Matias Ventura 7:27 pm on November 9, 2018
Tags: 5.0 ( 36 )

Update on 5.0 Release Schedule

As discussed during the CoreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. devchat this week, the initial November 19th target date is looking a bit too soon for a release date. After listening to a lot of feedback — as well as looking at current issues, ongoing pull requests, and general progress — we’re going to take an extra week to make sure everything is fully dialed in and the release date is now targeted for Tuesday, November 27th (within the space that was originally outlined).

Taking a step back, it’s great to see all the progress since the days of the prototypes and how full theme integration, like with the 2019 theme, can make the experience come together…

It has also proven difficult to align 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 releases (and their release candidates) with 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. releases of core, process wise, so here’s the outline for the final stretch:

Core betas to go out on Monday, November 12th (beta 4) and Thursday, November 15th (beta 5) aligning with plugin releases (4.3 and 4.4).
Work to be organized and prioritized around three milestones: 5.0 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)., 5.0 Launch, 5.0.1, and 5.0.x (planning for +0.0.1 every two weeks following 5.0).
5.0 RC1 targeted for Monday, November 19th.
Daily high-level updates on current status (open pull requests to be reviewed, outstanding bugs, etc) in the core-editor channel.

The last part of delivering a project of this scale is always hard and emotions run high. I’d like to take a step back and truly thank everyone for the staggering amount of work, attention, and care being put into preparing this release. I am grateful for the hard work of all contributors — not just those submitting code — including those who have given candid and valuable feedback throughout. It is all helping us move towards a better product.

#5-0

Daniel Bachhuber 7:43 pm on November 9, 2018

Daily high level updates on current status (open pull requests to be reviewed, outstanding bugs, etc) in the coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress.-editor channel.

I know it’s a bit extra effort, but could we make these make/core posts too? I think these high-level summaries would be immensely valuable to those who aren’t deep in the weeds of the project, to make sure everyone is working with the same information, etc.
- Nahuai Badiola 9:09 pm on November 9, 2018
  
  Agree.
- Matias Ventura 3:27 pm on November 11, 2018
  
  This sounds good to me.
- Anonymous User 1:17 pm on November 12, 2018
  
  Thank you!
William Earnhardt 8:53 pm on November 9, 2018

Thanks for the update Matias. I do have one question that will help with clarifying the status and the focus of the work leading up to the 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)..

Typically the criteria for a 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). includes that there are no open TracTrac An open source project by Edgewall Software that serves as a bug tracker and project management tool for WordPress. tickets on the milestone—everything should be closed or punted to a future release. GutenbergGutenberg The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/ being developed 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/ is a bit different, but we still have milestones there as well.

As of writing this comment, we have 160 open issues on the 5.0 RC milestone.
In addition to that, there are 225 open issues labeled “bug” that have no milestone set.

As a reference/comparison, we currently only have 6 open tickets on Trac that have a type of bug and no milestone set. We usually milestone everything so that we know what needs to happen for any given release.

That is quite a bit of work to get through in the next 10 days. Where should we be focusing our efforts to help bring those numbers down to ensure a successful release candidate?
- Mark Root-Wiley 11:01 pm on November 9, 2018
  Relatedly, it appears that there are no plans for a merge proposal for the new 5.0 editor.
  
  As @pento helpfully illustrated in the Dark Mode Merge Proposal, there are a number of requirements in the Merge Proposal criteria to ensure the release is smooth and warranted. In that case, not meeting these criteria appeared to suggest the feature was not ready for coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. inclusion.
  
  Here are some of the important checks that I’m unsure have been met:
  - Visual records comparing old flow with new flow are provided for any feature that changes or replaces existing interfaces.
  - WordPress continues to function, and the feature is still usable, with 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/. turned off.
  - Any required accessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility) support has been added, including (but not limited to) off-screen text, ARIA, and JSJS JavaScript, a web scripting language typically executed in the browser. Often used for advanced user interfaces and behaviors.-assisted. (Be sure to ask the Accessibility team to review it.)
  - The design is fully responsive, displaying properly on any mobile device, and using graphics that are ready for hi-dpi/retina displays.
  - The user interface/experience has been tested through user testing, and appropriate feedback was incorporated. (Be sure and ask the Design team to review it.)
  - The code follows 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/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party security best practices, and has undergone a security audit.
  - Touch devices can use the entire feature with no hindrance, with visual records for major flows through all new interfaces on all devices posted on Make/Flow.
  Even if a Merge Proposal is judged inappropriate for this release, how has the spirit of it been met? (I’d define the spirit as a public accounting of the measures taken to ensure a high-quality, well-tested product ready for 32% of the internet.) If some of the requirements for merging previous features have been deemed no longer necessary, acknowledging that and explaining why would be valuable to the community.
  - William Earnhardt 11:06 pm on November 9, 2018
    
    Gary sort of addressed that here:
    https://pento.net/2018/10/26/iterating-on-merge-proposals/
    - Mark Root-Wiley 11:24 pm on November 9, 2018
      
      Thanks for sharing that, @earnjam. I read that post a couple times when it came out and got a “writing on the wall” sense that it was a half-argument in that direction. I thought the reflection was interesting and valid. I also assumed it was Gary’s words and didn’t represent the project. What I’m asking for is a more systematized and official statement describing the work that has been done and any potential remaining issues.
      
      If there isn’t a list of things required to confirm it’s ready, then any launch date feels unmoored from an objective determination that the project is ready for release.
      
      I completely agree with Gary that “creating a framework for more fluid feedback over the entire lifecycle of a feature project is beneficial for everyone,” but I also don’t think that addresses the importance of determining the “readiness of this feature to be released.”
      
      What I’m trying to ask for here is for some sort of pre-flight checklist if a Merge Proposal isn’t coming. I think your point about 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. triaging and RCs could be a great line in such a “Merge Proposal lite” checklist.
      
      Despite my post earlier this week arguing against a merge this month, I’m extremely open to changing my mind. The problem is that right now I (along with many others, I think) don’t understand the criteria for release and am concerned that—to be extremely blunt—there aren’t any.
      - Matias Ventura 3:48 pm on November 11, 2018
        
        Thanks for the questions. Having been on other featured 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 projects before, this was indeed a bit different from the start. Given the size and magnitude, the main control for helping us determine readiness has been the usage of the editor in its plugin form without major issues — it’s getting close to 700k active installs, across different hosts and setups.
        
        There’s been a few posts outlining both the initial MVPMinimum Viable Product "A minimum viable product (MVP) is a product with just enough features to satisfy early customers, and to provide feedback for future product development." - WikiPedia scope and a more recent one for wrapping the v1 scope. These were the high-level lists for “work that has been done and any potential remaining issues”.
        
        The focus has moved to pending tasks and reported issues logged in the 5.0 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). milestone and triaging any incoming new issues as normal.
        
        Mark Root-Wiley 5:54 pm on November 12, 2018
        
        Thanks for the reply, @matveb. I greatly appreciate it and all the work you’ve done on this project. I’m in awe. Really.
        
        A concern I’ve heard a lot and share is that the number of installs is only a single datapoint and a rather opaque one at that. Right now, the usage stats seem to suggest 1 post per site install which seems quite low and hard to interpret. (Lots of people abandoning it after first use? Lots of installs with no actual usage?)
        
        That why I hope that some type of more systematic review (like the blockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. audits) might still be possible to polish the bugs a bit more, catch the bugs most likely to show up immediately at release, and give a last chance to consider pulling blocks that aren’t ready. (Columns seems to have lost its “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.” label in the 5.0-betas yet still seems unready for a stable release.)
        
        Matias Ventura 8:11 pm on November 12, 2018
        
        Thank you, Mark. Definitely cannot base it all on the installs, and regular audits like the blockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. ones are crucial. The most important would be to discern the nice to haves from the things most likely to impact the user experience.
        
        A note on the post counts stats, though, is that it only takes into account WP.com and Jetpack sites, and it’s not the total number by any stretch. (This should be clarified on the page.)
- Matias Ventura 3:23 pm on November 11, 2018
  
  Focus should be on the 5.0 RC milestone (low priority would start to be punted to a minor followup release if it doesn’t have a patchpatch A special text file that describes changes to code, by identifying the files and lines which are added, removed, and altered. It may also be referred to as a diff. A patch can be applied to a codebase for testing. in the works) and reviewing PRs assigned for the most immediate next release. The daily reports should also give us more clarity on what should needs the most attention. Thanks for the questions!
Kevin Hoffman 9:08 pm on November 9, 2018

Was there any discussion at all regarding the concerns of releasing 5.0 on Giving Tuesday, the biggest day of online giving in the entire year? Because this makes it look like days devoted to commercial interests were avoided only to drop a major releasemajor release A release, identified by the first two numbers (3.6), which is the focus of a full release cycle and feature development. WordPress uses decimaling count for major release versions, so 2.8, 2.9, 3.0, and 3.1 are sequential and comparable in scope. on the exact day that nonprofits need WordPress the most.

I have heard the argument that “every day is a holiday,” but anyone willing to do a few minutes of research can tell that every day is not created equal when it comes to ecommerce and online giving. It is one thing to create inconvenience around holidays, but it is another thing altogether to put organizations’ finances at risk for a completely arbitrary release date that has already been delayed several times. Please reconsider.
- Matt Cromwell 10:41 pm on November 9, 2018
  
  As someone who has championed WP for NGOs for years, who is a big fan of GutenbergGutenberg The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/, who has defended Automattic against criticism of all kinds, I have to agree 100% with Kevin.
  
  Please reconsider.
- Mark Root-Wiley 10:42 pm on November 9, 2018
  
  Thanks for catching this, Kevin. Definitely a concern.
- David Ryan 11:03 pm on November 9, 2018
  
  +1
reece1514 5:41 am on November 10, 2018

Good point.
MarioVisie 11:09 am on November 10, 2018

December holiday month
In the Netherlands two big parties: Sinterklaas and Christmas.
In this month, the best online conversion will normally be made.
And then in this period we get both WordPress and WooCommerce with a big update.
I think people look too much at home, not what our customers want. They want to make money in the most important month, do not have to worry about their web store.
So if one is going to postpone, then please go to January. Or should one consciously run risks?
- JonasBreuer 1:15 pm on November 10, 2018
  
  As far as I understand the Proposed Schedule, it’s already agreed upon, that the release will be postponed to January if it can’t be done till the end of November.
- slimmilkduds 1:57 pm on November 10, 2018
  
  If you run a buisness I would argue that it’s reasonable to be responsible for how you update software. You don’t do a mayor update on a live site during an important period and just hope that everything works. If you have hosting that forces major updates you switch host to someone who understands this basic concept.
MarioVisie 2:37 pm on November 10, 2018

No, it is wrong as a software supplier to delight your customers with a major update. This is just a bad season. Black Friday, Christmas and many local celebrations fall in late November and December. Has nothing to do with the suppliers of the sites or hosting. This is how you, as WordPress and WooCommerce, take market situations into account.
It is not only this but also the tens of hundreds of plug-ins that all need to be worked on. It is the season in which the wordpress supporters also want a week’s holiday between Christmas and New Year. That is participating.
And yes, we have things in order for our customers, but I also see how many companies do not have that or have trouble organizing well in this period of the year.
- slimmilkduds 6:25 pm on November 10, 2018
  
  I disagree, the hosting providers shouldn’t force updates on their customers, just as WordPress don’t force you to update. If you feel it’s wrong for software developers to update their software, just don’t install the update. I wouldn’t for the life of me consider doing a major update of any software without testing it beforehand if it was released in a critical period and I just don’t understand companies who would.
Daniel James 9:44 pm on November 11, 2018

Why is this not being moved back to the January dates instead? It’s quite clear that the team is already behind schedule and unlikely to make it. Why must it be launched in November?
- tcfmark 10:11 am on November 13, 2018
  
  Completely agree, why is the team insistent on rushing this out.

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