Preparing your feature for the 3.8 merge

Now that 3.7 RCrelease candidate One of the final stages in the version release cycle, this version signals the potential to be a final release to the public. Also see alpha (beta). has shipped – and the final release is coming soon – it’s time to talk a bit more about how merging to coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. will work for feature plugins. First, let’s talk about decisions.

Decisions

I’ve been asked a few times “who decides” what goes in core and variants of that question. There’s actually three decisions that need to get made. In order:

  1. Does the feature belong in core?
  2. Is the feature ready for core?
  3. Should the feature be in this release?

Core contributorsCore Contributors Core contributors are those who have worked on a release of WordPress, by creating the functions or finding and patching bugs. These contributions are done through Trac. https://core.trac.wordpress.org. and members of the community are strongly encouraged to help inform and guide each of these decisions. You may even want to offer some of your feedback in the form of answers to these questions. Each question is ultimately answered by a different group.

  1. Project leaders determine if a feature belongs in core.
  2. Contributing developers determine if a feature is ready for core.
  3. The release leadRelease Lead The community member ultimately responsible for the Release. – for 3.8, @matt – determines if a feature belongs in a particular release.

We’re now at the point where these questions need to get answered. To do that, it’s time to present your feature plugins.

Present Your Feature

If you remember back when we first started the feature pluginFeature Plugin A plugin that was created with the intention of eventually being proposed for inclusion in WordPress Core. See Features as Plugins. process, each team had to present its feature idea and answer a few questions. We’re going to do that again, but with a bit more information. If your project thinks it’s ready for core – and specifically for 3.8 – your team lead should make a post to make/core with the following information:

  • A visual and written overview of your feature plugin, along with a link to your pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party.
  • What problem is your feature plugin trying to solve?
  • What brought you to this solution and what other potential solutions did you explore?
  • Have you done user testing of your feature plugin? If so, what were the results? What worked and what didn’t?

In your post, be sure to include links to previous posts and even specific comments that have helped form your decisions.

Be ready for feedback from across the WordPress community – especially UXUX User experience and code quality  – and be ready to defend your decisions or change your mind if a better idea emerges. Everyone will be reviewing the make/core posts and feedback in their discussion threads to determine if the answers to the questions above are all “yes”. If so, the feature can land when the merge window opens.

#3-8, #core-plugins, #feature-plugins, #merge