The WordPress coreCoreCore is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. development team builds WordPress! Follow this site for general updates, status reports, and the occasional code debate. There’s lots of ways to contribute:
Found a bugbugA 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.?Create a ticket in the bug tracker.
Last week, there were some exciting developments in the GutenbergGutenbergThe 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/ Editor. Below, you’ll find an overview of the key changes and improvements.
A special thanks goes to @krupaly2k for his excellent compilation of all the topics from the Gutenberg development team.
EnhancementenhancementEnhancements are simple improvements to WordPress, such as the addition of a hook, a new feature, or an improvement to an existing feature. ✨
Search Block: Background wrapper for ‘Button Inside’ option – This issue is a follow up of #69318 Currently, the ‘Button Inside’ option in the Search BlockBlockBlock 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. is missing a background wrapper with a common color as of the input, making the input and button appear separate instead of part of a single container.
Advanced Margin and Padding Editing for Block – Currently, the management of internal (padding) and external (margin) spacing for blocks in Gutenberg is limited and not very intuitive. Adding an advanced interface similar to Elementor would allow users to have precise control over block spacing without needing custom CSSCSSCascading Style Sheets..
Enhanced Block Management – Enhance Block Swapping – Intuitive Drag-and-Drop for Left/Right Reordering – The current block movement system in Gutenberg relies on up and down arrows or a basic drag-and-drop mechanism, which can be restrictive and unintuitive. A more visual and flexible approach, similar to how Elementor or Beaver Builder handles block positioning, would greatly enhance the user experience.
PR – Button Block: Add draft page creation capability – This PR adds the ability to create draft pages directly from the button block in the navigation editor, similar to how it already works in the navigation link block.
PR – Navigation in Site View: Automatically expand all options – This PR changes the default state of navigation submenus in Site View from collapsed to expanded, making all navigation options immediately visible to users without requiring manual expansion.
Bug 🐛
Block Directory: Issues in installing blocks from Inserter – When debugging the the issue #69315 found that when installing a block from inserter and then saving the post the block pluginPluginA 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. doesn’t install and block disappears.
As with most releases since 20.0 this release has also primarily been focused on fixing bugs. But of course there are still always some features that join the mix.
Highlights
Ignore sticky posts in query loopLoopThe 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
The query loop blockBlockBlock 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. now has a new option to ignore sticky posts. When selected, the query block ignores whether or not a post has the sticky option enabled. So, all posts show based on the sorting preferences selected without taking the sticky status into account.
Add social icon block variation for discord
The social icons block now ships with the option to add a Discord icon.
Changelog
Enhancements
Block Library
Query block: Add option to ignore sticky posts behavior. (69057)
Featured ImageFeatured imageA featured image is the main image used on your blog archive page and is pulled when the post or page is shared on social media. The image can be used to display in widget areas on your site or in a summary list of posts. block: Use resolution tool component. (68471)
Display root appender when default block is disabled. (68951)
Fix regressionregressionA software bug that breaks or degrades something that previously worked. Regressions are often treated as critical bugs or blockers. Recent regressions may be given higher priorities. A "3.6 regression" would be a bug in 3.6 that worked as intended in 3.5. for root appender logic. (68994)
Inserter: Remove block default icon from no results message. (68693)
Rename aspect property to ratio to carry the defaultAspect in AspectRatioDropdown. (69085)
Writing Flow: Restore early return for no block selection in tab nav hook. (69079)
Social Links: Fix appender size in non-iframeiframeiFrame is an acronym for an inline frame. An iFrame is used inside a webpage to load another HTML document and render it. This HTML document may also contain JavaScript and/or CSS which is loaded at the time when iframe tag is parsed by the user’s browser. editor. (68215)
REST APIREST APIThe 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/
Add support for the ‘ignore_sticky_posts’ argument. (68970)
Fix: Prevent Errors in HeaderHeaderThe header of your site is typically the first thing people will experience. The masthead or header art located across the top of your page is part of the look and feel of your website. It can influence a visitor’s opinion about your content and you/ your organization’s brand. It may also look different on different screen sizes. Processing and Encode URLs Properly. (67780)
Icons
Fix the background, arrowUpLeft, keyboardReturn and square icons. (69076)
Font Library
Refactor font variant components to use useId for checkbox IDs. (69050)
Block Directory
Remove block icon from InstalledBlocksPrePublishPanel. (69046)
DataViews
Fixed: Empty Pattern Overlap in Pattern Title in Dataviews Table Layout. (68997)
Media
Add optional chain to sizes indexing of media details in edit-site. (68995)
Block hooksHooksIn WordPress theme and development, hooks are functions that can be applied to an action or a Filter in WordPress. Actions are functions performed when a certain event occurs in WordPress. Filters allow you to modify certain functions. Arguments used to hook both filters and actions look the same.
Interactivity APIAPIAn 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.
iAPI Router: Fix CSS rule order in some constructed style sheets. (68923)
iAPI Router: Revert “Handle styles assets on region-based navigation” (69222)
AccessibilityAccessibilityAccessibility (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)
Components
Font Size Picker: Remove Custom option from FontSizePickerSelect dropdown. (69038)
Global Styles
Add missing list role to the list of blocks in the global Styles. (69027)
Block API
Block support: Preserve aria-label value in comment delimiter. (69002)
Block Editor
[Block Editor]: A11yAccessibilityAccessibility (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) – Add and Update missing reduce-motion mixing. (68417)
Performance
Post Editor
Editor: Don’t use selector shortcuts for the taxonomyTaxonomyA 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. queries. (68998)
Editor: Optimize ‘PostAuthorCheck’ component data selection. (69105)
Style Book
Improve StyleBook resize responsiveness for Classic Theme. (68980)
Remove reactReactReact is a JavaScript library that makes it easy to reason about, construct, and maintain stateless and stateful user interfaces.
https://reactjs.org-native dependabot group – Take 2. (69122)
PluginPluginA 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.
Code Quality: Delete unused function from PHPPHPThe web scripting language in which WordPress is primarily architected. WordPress requires PHP 7.4 or higher Sync Issue generation script. (68947)
This post aims to prepare a calendar with the expected start time for each release party and who is involved in the upcoming 6.8 milestone.
The release party schedule will remain unchanged during the Release Candidaterelease candidateOne 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). phase and for the final release of WordPress 6.8. This is for practical reasons to allow additional contributors to attend and assist with release testing during the final weeks of the release cycle.
As has been seen in previous release cycles, things can change at the last minute, so expect some flexibility. The release squad will do its best to respect the calendar and communicate any changes promptly.
CommittercommitterA 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.
BetaBetaA 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
RCrelease candidateOne 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). 1
[Editor’s note: This survey was only answered by 3 people, only 2 of which were on the release squad. It’s useful as seeing three people’s distinct opinion, but not extrapolation.]
This post summarizes the feedback received from the WordPress 6.7 retrospective. Thank you to those who contributed their feedback via the retrospective survey and comments on the post. For ease of reading, feedback has been synthesized. Full feedback is available for review in the anonymized form responses and comments to the original post.
Please remember that the following feedback are suggestions to bear in mind for future releases rather than action items for implementation.
What would you keep?
Aligning Dev Chats to the time where Tech Release leads could attend was useful and should be considered in the future.
Release process.
What would you add?
Future release leads should be announced earlier—prior to the end of the previous release.
More robust testing around new features in conjunction with plugins.
What would you change, reduce, or remove?
The squad was announced too late.
The climate of contributing.
How did the collaboration feel?
This section included ways for one to indicate how much they agreed or disagreed with a statement around collaboration.
Would you like to be part of future release squads?
What is your feedback on the current release squad size?
Takeaways and next steps
One lead felt they and their co-leads were not appropriately respected by a sponsored non-lead and indicated their intent to not volunteer for another lead role without assurances that lead roles are to be respect by non-leads.
Another contributor indicated a general sense that release testing throughout the cycle was less that usual.
GutenbergGutenbergThe 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/ version 20.3 was released!
Gutenberg Version 20.3 was officially released last week! This new update brings a variety of enhancements and improvements to the blockBlockBlock 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.
A detailed changelog article will follow shortly, providing an in-depth look at the features and changes in this version.
Forthcoming releases 🚀
Next major releasemajor releaseA 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.: 6.8 – BetaBetaA 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
The Beta 1 release of WordPress 6.8 will be available on Tuesday, March 4th. Join the Release Party to test new features and provide feedback!
Next Gutenberg version: 20.4
Gutenberg 20.4 is scheduled for release on Wednesday, March 5th. This will be the final release to be merged into WordPress 6.8.
Stay tuned for weekly updates to keep you informed about the latest in WordPress editor development. Whether you’re a developer, designer, or content creator, these updates will keep you in the loopLoopThe 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 on all the key changes.
Clarifying our PHPPHPThe web scripting language in which WordPress is primarily architected. WordPress requires PHP 7.4 or higher support for 6.8
The discussion focused on PHP compatibility for WordPress 6.8. @joemcgill mentioned that @johnbillion was exploring moving ticketticketCreated for both bug reports and feature development on the bug tracker.#58320 to the 6.8 milestone, as the PHP compatibility page needs an update. It was suggested to review and potentially update the criteria for removing labels.
Over 40% of WordPress sites run PHP 8.0 or newer, so labeling PHP 8.0 as “beta” is unclear. It was clarified that “beta” support now applies to PHP 8.3 and 8.4, while 8.0, 8.1, and 8.2 are “compatible with exceptions.”
REST APIREST APIThe 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/ | Template Parts
For ticket #62574, the goal is to align on where to expose data in the REST API, coming from the GB pluginPluginA 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.. The current plan is to add it to the index for logged-in users, likely merging this for Beta 1 unless a better alternative arises. Feedback is encouraged as a decision will need to be made soon. Mamaduka is open to following up on the PR/patchpatchA 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. based on feedback before or after Beta 1. @jorbin supported the idea of adding it only for logged-in users.
Style Book for Classic themes
The discussion focused on ticket #62509, which proposes making the Style Book available to classic themes in WordPress. This feature is being carried over from Gutenberg. The current plan is to commit the feature by Beta 1, though it may need refinement before RC1. There was a PR under review that modifies how the Style Book is shown based on theme support, which would be a change to the adminadmin(and super admin) menu. It was noted that while the Style Book would be available for all classic themes, adjustments to the UIUIUser interface and an opt-out strategy still need to be worked on.
The team discussed whether the feature should be committed for Beta 1 and whether testers were available to test both the Gutenberg and coreCoreCore is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. PRs before the deadline. The consensus was that tickets close to landing could be included before Beta 1, but anything not ready should be punted to a later stage.
Open Floor 💬
WordPress 6.8 | TriagetriageThe act of evaluating and sorting bug reports, in order to decide priority, severity, and other factors. update
@audrasjb shared updated stats for the upcoming WordPress Release 6.8 release with detailed information.
Ticket Status
On the 354 tickets in the milestone:
about 30 tickets have been moved to Future Release or 6.9 since last week
194 tickets are closed as fixed (+19 compared to previous week)
160 tickets are still open (-17 compared to previous week)
Ticket Types
On the 160 still opentickets in the milestone:
99 are bugfixes
43 are enhancements
18 are blessed tasks
2 are feature requests
Misc infos:
We have 0 ‘high’ (or higher) priority ticket (-1):
On the 160 open tickets, 7 have the ‘commit’ keyword (+1)
On the 160 open tickets, 3 have the ‘early’ keyword (-3)
WordPress.orgWordPress.orgThe 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/APIAPIAn 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. Connections to a Different Location
@clorith is requesting feedback on the implementation in ticket #62132 and its viability for WordPress 6.8. The response can be found in the first comment from @jorbin.
Thanks to @audrasjbfor helping review this summary.
The live meeting will focus on the discussion for upcoming releases, and have an open floor section.
Additional items will be referred to in the various curated agenda sections below. If you have ticketticketCreated for both bug reports and feature development on the bug tracker. requests for help, please continue to post details in the comments section at the end of this agenda.
Announcements 📢
There are no major announcements from the past week.
Forthcoming releases 🚀
Next major releasemajor releaseA 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.: 6.8
Current GutenbergGutenbergThe 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: 20.3
Gutenberg 20.3 was released on February 19, and it includes the following issues. An announcement post will follow.
Discussions 🤔
The discussion section of the agenda is to provide a place to discuss important topics affecting the upcoming release or larger initiatives that impact the CoreCoreCore is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. Team. To nominate a topic for discussion, please leave a comment on this agenda with a summary of the topic, any relevant links that will help people get context for the discussion, and what kind of feedback you are looking for from others participating in the discussion.
Topics for discussion from the 6.8 Release Squad
Clarifying our PHPPHPThe web scripting language in which WordPress is primarily architected. WordPress requires PHP 7.4 or higher support for 6.8
Moving default template types and template part areas to the REST APIREST APIThe 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/ (#62574)
Make style book available to classic themes (#62509)
You can keep up to date with the major Editor features with the weekly updates, now on the blogblog(versus network, site)! Editor Weekly Updates: Feb 17–21
Any topic can be raised for discussion in the comments, as well as requests for assistance on tickets. Tickets in the milestone for the next major or maintenance release will be prioritized.
Please include details of tickets / PRs and the links in the comments, and indicate whether you intend to be available during the meeting for discussion or will be async.
WordPress 6.8BetaBetaA 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 next Tuesday, Mar 4. Therefore any feature or enhancementenhancementEnhancements are simple improvements to WordPress, such as the addition of a hook, a new feature, or an improvement to an existing feature. tickets must be completed or punted by Monday.
WordPress Performance TracTracAn open source project by Edgewall Software that serves as a bug tracker and project management tool for WordPress. tickets
Discussion of performance tickets for the upcoming 6.8 release:
@flixos90: #43258 seems like a pretty big change to start working on this late in the cycle. It looks like there’s no PR yet?
@westonruter: No PR yet, but it has been in GutenbergGutenbergThe 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/ (client-side navigation experiment) for awhile now, and in Optimization Detective as well. The patchpatchA 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. would be small.
@flixos90: Since WordPress CoreCoreCore is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. has never included an output buffer (whether for good reasons or not), I think this requires more discussion that would not be possible to have in just a few days.
@westonruter: I’ll open a PR and we can discuss. If no consensus then we’ll puntpuntContributors 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.).
@flixos90: Some PRs like the one on #62124may be ready, but they haven’t had any reviews from committers yet. So depending on bandwidth, they may not make it
@flixos90: It looks like most of the 6.8 performance enhancements have had some updates in the last few days, so hopefully they’re moving along. I’m going to check in on the ones without recent updates later, and can do another last-minute scrub to either commit or punt on Monday.
@joemcgill is curious about #58001 and #57496, which are both close, but the deadline for Beta 1 is coming very quickly. #58001 was marked early and is at risk of getting punted this week without follow-up.
@spacedmonkey: I need to add unit tests right? Is there anything else needed?
@joemcgill: @flixos90 left feedback on the PR that is not resolved, but once you two are happy with it being committed, it seems good to go
@flixos90: Beyond my feedback that hasn’t been addressed yet, the #58001 PR needs a review by someone else. I explicitly mentioned that the metadata lazyloader changes that are part of it fall outside my domain too much so I wouldn’t be comfortable approving those changes. Alternatively, the PR could be split into two pieces, as I’m happy and more confident to review the WP_User changes
@joemcgill: Oh right. I’ll look again, but it seemed ok to me. Could be good to get @peterwilsoncc‘s feedback given he’s also looking at #57496.
Performance Lab PluginPluginA 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. (and other performance plugins)
@flixos90 opened https://github.com/WordPress/performance/pull/1883 yesterday to use the now merged WP Core APIAPIAn 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. for Speculative Loading conditionally if available
Open Floor
@westonruter: From doing performance audits at WordCampWordCampWordCamps 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. Asia (and previous WordCamps), something I’ve been seeing more and more being the performance bottleneck is render-blocking stylesheets in the HEAD. This often shows up as a render delay when the LCP element is text, e.g. a paragraph or heading. I started investigating further and I found that Twenty Twenty-Two and Twenty Twenty-Five are not inlining their style.css files when they should be, so I opened this ticketticketCreated for both bug reports and feature development on the bug tracker. with a patch to implement: #63007
@westonruter: When all stylesheets are inclined a dramatic reduction in LCP(-TTFB) results when I tested with a Slow 3G networknetwork(versus site, blog) condition: 4196.1 ms (poor) down to 2230.8 ms (good). Related to that, I found that no stylesheets in core themes are getting minified, so I opened #63012 to address that.
@westonruter: Additionally, I think we should investigate increasing the styles_inline_size_limit from 20,000 bytes to maybe 50,000 bytes. I intend to do some benchmarks to show the performance tradeoff of inlining versus having a cached stylesheet for repeat visits. Relatedly, the landing of Speculative Loading means additional byte size of documents with inclined CSSCSSCascading Style Sheets. will now result in less of an impact due to prefetching.
@flixos90: I think the concern is related to blockBlockBlock 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. themes specifically, since end users are more in touch with them than they were with classic themes, e.g. you can export a theme etc. from making changes in the UIUIUser interface. So the lines between end user and developer territory blur. I’m not sure about whether that should block us from implementing minification, but all I’m saying is the implications differ between block themes and classic themes.
@westonruter: But with block themes users don’t edit any CSS file in the Site Editor, right? It’s separate from Global Styles.
@flixos90: Worth highlighting https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/58519#comment:2 too (and other comments of similar nature) that highlight that before we allow inlining default theme CSS, we should minify the files to avoid more HTMLHTMLHyperText Markup Language. The semantic scripting language primarily used for outputting content in web browsers. bloat. So potentially #63007 should depend on #63012.
Last week, there were some exciting developments in the GutenbergGutenbergThe 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/ Editor. Below, you’ll find an overview of the key changes and improvements.
A special thanks goes to @krupaly2k for his excellent compilation of all the topics from the Gutenberg development team.
Need Design Feedback 🎨
[List View]Always open List View: disable sidebar animation when preference is enabled – When the ”Always open List View:’ preferences are enabled, the sidebarSidebarA sidebar in WordPress is referred to a widget-ready area used by WordPress themes to display information that is not a part of the main content. It is not always a vertical column on the side. It can be a horizontal rectangle below or above the content area, footer, header, or any where in the theme. animation on first page load is a very distracting and unexpected experience.
Native WordPress custom fields are added twice – Custom Fields are sometimes being duplicated. Sometimes this results in two or even three copies of the same custom fieldCustom FieldCustom Field, also referred to as post meta, is a feature in WordPress. It allows users to add additional information when writing a post, eg contributors’ names, auth. WordPress stores this information as metadata. Users can display this meta data by using template tags in their WordPress themes. and value.
Spacer: Add background color support – Add the background-color design tool to the Spacer blockBlockBlock 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.
EnhancementenhancementEnhancements are simple improvements to WordPress, such as the addition of a hook, a new feature, or an improvement to an existing feature. ✨
Add lightbox functionality to Post Featured Image block – The Image block in Gutenberg includes a native lightbox functionality that allows users to expand images in a modal view. However, this functionality is not available in the Post Featured ImageFeatured imageA featured image is the main image used on your blog archive page and is pulled when the post or page is shared on social media. The image can be used to display in widget areas on your site or in a summary list of posts. block, even though it would be equally useful in this context.
PR #67052 for Make BlockManager component reusable – The current BlockManager component is tightly coupled to the showBlockTypes and hideBlockTypes actions and cannot be used for other purposes.
[AccessibilityAccessibilityAccessibility (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)] PR #69248 for Audit the new Inserter accessibility – The new Inserter introduced in WordPress 5.5 has been identified by the accessibility team as a regressionregressionA software bug that breaks or degrades something that previously worked. Regressions are often treated as critical bugs or blockers. Recent regressions may be given higher priorities. A "3.6 regression" would be a bug in 3.6 that worked as intended in 3.5. in the accessibility level compared to WordPress 5.4.
PR #69239 for Gradient: Add a border – When the gradient is white the field in the color palette panel is hard to see.
Thanks to @krupaly2kfor helping to create this post.
At WordCampWordCampWordCamps 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. Asia, CoreCoreCore is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. Committers in attendance (including emeritus) gathered for a brief informal meeting. A few additional contributors with a heavy focus on GutenbergGutenbergThe 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/ were also invited.
There was no formal agenda, but a few goals for the meeting were mentioned at the beginning:
Allow newer committers to meet more senior ones.
Allow anyone to raise questions, concerns, or suggestions that have been on their minds.
Just spend some time together chatting and getting to know each other.
Discuss short and medium term challenges.
Below are some brief notes from discussions that happened following Chatham House Rule.
Short Term Concerns
The first topic raised was around how to ensure Core development continues over the next 3-6 months given recent changes to contributor availability. Roughly grouped, here are some points that were raised.
Gutenberg is very product focused. There needs to be clarity around how to receive product-based feedback.
There are many ongoing projects within the editor that now have no clear owner or someone with enough knowledge to continue working on.
There is a roadmap of the high-level view, but there needs to be a short-term one so contributors know where to focus their efforts.
It would be best to narrow it down to a smaller list of “projects” to focus attention.
Pick smaller sets of goals for next two releases.
Can be frustrating to work on something that stagnates. How can we avoid that?
Those looking to step up and contribute more don’t know where to focus their efforts.
Having 6.9 and possibly 7.0 focus on maintenance could be very beneficial.
There is a bottle neck with experienced mentors. We need to prevent burn out with the handful left.
The same mentors are also heavily involved in reviewing PRs (which is another bottle neck).
There needs to be clarity around what we accept in general.
What are the requirements for adding new blocks?
How do we accept new blockBlockBlock 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. variations, etc.
A handbook page similar to the oEmbed guidelines would be beneficial.
Walking the fine line of being locked into backwards compatibility vs. the ability to iterate on the product (improving extensibility and adding features vs. making it harder to maintain long term)
A more complete design system would make it easier to guide decisions.
Some possible short term projects:
cleaning up the back log/general maintenance
extensibility
low hanging fruit/clean up issues
font library support in classic themes
feature parity in classic themes
How do we make decisions with fewer visionary/product focused contributor hours available?
Making it easier to contribute
In order to better stabilize the contributor base, it needs to become easier to get involved contributing to the project. It’s generally intimidating and difficult to know where to get started, where you are needed, where you can be most effective.
There may have been a lapse following the most recent contributor mentorship group. Some were not sure how or where to continue.
Need to bring newer contributors into areas where they can be the most productive and effective.
More clearly defined projects could lend to that.
Cleaning up the backlog and open PRs could also help make this more clear.
Changes to contributor availability could make it easier to get involved in some ways.
There are companies interested in investing resources for contributing through 5FTF. Clarity helps them know where the most effective places are.
Five for the Future often supports more senior contributors (net neutral). How can we encourage companies to also invest in contributors who are not currently sponsored at all?
Areas Requiring Clarity
It’s not always clear when committers are trusted or allowed to merge certain changes. Who needs to sign off on what?
In general, committers are trusted to use their best judgement when committing. If they feel confident in a change but are unable to get additional feedback after reasonable attempts, they should feel empowered to try a change. It can always be refined or reverted.
Need to do better instilling this when on boarding.
It’s not clear who is available to review overlapping changes from the editor. For example, the REST APIREST APIThe 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/ or widgetWidgetA 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. components.
It’s not clear which contributors are currently available to provide feedback on pull requests given recent changes to available contribution time.
In general, don’t be afraid to pingPingThe act of sending a very small amount of data to an end point. Ping is used in computer science to illicit a response from a target server to test it’s connection. Ping is also a term used by Slack users to @ someone or send them a direct message (DM). Users might say something along the lines of “Ping me when the meeting starts.” anyone who appears to have stepped back from contributing. At a minimum, they should respond with a recommendation of who to follow up with. At a maximum, a surface level review of the idea and approach.
git blame can also be used to make educated guesses about who to ask for feedback.
The Code Owners file is confusing.
It’s generally used by contributors to “subscribe” to be notified when areas of the code base are changed.
The community perceives code owners as maintainers of the defined areas.
The fact that GitHubGitHubGitHub 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/ assigns those contributors as reviewers makes this worse.
The components in TracTracAn open source project by Edgewall Software that serves as a bug tracker and project management tool for WordPress. and teams/feature labels in Gutengberg repository don’t align.
Editor component is a bucket for everything from Gutenberg repository.
Improving this organization is important, but seeking maintainers for areas outside of the more narrow focuses is not a good idea while spread thin.
Follow up action items
Identify the projects/features to focus on in the short term.
Perform the regular component maintainer audit to make it more clear who is actively maintaining areas of the code base.
Audit the contributor groups and members of those groups on the Gutenberg repository. Should these reflect the same expectations as Core Component Maintainers? Can these make it more clear who should be asked/is available for feedback/reviews?
Remove the code owners file in the Gutenberg repository to avoid confusion around who is required to sign off on changes to areas of the code base.
Explore different ways that contributors can “subscribe” to parts of the Gutenberg repository.
Draft a proposal for how the code owners file should be utilized in the future to avoid this confusion if the file is reintroduced. It should indicate someone is an active maintainer of those files, and owners should commit to actively reviewing related pull requests.
Propose an update to the pull request template file explaining the expectation around reviews and who is responsible.
Improve documentation on labels, teams, processes, etc. in Gutenberg handbook.
How can we make committers feel more empowered to make decisions?
Connect with the Contributor Mentorship program to see how the Core team can help graduates continue in an effective way.
There was a strong sentiment that this is a good opportunity to spot areas that lack appropriate documentation, need process adjustments, or need clarity, and a great chance to make contributor workflows more sustainable long term.
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