Title: There’s a community summit next week after WordCamp… Author: Andrew Nacin Published: October 21, 2014 --- [ ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/nacin/) [Andrew Nacin](https://profiles.wordpress.org/nacin/) 2:29 pm _on_ October 21, 2014 Tags: summit, [wcsf ( 5 )](https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/wcsf/) # There’s a community summit next week after WordCamp… There’s a community summit next week after WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. [Learn more](https://central.wordcamp.org/about/). SF for those who don’t know. During this day we break into small meetings to discuss big picture items. These topics touch the entire community. In this case I’m specifically looking at adding more coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. development topics to the list, because it’s pretty barren right now. Here’s some thoughts we covered two years ago at the last official summit. The timing of this, for reference, was about three months after 3.4 came out, and two months before 3.5 came out. I pulled this off the [schedule](https://make.wordpress.org/summit/schedule/monday/): * [Core UI discussion](https://make.wordpress.org/summit/2012/11/06/core-ui-team-discussion/) * [Engaging and retaining new contributors](https://make.wordpress.org/summit/2012/11/14/engaging-retaining-new-community-devs/) * Better ways to solve i18ni18n Internationalization, or the act of writing and preparing code to be fully translatable into other languages. Also see [localization](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2014/10/21/theres-a-community-summit-next-week-after-wordcamp/?output_format=md#l10n). Often written with a lowercase i so it is not confused with a lowercase L or the numeral 1. Often an acquired skill. issues, [WP multi-language](https://make.wordpress.org/summit/2012/10/31/multi-language-plugins/) * [Multisite Roadmap](https://make.wordpress.org/summit/2012/11/15/multisite-roadmap/)( which of course became [this published roadmap](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2013/10/06/potential-roadmap-for-multisite/)) * [Improving Deployments on WordPress](https://make.wordpress.org/summit/2012/10/29/summary-of-morning-discussions/)( embedded in a summary post) * [The Future of the Customizer](https://make.wordpress.org/summit/?p=910) **(was never published until I found the draft today)** * [JavaScript: How do we increase JS proficiency in the WordPress community?](https://make.wordpress.org/summit/?p=955)**( also prev. unpublished)** * [Elimination of Pain During Theme Switch](https://make.wordpress.org/summit/?p=864&preview=true)**( same)** * [Helping WP-based companies contribute to core](https://make.wordpress.org/summit/?p=944)**( sadly, same)** * Updates: Faster, Smoother, Sexier? (can’t find text on this, but WordPress 3.7 did it, so woo) I think most of these could benefit from a revisit in some way. A lot of specific and big improvements have been made in a number of areas (e.g. bugbug A bug is an error or unexpected result. Performance improvements, code optimization, and are considered enhancements, not defects. After feature freeze, only bugs are dealt with, with regressions (adverse changes from the previous version) being the highest priority. tracker, updates, i18n, JavaScriptJavaScript JavaScript or JS is an object- oriented computer programming language commonly used to create interactive effects within web browsers. WordPress makes extensive use of JS for a better user experience. While PHP is executed on the server, JS executes within a user’s browser. [https://www.javascript.com](https://www.javascript.com/), multisitemultisite Used to describe a WordPress installation with a network of multiple blogs, grouped by sites. This installation type has shared users tables, and creates separate database tables for each blog (wp_posts becomes wp_0_posts). See also ** network**, **blog**, **site**), but even then there’s a lot to cover and a lot has changed in two years. Here’s some potential topics that [have been proposed](http://2014.sf.wordcamp.org/forums/forum/community-summit-discussion-topics/): * [Development philosophy](http://2014.sf.wordcamp.org/forums/topic/review-and-reconsider-tenets-of-the-projects-philosophy/) * [The Future of the Customizer (2.0)](http://2014.sf.wordcamp.org/forums/topic/future-of-the-customizer/) * [Core tooling](http://2014.sf.wordcamp.org/forums/topic/core-tooling/) * [Future of the JSON API](http://2014.sf.wordcamp.org/forums/topic/future-of-the-json-api/) Some other ones that I’m now proposing: * After PHPPHP The web scripting language in which WordPress is primarily architected. WordPress requires PHP 7.4 or higher 5.2 * i18n/multilingual roadmap * multisite roadmap, 2.0 * next steps for updates (or: how can we auto update everything) **And now I toss it to you: what else should be on this list?** Quick, you have a few hours before the initial schedule is built. I’m reading through all of the relevant documents from the summit in 2012, and attendees for this year’s summit, you should too. I linked all of them above in the first set of bullets. [#summit](https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/summit/), [#wcsf](https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/wcsf/) ### Share this: * [ Threads ](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2014/10/21/theres-a-community-summit-next-week-after-wordcamp/?share=threads) * [ Mastodon ](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2014/10/21/theres-a-community-summit-next-week-after-wordcamp/?share=mastodon) * [ Bluesky ](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2014/10/21/theres-a-community-summit-next-week-after-wordcamp/?share=bluesky) * [ X ](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2014/10/21/theres-a-community-summit-next-week-after-wordcamp/?share=x) * [ Facebook ](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2014/10/21/theres-a-community-summit-next-week-after-wordcamp/?share=facebook) * [ LinkedIn ](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2014/10/21/theres-a-community-summit-next-week-after-wordcamp/?share=linkedin) 1. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/19347ef87f4fd5978b2184e7f05af5c780485f69dbfdefccfe3521c732a87f06? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 2. [Drew Jaynes (DrewAPicture)](https://profiles.wordpress.org/drewapicture/) 2: 34 pm _on_ October 21, 2014 3. I think it’s worth throwing in an obligatory update on inline documentation in coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress.. Where it’s been, where it’s going, what goals we’ve completed since the action items were published from the 2012 summit. This would include the “adopting a JavaScriptJavaScript JavaScript or JS is an object-oriented computer programming language commonly used to create interactive effects within web browsers. WordPress makes extensive use of JS for a better user experience. While PHP is executed on the server, JS executes within a user’s browser. [https://www.javascript.com](https://www.javascript.com/) inline docsinline docs (phpdoc, docblock, xref) standard and how to best make our inline docs serve the wider developer community. 4. * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/1a7df76f4f6519a5618c32428b277a5c7a89798394965b67e50528ca57c1b5a8? s=32&d=mm&r=g) * [Andrew Nacin](https://profiles.wordpress.org/nacin/) 2:36 pm _on_ October 21, 2014 * Let’s see if we can boil this down into a looking-forward discussion topic. So, where to next take inline docsinline docs (phpdoc, docblock, xref)? - ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/19347ef87f4fd5978b2184e7f05af5c780485f69dbfdefccfe3521c732a87f06? s=32&d=mm&r=g) - [Drew Jaynes (DrewAPicture)](https://profiles.wordpress.org/drewapicture/) 2:38 pm _on_ October 21, 2014 - Sure. 5. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/16b43937020e44059fb472b2e1f0b5bc19bb195123b9a303f7b1ed5abf2c35e5? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 6. [Daniel Bachhuber](https://profiles.wordpress.org/danielbachhuber/) 2:43 pm _on_ October 21, 2014 7. Because I don’t see it on the list, and not because I necessarily want to open up the can of worms: what to do about the plugins directory. 8. For those of us using “plugins” as components to larger sites, the _quality_ of the 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/](https://wordpress.org/plugins/) or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party. is paramount. Quality could be defined as health of development, extensibility, compatibility, etc. Choosing a bad plugin can break a project. 9. One could argue the current plugins directory is oriented towards users, and we could use one oriented towards developers. Yes, I’m aware of the stereotypes I’m perpetuating. 10. * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/c3b8fc382efbd7ecc52266957a7d58c715a934bc6391db8a9fe4f0236681147f? s=32&d=mm&r=g) * [Jeremy Felt](https://profiles.wordpress.org/jeremyfelt/) 3:59 pm _on_ October 21, 2014 * +1 * I’d love to have something in place where I could see what other developers are using a 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/](https://wordpress.org/plugins/) or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party., code reviews with enterprise in mind, whether it makes proper use of caching APIs, and how it handles security. Etc.. etc… etc… * Anything to reduce the amount of effort required to start to trust a plugin in an enterprise environment. * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/63b496ec3806485229b4f934b26643dad6e734ca6e6ef7b38c846205b01cd37f? s=32&d=mm&r=g) * [Weston Ruter](https://profiles.wordpress.org/westonruter/) 5:22 pm _on_ October 21, 2014 * +100 * I was just talking with Bryan Petty (tierra) about this. He’s the developer behind 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/](https://wordpress.org/plugins/) or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party. Mirror, which does an SVNSVN Subversion, the popular version control system (VCS) by the Apache project, used by WordPress to manage changes to its codebase. sync of the .org plugins to 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 by the repository owner. [https://github.com/](https://github.com/) for read- only forking. * I’d love for the WordPress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. [https://wordpress.org/](https://wordpress.org/) plugin directory to start including scores from automated tests, for instance PHP_CodeSniffer WordPress Coding StandardsWordPress Coding Standards The Accessibility, PHP, JavaScript, CSS, HTML, etc. coding standards as published in the WordPress [Coding Standards Handbook](https://developer.wordpress.org/coding-standards/). May also refer to [The collection of PHP_CodeSniffer rules](https://github.com/WordPress/WordPress-Coding-Standards/)( sniffs) used to format and validate PHP code developed for WordPress according to the PHP coding standards., JSHint, YUI Compressor check, and any other static analysis tools. Then to take it a step higher, to actually activate a plugin on a vanilla WordPress site and see what kind of footprint it has, namely whether database tables get created and whether errors/warnings/notices get generated. Just knowing the latter, whether there are PHPPHP The web scripting language in which WordPress is primarily architected. WordPress requires PHP 7.4 or higher notices, would be a huge indicator in terms of knowing the level of quality for a plugin. * These automated checks would tie in well with manual code reviews by enterprise agencies/developers. Plugin reviews written by developers with more WP “clout” should get ranked higher in the overall plugin rating. * In addition to scores, the WordPress.org directory needs to make it easier for people to contribute and to keep plugins from languishing. I had an idea about how to leverage the Plugin Mirror on GitHub for this, if nothing was to be done on WordPress.org itself: the Plugin Mirror could have its own WordPress. org account, and plugin authors could add this user to their plugins as a committercommitter A developer with commit access. WordPress has five lead developers and four permanent core developers with commit access. Additionally, the project usually has a few guest or component committers - a developer receiving commit access, generally for a single release cycle (sometimes renewed) and/or for a specific component.. If the Plugin Mirror then started taking pull requests, the author could then merge them on GitHub and Plugin Mirror could push them to the WordPress. org SVN repo. This would allow people to open pull requests on .org plugins and have a straightforward path for contributing. * I suppose .org wouldn’t want to marry to close with GitHub, even if it is the de-facto platform for open sourceOpen Source Open Source denotes software for which the original source code is made freely available and may be redistributed and modified. Open Source **must be** delivered via a licensing model, see GPL. software platform nowadays, so the specific external 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/](https://git-scm.com/) repo used by a plugin could be configurable: GitHub, BitBucket, Google Code, etc. - ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/16b43937020e44059fb472b2e1f0b5bc19bb195123b9a303f7b1ed5abf2c35e5? s=32&d=mm&r=g) - [Daniel Bachhuber](https://profiles.wordpress.org/danielbachhuber/) 5: 24 pm _on_ October 21, 2014 - And, to close the loopLoop The Loop is PHP code used by WordPress to display posts. Using The Loop, WordPress processes each post to be displayed on the current page, and formats it according to how it matches specified criteria within The Loop tags. Any HTML or PHP code in the Loop will be processed on each post. [https://codex.wordpress.org/The_Loop](https://codex.wordpress.org/The_Loop) on this, we’ll probably need much of this (and more) in order to do automatic updates for plugins. * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/63b496ec3806485229b4f934b26643dad6e734ca6e6ef7b38c846205b01cd37f? s=32&d=mm&r=g) * [Weston Ruter](https://profiles.wordpress.org/westonruter/) 5:26 pm _on_ October 21, 2014 * You want to add this all to the discussion forum topics? [http://2014.sf.wordcamp.org/forums/](http://2014.sf.wordcamp.org/forums/) - ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/16b43937020e44059fb472b2e1f0b5bc19bb195123b9a303f7b1ed5abf2c35e5? s=32&d=mm&r=g) - [Daniel Bachhuber](https://profiles.wordpress.org/danielbachhuber/) 5:36 pm _on_ October 21, 2014 - Good call, [http://2014.sf.wordcamp.org/forums/topic/what-to-do-about-the-plugins-directory/](http://2014.sf.wordcamp.org/forums/topic/what-to-do-about-the-plugins-directory/) 11. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/ff33a35fe15dcb7997509cfe7857811a230841f3214e9bd7f7ad4d617c083a2a? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 12. [Mario Peshev](https://profiles.wordpress.org/nofearinc/) 2:48 pm _on_ October 21, 2014 13. In addition to “After PHPPHP The web scripting language in which WordPress is primarily architected. WordPress requires PHP 7.4 or higher 5.2” and what Daniel said above, I’d like to discuss further the metadata work and focus on it, and probably discuss WordPress as an application framework and how could it incorporate the current APIs, the JSONJSON JSON, or JavaScript Object Notation, is a minimal, readable format for structuring data. It is used primarily to transmit data between a server and web application, as an alternative to XML. one coming soon and possible optimizations and plans over the next few releases. 14. From my perspective other frameworks or Drupal for example focus on enterprise clients, and WordPress is used by quite a few large corps already. This would also support the process of finding new contributors by increasing the circle of larger companies using WordPress as one of their main platforms and dedicating team members to coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress.. 15. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/7fab7a27d6eb1e11d63e8a5963991d4adacce3ae704dc2fb7f53d97fad88edce? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 16. [George Stephanis](https://profiles.wordpress.org/georgestephanis/) 3:04 pm _on_ October 21, 2014 17. Two Factor Authentication for CoreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress.? 18. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/7494440b8266712d0056e4d6168491f9db747ab7588cd74f3057473b3201d559? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 19. [Scott Kingsley Clark](https://profiles.wordpress.org/sc0ttkclark/) 3:08 pm _on_ October 21, 2014 20. Can’t make it to WCSF this year due to budget limitations personally, will there be a way to participate in some way for those who can’t make it physically but will be around virtually? 21. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/323cf209e19dd825678e9ccc51bc3f745f96571f1c68af26ae7955c1fa9ad1f2? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 22. [Aaron Jorbin](https://profiles.wordpress.org/jorbin/) 4:30 pm _on_ October 21, 2014 23. I just added a topic for SASS and WordPress CoreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress.. 24. * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/87f8c2bbfabbae3462bbab2c83ce82763c7ff91bc632b64f3af7e24d929633f6? s=32&d=mm&r=g) * [Aaron D. Campbell](https://profiles.wordpress.org/aaroncampbell/) 4:38 pm _on_ October 21, 2014 * I’ll +1 this. Not because I think we need to switch to SASS, but because I think it’s a topic that would be good to discuss. * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/aca817f0a3126b99a2e81539ccaf9154a08d092c7f2d389fccc44f840b75d08e? s=32&d=mm&r=g) * [Ricky Lee Whittemore](https://profiles.wordpress.org/rickalee/) 9:40 pm _on_ October 21, 2014 * +1 for this. Sad to see Twenty Fifteen isn’t going to be SASS. * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/9a5b8bb9b6aeed0459ad5fc927f1b1d0eada0803042a3f0ce45a43673ac1d3e6? s=32&d=mm&r=g) * [David Bisset](https://profiles.wordpress.org/dimensionmedia/) 10:50 am _on_ October 22, 2014 * As someone who just got into SASS in the past year, I would be interested in this. Let’s get SASSY. 25. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/63b496ec3806485229b4f934b26643dad6e734ca6e6ef7b38c846205b01cd37f? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 26. [Weston Ruter](https://profiles.wordpress.org/westonruter/) 5:35 pm _on_ October 21, 2014 27. Just added “[Contributing to Core via GitHub](http://2014.sf.wordcamp.org/forums/topic/contributing-via-github/)” 28. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/aa199706bdce39f9c329ab8f0f9aa81ba68ddbda7cee7e57ec89bf5924fd77a5? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 29. [kraftner](https://profiles.wordpress.org/kraftner/) 3:45 pm _on_ October 22, 2014 30. Thinking about how we can improve the situation with the omnipresent coupling of content and layout. Less WYSIWYGWhat You See Is What You Get What You See Is What You Get. Most commonly used in relation to editors, where changes made in edit mode reflect exactly as they will translate to the published page. and more pure content vs. styling in themes to make switching or just modifying themes a smoother experience. Comments are closed. # Post navigation [← Update on Query improvements in 4.1](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2014/10/20/update-on-query-improvements-in-4-1/) [Twenty Fifteen Chat Summary October 21 →](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2014/10/21/twenty-fifteen-chat-summary-october-21-notes-for/)