Dev chat summary for May 26, 2021

Happy birthday, WordPress!

Our favorite software is 18 years old today.

And now, devchat.

@peterwilsoncc led the 05:00 devchat, and @jeffpaul led the 20:00 chat. Both used this agenda.

Highlighted blogblog (versus network, site) posts

@audrasjb posted the latest Week In Code, highlighting the work of 120 contributors—11 new folx!—and 11 CoreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. committers who landed those changes.

@annezazu published Contextual Patterns for Easier Creation. That’s the idea that 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. editor should surface patterns based on the block you’re working on right now, to keep you in your flow and make your life easier.

Anne also published the latest FSE Program call for testing. It’s called “Polished Portfolios”, and your feedback is due June 9.

@danfarrow shared a CSSCSS Cascading Style Sheets. Chat summary that featured updates on the color scheming, CSS deprecation and CSS audit projects.

Finally, @paaljoachim and @andraganescu shared Editor chat summaries that highlight monthly priorities on Global Styles, Block-based WidgetWidget A WordPress Widget is a small block that performs a specific function. You can add these widgets in sidebars also known as widget-ready areas on your web page. WordPress widgets were originally created to provide a simple and easy-to-use way of giving design and structure control of the WordPress theme to the user. Editor, Navigation Block, Full Site Editing, Mobile, and the Refactored gallery block.

Please note:  *Navigation Block, Post Author Block, and refactored Gallery Block did NOT make it into WordPress 5.8 before the Feature Freeze*.

Details are here: https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/05/25/editor-chat-summary-19-may-2021/ && https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/05/26/core-editor-meeting-notes-26-may-2021/.

After this extensive list, @chanthaboune commented, “Gosh, but we are prolific writers here …” and added, “… I love it”.

The group reacted with a flurry of positive emojis.

Posts that need feedback

Are you a host? @javiercasares and the Hosting team recommend you offer the `PHP-intl` extension by default to all of your users.

The Tide team would like some help testing their refactor to Node.js on a local installLocal Install A local install of WordPress is a way to create a staging environment by installing a LAMP or LEMP stack on your local computer.. Specifically, where do their docs seem unclear? Where are they confusing? Please offer your help in their chat summary.

@chanthaboune shares that she’s ready to experiment with a public channel for Team Reps across the project to collaborate in public. She’d like your feedback in the comments through the end of the week.

Upcoming releases: WordPress 5.8

@jeffpaul reminded the group that 5.8 is in Feature Freeze, as of Monday, May 24. That means the work now shifts to fixing bugs, finding defects and finishing tasks. To that end, @boniu91 and @lukecarbishave scheduled a Test Scrub on Friday, May 28, and two 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. scrubs on Monday.

(Ed. note: No word on how the scrubs will affect mosquito activity in the US over the holiday weekend, which traditionally involves eating meals outdoors. 😜 )

The next milestone is 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. 1, on Tuesday, June 8. At that point the work shifts again: to testing every change that made it in, and to fixing the bugs that come out of that testing.

(Ed. note: Most betas, release candidates and launches happen on Tuesdays, in SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/., and you’re invited to join the group that gathers there and helps test the brand-new software packages. You don’t need any special skills, and it’s a great way to start contributing. So mark your calendar for every Tuesday between June 8 and final release in July!)

After that announcement of the impending milestones, @jeffpaul asked for calls for help.

@chanthaboune brought up ticketticket Created for both bug reports and feature development on the bug tracker. #31935 as a high priority, and @clorith surfaced #30910 which also needs a push.

@francina said she’s changed #51809 to future-release from the current milestone, because it needs to start with a lot of discovery. Component maintainer @marybaum (disclosure: your faithful reporter) suggested a more specific discussion, around starting with a message strategy, when interested parties have the time.

Components check-in

@sergeybiryukov reported on Comments and Themes.

The Comments screen for a single post has acquired a link to View Post, per #52353. And in Themes, in the Adminadmin (and super admin) menu next to the Themes item, there’s an update button with the number of updates — just as there has long been for Plugins — per #43697.

He reported no major news on the other components he helps maintain.

@clorith reported on Site Health: it has a good first bug up for grabs in #52642, if you’d like to jumpstart your code contributions. He says he’s available to help show you how to make 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..

@audrasjb had no major news on Widgets (Classic) or Upgrade/Install, but announced that #21603 made it in before Feature Freeze. He gave props to @maxpertici and @joedolson.

Open floor

@chanthaboune, on the 18th birthday of WordPress:

Tomorrow is WordPress’ 18th birthday :tada: and a post will go up on /news tomorrow with a little celebration page. also, props to the polyglots who have been working on that page this week.

@marybaum noted she’d been looking for 3D-content plugins in 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 Directory. It was no surprise to her that the best one (for her) has a familiar author: @sergeybiryukov!

#5-8, #dev-chat, #summary