Dev Chat Summary: August 24, 2016

This post summarizes the dev chat meeting from August 24th (agenda, Slack archive).

4.6.1 Schedule

  • Bug scrub on August 30 at 15:00 UTC. (all patches should ideally be in trunktrunk A directory in Subversion containing the latest development code in preparation for the next major release cycle. If you are running "trunk", then you are on the latest revision.)
  • Release candidaterelease 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). on September 1 (all patches are in 4.6 branchbranch A directory in Subversion. WordPress uses branches to store the latest development code for each major release (3.9, 4.0, etc.). Branches are then updated with code for any minor releases of that branch. Sometimes, a major version of WordPress and its minor versions are collectively referred to as a "branch", such as "the 4.0 branch".)
  • Release on September 7

4.7 Personnel and Schedule

  • @jorbin (engineering/development focus) & @jbpaul17 (PM focus) will be release deputies for 4.7
  • Full release schedule can be found at https://make.wordpress.org/core/version-4-6-project-schedule/
  • The scheduled release date is December 6.
  • Due to WCUS & US Thanksgiving holiday, we will have to treat 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). as a true Release Candidate
  • There is no “merge window”, testing & feedback should be continuous before merge consideration

Potential Focus Areas

  • Many wishlist comments are specific developer-facing features as well as better media findability/organization, easier 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 management, and the initial theme setup experience
  • New default theme (aka Twenty Seventeen) likely, but to be confirmed within the next week or two
  • 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/. content endpoints (posts, terms, comment, users, and their associated 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.) to get defined roadmap for 4.7 delivery plus future roadmap to full management and adminadmin (and super admin) 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. coverage (potential approach)
    • the next meeting will be August 29 at 23:00 UTC, where this will be further discussed
    • @krogsgard aiming to write spec for each item in the list by next meeting, open to acting as PM for this focus area
    • looking for a few committers with knowledge around the API to guide the process with a permanent or lead as their buddy
    • looking for review from outside WP community
    • will require documentation coverage for builders and consumers
    • CoreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. endpoints will need to be reviewed by their respective component maintainers

Open Forum on Focus Areas

  • “find your media more effectively” (#22744)
  • taxonomyTaxonomy A taxonomy is a way to group things together. In WordPress, some common taxonomies are category, link, tag, or post format. https://codex.wordpress.org/Taxonomies#Default_Taxonomies. (aka media tagging) UXUX User experience+UIUI User interface work for assignment and filtering mechanisms
  • “find an accessible multi-select/autocomplete/tagging helper”
  • “smarter defaults”
  • Eliminating usability dead-ends in the customizerCustomizer Tool built into WordPress core that hooks into most modern themes. You can use it to preview and modify many of your site’s appearance settings. (#34923, #35395, #37661)
  • further refinements to the updates flow continuing from 4.6
  • low-fi mockup and testing of metaboxMetabox A post metabox is a draggable box shown on the post editing screen. Its purpose is to allow the user to select or enter information in addition to the main post content. This information should be related to the post in some way. for different publishing possibilities (including existing examples)
  • resolve some ancient annoying issues (e.g., #17817)
  • Content Authorship in Menus, with Live Preview
  • dashicons as svg sprite (Make/Core Post)
  • document dynamic hook aliases in core (finally) + adding DevHub support
  • initial theme setup experience

Teams and Weekly Updates

  • Teams are the contributor groups that form around components and major work items (e.g. features and big API changes)
  • Will continue to identify those Teams and a “spokesperson” for each
  • Teams should have a weekly scheduled meeting and a weekly update posted to Make/Core
  • @helen to continue the tradition of weekly jump start posts, so there will be a reminder of Team meetings each week

Wishlist Items

Bug Scrubs

  • Everyone is empowered to run a 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. scrub (can be component based, or based on any other ticketticket Created for both bug reports and feature development on the bug tracker. report)
  • A post with information on how to run a bug scrub and who is empowered to do it (hint: it’s you) will be published on make/core soon
  • Bug Scrubs are a great experience in running a meeting, writing good responses, and building confidence in making those do-or-puntpunt Contributors sometimes use the verb "punt" when talking about a ticket. This means it is being pushed out to a future release. This typically occurs for lower priority tickets near the end of the release cycle that don't "make the cut." In this is colloquial usage of the word, it means to delay or equivocate. (It also describes a play in American football where a team essentially passes up on an opportunity, hoping to put themselves in a better position later to try again.) decisions
  • You do not need to be a dev to run a bug scrub, @hugobaeta and the design team has done some great scrubs
  • You don’t need to be 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. to run them, @chriscct7 has done some incredible scrubs on ancient tickets
  • “If 5 new people that have never run a bug scrub or other core meeting before, run one this release: I will write and record a parody of “No Scrubs” by TLC, but about Bug Scrubs.” — @jorbin Π

#4-6-1, #4-7, #core, #dev-chat, #summary