Summary, Dev Chat, September 11, 2024

Announcements

WordPress 6.2.2 was released this week.

Forthcoming Releases

Next 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.: 6.7

We are currently in the WordPress 6.7 release cycle. WordPress 6.7 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 is scheduled for Tuesday, October 1. The Road Map post can be found here.

Next minor releaseMinor Release A set of releases or versions having the same minor version number may be collectively referred to as .x , for example version 5.2.x to refer to versions 5.2, 5.2.1, 5.2.3, and all other versions in the 5.2 (five dot two) branch of that software. Minor Releases often make improvements to existing features and functionality.: 6.6.3

Following the recent WordPress 6.6.2 release, the next maintenance release (if needed) will be WordPress 6.6.3. There were not updates shared in the meeting.

Next 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/ release: 19.2

The next Gutenberg release will be 19.2, scheduled for September 11 (this release occurred after the meeting).

Discussion

@peterwilsoncc requested that we discuss 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. Bindings UIUI User interface feature, TracTrac An open source project by Edgewall Software that serves as a bug tracker and project management tool for WordPress. ticketticket Created for both bug reports and feature development on the bug tracker. #61945.

To summarize his concern:

My main concern here is that the approach is to hide the UI from users with low permissions. I don’t feel that this is a great approach to handling a UI that is considered too technical, as I don’t think there is anything to suggest that an administrator will understand what an author does not.

So I’m of the view the interface ought to be improved and made less technical before it’s shipped in coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress..

@noisysocks suggested waiting on an update from Mario Santos, who is working on the feature, but added:

I’d be fine with just updating this to use caps. The interface doesn’t strike me as being too technical. Can put it in the Advanced tab if we’re worried…

…The short of it is that I’m okay with fixing the cap issue (add a new cap, don’t check against a role) and shipping in 6.7 or leaving it 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 for more testing. Up to the team working on it. We have until beta 1 to decide.

@joemcgill highlighted two additional Slack updates this week:

• @joen recently posted this 6.7 design update in the #6-7-release-leads channel.
• @ndiego shared this reminder about ensuring issues for 6.7 are getting added to the  WP 6.7 Editor Tasks Board.

Open Floor

@mikachan provided an update on #61708 on the agenda:

I’ve addressed the feedback by adding a deprecation notice to the pattern rather than removing it. I’d appreciate any thoughts on if this feels like a better approach.

@peterwilsoncc agreed to review.

@joemcgill pointed out #62004. @jrf recently asked all committers to review in full here. Julia shared the following updates during the meeting:

Ticket #53010 is basically the first step: splitting up the huge test classes to smaller classes which each only test one thing, i.e. one global function, one method in a class etc.

This includes making sure that the new test files comply with the PHPUnit naming conventions.

There are a number of patches attached to the ticket which can be used to see how to do this (mind: not all have been reviewed yet for the latest info).

I also think it would be great if we could get a decision on yes/no namespacing the test classes. I believe we should and that now is the time.

And followed up with

The other thing which would really really help, is to make sure that any new tests go in “clean”. As in: comply with the requirements for newer PHPUnit versions. The task is large enough as it is without having to clean up after new commits.