PUT, POST and DELETE data. It is how the front end of an application (think “phone app” or “website”) can communicate with the data store (think “database” or “file system”) https://developer.wordpress.org/rest-api/. GSoC Project
  • Next week

Project Status (iOS and Android)

iOS

Version 3.6.4 was approved by Apple Friday, Jul 26, and we released it today, Monday, Jul 29th to make sure we had folks around for the release. . This version includes crash/bugfixes and g+ integration.

Version 3.7 will be submitted to Apple Tuesday, Jul 30th. This version includes the new native reader and a new account storage system.

Android

Lots happening on the Android front. Active projects include:

  • categoryCategory The 'category' taxonomy lets you group posts / content together that share a common bond. Categories are pre-defined and broad ranging. management overhaul
  • media library access
  • theme switching
  • native reader

We’ll announce a betaBeta A pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process. this week that includes the new category management feature and we’ll plan for a new release next week. The rest we’ll target a date around the 1st of September.

Other platforms

No updates for other platforms.

Handbook discussion

Last week we had a few todos for the mobile handbook. @sendhilp has jumped in and started writing some of the iOS content. @mrroundhil swept the Android section and confirmed its up to date. @aerych spent some time on the “intro” section.

Work will continue this week. @aerych will put together a new todo list of the things remaining for the team. We’ll also figure out a good way to identify which pages are ready for review and which pages are still being worked on.

GSoC Update

We’ve reached the GSoC midterms. @aerych and @daniloercoli will be summating their midterm evaluations this week.

Both GSoC students hit some unexpected snags early on but have worked to overcome them and to get their projects back on schedule.

REST API GSoC Project

@mrroundhill gave the team a heads up about the ongoing REST API GSoC project https://make.wordpress.org/core/2013/07/24/json-rest-api-testing-updates and thought it would be cool if we could jump in and help test.

Next Week

iOS

Release 3.7. Continue work on 3.7.1 which includes some improvements to the native reader that won’t make it into 3.7 and some other bug fixes.

Android

Release the updated categories feature as version 2.4.3.

The next dev chat will be on Aug 5, 2013 at 9:00AM PST / 16:00 UTC. Mark your calendar and join us in #wordpress-mobile on Freenode.

#dev-chat

Dev chat summary for July 17, 2013

Chat log.

Agenda

  • Current projects (iOSiOS The operating system used on iPhones and iPads., Android, Other platforms)
  • Move dev chat time
  • Mobile handbook review
  • What’s Next

Current projects (iOS, Android, Other platforms)

WPiOS: We’re preparing to submit version 3.6.4 to Apple. This version adds G+ integration and fixes a few errors. We’re announcing the native reader betaBeta A pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process. today. Depending on the feedback we get and plan to submit 3.7 next week.

WPAndroid: Currently focused on a maintenance release to address some of the outstanding issues on tracTrac Trac is the place where contributors create issues for bugs or feature requests much like GitHub.https://core.trac.wordpress.org/.. We’ll plan to submit an update with the improvements next week.

WPWinPhone & WPBB: No new news.

Move dev chat time

We’ve talked a bit offline about moving the dev chat time to either the end or beginning of the week. The reason being it’s hard to plan ahead in 1 week increments when the dev chat is right in the middle of the week. We chatted about it, and decided to try moving the weekly dev chat to Mondays at 9AM PST, 16:00 UTC, 18:00 CEST/17:00 CET. We’ll also look to move the weekly update to Mondays to correspond with the dev chat.

Mobile handbook review

We reviewed the status of the mobile handbook and our checklist.

  • @daniloercoli will follow up on the Windows Phone section before the weeks ends.
  • @aerych will pitch in on Windows Phone and the intro sections, with the goal of having them both ready for review this week.
  • When @mrroundhill is back we’ll ask him to update the Android section to account for any recent changes/additions to the app (e.g. menu drawer, actionbar sherlock, volley).
  • @hugobaeta has been working on the design section and we’ll try to have that ready for review soon as well.

The rest of us should review anything that is attached to our name and remember to check off tasks as they are finished.

What’s Next

  • WPiOS Native Reader: Beta through next week. Submit 3.7 to Apple at the end of next week depending on feedback.
  • WPAndroid Native Reader: Progress continues, focusing on UIUI UI is an acronym for User Interface - the layout of the page the user interacts with. Think ‘how are they doing that’ and less about what they are doing. work, likes and comments. Next week will focus on topics.
  • WPiOS: There is some work to adapt WPiOS for iOS 7 underway. We’ll share more details once Apple lifts its NDA on iOS 7.

Xtreme Labs (XL) is pitching in to help with some new features and other improvements with WPiOS and WPAndroid.

  • A WPiOS refactor is underway, the goal being an improved architecture and increased stability. A few more weeks of effort is expected but the foundation code should be viewable next week.
  • A new media gallery feature for WPAndroid is cooking as well as a support for choosing/switching themes from the app.

Next week

The next dev chat will be on July 22, 2013 at 16:00 UTC. Mark your calendar and join us in #wordpress-mobile on Freenode.

#dev-chat, #wpandroid, #wpios

Dev Chat summary for June 12, 2013

Chat log

Agenda

  • WPAndroid 2.4 Notifications
  • Windows phone app update
  • BlackBerry “legacy” app
  • New contributor projects/tickets
  • iOSiOS The operating system used on iPhones and iPads. 3.6.1
  • iOS Native Reader

WPAndroid 2.4 Notifications

The notifications update as released Tuesday and its been well received.  We’ve noticed a few corner cases bugs have popped up.  They are being actively squashed and a new update will be released as soon as the last one is confirmed DOA.

For the next planned release we’re working on two separate tracks: an update to NUX following along the lines of the iOS update, and a native reader.

Windows Phone App Update

An update to the WordPress for Windows Phone has been submitted and we’re awaiting its review. This update adds gallery support for self-hosted blogs running WordPress 3.5 or higher, and fixes the top five bugs reported.  We expect Microsoft to approve the app by Friday. Yay!

@daniloercoli noted that we’re seeing an issue with headerHeader The header of your site is typically the first thing people will experience. The masthead or header art located across the top of your page is part of the look and feel of your website. It can influence a visitor’s opinion about your content and you/ your organization’s brand. It may also look different on different screen sizes. of the xml files we get from Glotpress for use in localizing the app.  Visual Studio treats the files as they are incorrectly formatted, even though the header visually appears okay. Not quite sure what the issue is but we pinged @markoheijnen about it for further investigation.

BlackBerry “legacy” app

We’ll be working on an update to the “legacy” BlackBerry app.  The goal of this update is to address some connection issues that folks have been experiencing and to reintroduce the “Need Help” dialog and a direct link to contact support.  We’ll also fix an issue we’ve found with the stats feature and jetpack blogs.

New contributor projects/tickets

@mrroundhill suggested we might identify tickets/features that would be good for a new contributor to pick up.  This could be something as simple as tagging tickets in track.  We thought this was a great idea and mrroundhill will be posting a follow up about it on the make blog.

WPiOS 3.6.1

A bug fix release is being prepped to submit to Apple.  A lot of issues have already been addressed (https://github.com/wordpress-mobile/WordPress-iOS/compare/master…release;3.6.1) and we’re just trying to get one or two more into this release.  We’ll most likely submit today or tomorrow.

WPiOS Native Reader

After some delays to get the last couple of features just right the required APIAPI An API or Application Programming Interface is a software intermediary that allows programs to interact with each other and share data in limited, clearly defined ways. changes are now being reviewed. We still have a few things left on our checklist. The next few days will be about getting the final graphics, implementing infinite scroll, and making sure everything works correctly on the iPad.  We’re looking at finally having a betaBeta A pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process. of the native reader ready by Monday June 17th.

Next Week

The next dev chat will be on June 19, 2013 at 15:00 UTC. Mark your calendar and join us in #wordpress-mobile on Freenode.

#android, #blackberry, #dev-chat, #ios, #native-reader, #windows-phone

Dev chat summary for May 8, 2013

Chat log.

Agenda

  • iOSiOS The operating system used on iPhones and iPads. projects update
  • Android projects update
  • Moving dev blog discussions to make/mobile (this blog)
  • Handbook reminder

iOS projects update

NUX (new welcome guide, improved WordPress.comWordPress.com An online implementation of WordPress code that lets you immediately access a new WordPress environment to publish your content. WordPress.com is a private company owned by Automattic that hosts the largest multisite in the world. This is arguably the best place to start blogging if you have never touched WordPress before. https://wordpress.com/ sign up) is almost complete, need to look over copy and polish a few things, then should be ready to get it translated and tested.

WordPress.com native reader project: picking up momentum again, currently working on threaded comments which is complicated.

Accounts migrationMigration Moving the code, database and media files for a website site from one server to another. Most typically done when changing hosting companies.: need to write the actual coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. data migration but very close to completion. Should simplify the way WordPress.com accounts act under the hood in the iOS app.

Android projects update

A bug fix update is going out today that fixes a bug with featured images.

The WordPress.com Notifications project is very close to betaBeta A pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process., no word on when just yet but should be very soon.

Moving dev blog discussions to make/mobile (this blog)

We decided to close the dev blogs and (if possible) migrate their data to this blog instead and keep all discussions/announcements/etc in one place. The filtering on this p2 should make it easy to only see discussions about specific platforms if you only contribute to one. @mrroundhill took it on himself to investigate what’s needed for migrating the data. @isaackeyet (me) will look into a way to display sticky messages on the dev blogs once migrations are complete. The platform leads for each platform will also post a last post on each one of the dev blogs letting subscribed readers know that the blog has been merged with make/mobile (this would be @mrroundhill, @koke, and @daniloercoli for BlackBerry and Windows Phone).

After the chat @nacin jumped in and let us know he will assist with the migrations as well.

Handbook reminder

@aerych reminded himself and all others that the Handbook is still in need of looking over and updating – please refer to the separate todo post for details on what’s left and who’s responsible for what.

Other

@daniloercoli let everybody know that there’s a new bug fix update live for Windows Phone. It has bug fixes as well as a small new feature that lets users share permalinks to other apps on the device (such as Email, Facebook, Twitter, etc).

Next week

The next dev chat will be on May 15, 2013 at 15:00 UTC. Mark your calendar and join us in #wordpress-mobile on Freenode.

#android, #dev-blogs, #dev-chat, #handbook, #ios

We’re coming up on the end of the…

We’re coming up on the end of the contributor handbook schedule. May 17th is the last date for all handbook components, after that there’s only editing left. We’ve not followed the exact structure as suggested by Docs, but we’re not far from having all parts ready either. So as we’re approaching the home stretch, I thought it best to create a check list of remaning items so we make sure everything gets done in time.

I’ll assign people to complete the pages to the best of my knowledge.

Introduction

  • Introduction https://make.wordpress.org/mobile/handbook/introduction/ @aerych, @isaackeyet
  • Dev chats info https://make.wordpress.org/mobile/handbook/introduction/dev-chats/ @isaackeyet
  • Communication (could maybe be a part of Dev Chats?) https://make.wordpress.org/mobile/handbook/introduction/communication/ @isaackeyet
  • Contributor list – we may want to have a direct way to see all current and past contributors (TBD)

iOSiOS The operating system used on iPhones and iPads.

The state of the iOS and Graphics sections are far behind the rest, so these two only have general todos.

  • Create individual pages (all in https://make.wordpress.org/mobile/handbook/pathways/ios/ currently) @koke
  • Update menu https://make.wordpress.org/mobile/handbook/ @koke

Android

  • Combine Android menu item and Introduction? @mrroundhill
  • Update screenshots throughout @mrroundhill
  • As discussed, update Getting started guide to better guide new users, also some feedback here @mrroundhill
  • Add testing instructions https://make.wordpress.org/mobile/handbook/pathways/android/testing-instructions/ @mrroundhill
  • PingPing The act of sending a very small amount of data to an end point. Ping is used in computer science to illicit a response from a target server to test it’s connection. Ping is also a term used by Slack users to @ someone or send them a direct message (DM). Users might say something along the lines of “Ping me when the meeting starts.” Rachel about a review after above items are complete

BlackBerry

  • Update/make intro to app development, at least to me it’s not entirely clear how to get started currently https://make.wordpress.org/mobile/handbook/pathways/blackberry/ @daniloercoli (@daniloercoli)
  • Make sure all sections are covered and up to date (compare with other platforms’ handbooks for completeness) @daniloercoli (@daniloercoli)
  • Ping Rachel about a review after above items are complete

Windows Phone

Can’t find the reference right now, but if I remember correctly @daniloercoli, @aerych, and @sendhilp all wanted to take another look at the Windows Phone section. Please divide any items here in between you!

  • Complete Tutorials & Guides https://make.wordpress.org/mobile/handbook/pathways/windows-phone/tutorials-and-guides/
  • Update Testing instructions? Looks like it’s not complete/formatted correctly yet https://make.wordpress.org/mobile/handbook/pathways/windows-phone/testing-instructions/ (@aerych)
  • BetaBeta A pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process. distribution is currently 404. Is this page still planned? (@daniloercoli)
  • Tips & Tricks could use some clean up https://make.wordpress.org/mobile/handbook/pathways/windows-phone/tips-and-tricks/ (@aerych)
  • Ping Rachel about a review after above items are complete

Other Apps

  • Write intro to the other Apps and give information on their current state.
  • Link up to existing tracs, websites, dev blogs, forums, etc
  • Let contributors know how they can contribute should they want to

Contribute with Design

All items assigned to @isaackeyet

  • Clean up intro https://make.wordpress.org/mobile/handbook/pathways/design/
  • Create General UI Guidelines https://make.wordpress.org/mobile/handbook/pathways/design/guidelines/
  • Create Color Palette https://make.wordpress.org/mobile/handbook/pathways/design/colors/ (@isaackeyet)
  • Write about Fonts
  • Write about screen densities and what this means in reality, best practices
  • Write documents on platform-specific guidelines
    • iOS
    • Android
    • BlackBerry
    • Windows Phone
    • Other platforms
  • Denote best ways to get set up with a dev environment for each platform for designers (referencing platform specific set up guides)

Assist with Testing

  • Write intro on testing and how testing helps the apps
  • Write about how to get started with testing each version of the WordPress apps (maybe linking off to the Testing sections of each platform)
  • Using Dev Tools to Stress-Test Apps
  • Intro to the pre-flight check list (should probably be a part of the Intro)

XML-RPC & APIAPI An API or Application Programming Interface is a software intermediary that allows programs to interact with each other and share data in limited, clearly defined ways. Contributions

  • Write page on how to contribute to the API side of WordPress and where to go for that @koke

General Guides

Any takers here? @beaucollins comes to mind, let me know if you’re up for taking these on.

  • Intro to using TracTrac Trac is the place where contributors create issues for bugs or feature requests much like GitHub.https://core.trac.wordpress.org/. for the mobile projects (link off to specific sections for more info)
  • Intro to GitGit Git is a free and open source distributed version control system designed to handle everything from small to very large projects with speed and efficiency. Git is easy to learn and has a tiny footprint with lightning fast performance. Most modern plugin and theme development is being done with this version control system. https://git-scm.com/. and how it’s used within the Mobile Group

Tips & Tricks

Credits

  • Add list of all contributions to the Mobile Handbook @isaackeyet

Other todos

  • Ping Rachel about looking over all the contents of the handbook mid-May at latest @isaackeyet
  • Add Handbook to make/mobile navigation @isaackeyet
  • Better navigation structure for Handbook? Would be good to have links to parent posts/sections for easy navigation. Investigate. @isaackeyet
  • Inline content navigation with anchors (so you can link to specific headers within posts, see Support for example). Investigate. @isaackeyet

#handbook, #mobile-handbook, #todos

Interesting post over on polyglots about supporting non…

Interesting post over on polyglots about supporting non-system languages in the Android app. cc @mrroundhill

#android