Mobile Weekly developer chat summary for Feb 10, 2014

#WordPress-Mobile IRC Log

Agenda
  • WP Android Status
  • WP iOSiOS The operating system used on iPhones and iPads. Status
  • Other platforms
  • Google Summer of Code 2014
  • Team Reps
  • This Week
WP Android Status
We were fixing bugs reported from the 2.6 release last week and made a lot of progress.  The last hurdle is getting translations updated for 2.6.1. We changed a lot of the sentence styling, which means we need new translations for all of the strings we updated.  There’s also a nice update to the comments view in the app, thanks to @nbradbury.  We also have a discussion going about maybe keeping the nav drawer in the app instead of the tabs.
WP iOS Status
Last week the team worked pretty hard and fast to get out a hot fix release (3.9.1) which addressed a few bugs that we had quite a few complaints about for 3.9.  The three bugs were 1) a bug which caused timezones to be thrown off on posts 2) a bug where longer posts wouldn’t be able to use the link editor and 3) state restoration not working so when users came back to the app at times it defaulted to the reader.  All three were fixed quickly for 3.9.1 which was submitted on Friday.
We’ve been testing the release in parallel as well. We kept the release pretty focused as we wanted to just address the issues plaguing our users. I’ve been keeping an eye on Twitter and responding to users as they’ve sent in reports, I just wish I could reply to the app store sometimes :(.  The odd thing is the scheduling bug was there before, but complaints only started coming in on 3.9.  As far as this week, we’re awaiting 3.9.1 to be released, i’d expect it’ll be released by the middle of this week based on apple’s previous times reviewing the app as far as next steps, i’m consolidating 3.9.2 and 4.0 into one release and the team is going to shift onto 4.0 rather than another point releaseMinor Release A set of releases or versions having the same minor version number may be collectively referred to as .x , for example version 5.2.x to refer to versions 5.2, 5.2.1, 5.2.3, and all other versions in the 5.2 (five dot two) branch of that software. Minor Releases often make improvements to existing features and functionality. we’ll have 3 major tentpole features for 4.0, an updated media library, the ability to switch themes in the app, and native stats. a lot of the code for the tentpole features is complete so it should be doable for a 4.0 release
Other plaforms
All other WordPress apps are currently in a holding pattern and active development is on hiatus.
Google Summer of Code 2014
For those interested, WordPress Foundation has applied to be involved in Google’s annual event of getting students involved on coding over the summer.  There are a list of potential projects and also confirmed mentors available for the program at https://codex.wordpress.org/GSoC2014.  There are three mobile projects in the ideas list currently.  Community developers are encouraged to participate in the program by submitting app ideas and becoming a mentor for a student.
Team Reps
Brad @irbrad and Aaron @astralbodies have replaced @aerych and @ievolver as team reps.  They’re still sorting out exactly how they’re distributing the duties, but will probably flip flop who runs the devchat every week similar to previous reps.  The Make Mobile site needs to be update to reflect the change, and that should be done shortly.
This Week
iOS – 4.0 work starts, Android 2.6.1 bug fixes and translations
Next Dev Chat
The next dev chat will be held at 17:00 UTC on Feb 17 in #wordpress-mobile on Freenode.

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

Weekly dev chat summary for Feb 03, 2014

Chat log.

Agenda

  • iOSiOS The operating system used on iPhones and iPads. Status
  • Android Status
  • Team RepTeam Rep A Team Rep is a person who represents the Make WordPress team to the rest of the project, make sure issues are raised and addressed as needed, and coordinates cross-team efforts.
  • This Week

iOS Status

Last week we released 3.9 debuting the app’s new tabbed interface, including lots of optimization and bug fixes.
Since its release we’ve become aware of a handful of bugs including one regarding a post’s publish date, and one where the app forgets the last viewed tab when reopening.
We’re currently focused on getting 3.9.1 released to address these urgent issues and expect to submit to Apple later this week.

Android Status

We released 2.6 last Thursday. There are a handful of bugs (about 10 exceptions) we’re working on for a 2.6.1 release later this week.

Team Rep

Last week we acknowledged we were due to re-up our team reps and we called for volunteers. @irbrad and @astralbodies have both expressed interest and will be taking the reigns as reps for the mobile team going forward. Congrats guys!

This Week

iOS: Complete fixes for 3.9.1 and submit to Apple. Begin work on 3.9.2.
Android: Complete fixes for 2.6.1 and release to the Play store.

Next Dev Chat

The next dev chat will be held at 17:00 UTC on Feb 10 in #wordpress-mobile on Freenode.

#android, #dev-chat, #ios, #team-reps

Team Reps

Hey Mobile Team! Guess what. We’re overdue to elect new team reps.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the role of a team repTeam Rep A Team Rep is a person who represents the Make WordPress team to the rest of the project, make sure issues are raised and addressed as needed, and coordinates cross-team efforts., it largely focuses on communication, being a point of contact for other WordPress teams, and keeping other teams up to date with what what we’re up to. You can read all about it or just ask if you have questions. 🙂

For this round of elections, let’s do a PollDaddy poll like we did the first time round. If you’d like to throw your hat in the ring, just leave a comment here saying so. This Friday we’ll vote via PollDaddy poll and choose the reps for the next three months.

Chime in if you have any questions or comments. 🙂

#team-reps

Dev chat summary for Aug 19, 2013

Delayed summary of what went down yesterday for the record. Chat log.

Agenda

  • iOSiOS The operating system used on iPhones and iPads. Status
  • Android Status
  • Handbook Update
  • Team Reps
  • What’s Next

iOS Status

3.7 with the new 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/ Reader and a new account system launched (woo!) but had some serious bugs, including a launch on startup for some due to migrationMigration Moving the code, database and media files for a website site from one server to another. Most typically done when changing hosting companies. issues (boo!) so we’ve been hard at work trying to fix the issues. A .1 will be pushed asap. Next up is a .2 with some minor enhancements.

Android Status

2.4.4 was just pushed to Google Play and includes some enhancements like Picasa/Google+ image uploading/adding and post excerpts — props @aagam94!

Later this week we’ll launch 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. with theme selection and media library enhancements. We’re also starting the new user experience iteration back up (better log in/sign up and welcome guide).

Handbook Update

@sendhil has worked on the iOS section and @hugobaeta has taken a look at the design parts of the handbook. Everyone was urged to mark things as done in the todo.

Team Reps

We talked about electing new team reps. Since our group is very small we decided to keep it simple and elect new reps in the chat itself. @irbrad was up for a term but not this time around, so for now @aerych and @isaackeyet will continue being team reps without specific primary/secondary roles (we’ve switched from week to week up until now and it has worked well). Worth noting is that the new cycle is 3 months for a handoff between primary/secondary team reps but since it’s worked so well I think we can continue on as we have and fill in for each other when necessary.

What’s Next

iOS: fix the bug in 3.7 asap and issue 3.7.1, then start working on 3.7.2. iOS7-ification is also under way, as is the code clean up and partial refactor, both in separate branches for now.

Android: Media/Themes beta and NUX (welcome guide, improved log in/sign up) is next, along with the Android WordPress.com Native Reader project.

Other

We discussed bug tracking briefly and decided to track issues with the iOS app directly on 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/ using Issues — this will be adopted by the Android app shortly as well.

We also talked about using Hockey app for Android beta distribution. We concluded that we should explore more to see how feasible it would be and maybe start a post on this p2 about it.

Next Chat

Join us for the next dev chat on Aug 26, 2013 at 16:00 UTC. Mark your calendar and join us in #wordpress-mobile on Freenode.

#android, #dev-chat, #handbook, #ios, #team-reps

Team Rep Time

Its been [over] six months since team reps were selected and its time again to choose. For anyone unfamiliar with the role of a team repTeam Rep A Team Rep is a person who represents the Make WordPress team to the rest of the project, make sure issues are raised and addressed as needed, and coordinates cross-team efforts., responsibilities focus around communication and keeping the other teams up-to-date with what’s happening in our mobile world. Check out this page for more info.

The last time, we asked for folks who were interested in the team rep role to identify by leaving a comment, then we voted via a PollDaddy survey. That process seemed to work pretty well, and we do that again if that’s what everyone prefers, but I wondered if it might be simpler if we just decided during the weekly dev chat, since we’re a pretty small team.

So if its alright with everyone, let’s ask folks who are interested in taking on the role of a team rep to announce themselves in a comment below and we’ll plan on making a group decision during the dev chat on Monday. (Of course we can always setup a PollDaddy survey if folks would rather.)

#team-reps

Team Rep Results

5 people voted, all of whom say they contribute currently to the mobile apps.

Isaac is the 1st rep, and Eric is the 2nd. Congrats! The new term starts with the new year, so I’ll be in touch re expectations.

#team-reps

Team Reps

Time to vote for team reps! When we started formalizing contributor groups we tapped Isaac Keyet as the acting rep for this team, but it’s time for semi-annual elections. You get to vote for 2 team reps. These folks will be responsible for reporting on the progress of the group to the other team reps via weekly updates, as well as occasional chats and such. If you haven’t seen the spiel on one of the other team blogs about how team reps/voting/terms work, the longer explanation is after the jump.

Note: It should be folks who want the responsibility. Anyone interested in being a mobile team repTeam Rep A Team Rep is a person who represents the Make WordPress team to the rest of the project, make sure issues are raised and addressed as needed, and coordinates cross-team efforts. should leave a comment saying as much so people know who they can/should vote for. Voting is open until December 15, and results will be posted here once voting closes.

Go vote!

Continue reading

#team-reps