Emoji in the Codex!

Currently the new emoji in WordPress 4.2 aren’t documented anywhere. I found this very confusing when trying to figure out how to use them. This is a great time to get rid of the old Using Smilies page and have a new user-facing emoji page.

This needs to be done asap so we can include a link to it in the new release.

The page should contain the following:

1. Short intro to emoji
2. Short section on emoji on mobile
3. Short section on emoji on desktop (including the shortcuts on each platform to bring up the emoji popup)
4. List of common emoji/smilies

Anyone interested in volunteering? We need it pretty quickly so we can add a link to it in 4.2.

#codex

There’s not a whole lot happening in docs…

There’s not a whole lot happening in docs at the minute so how about folding the Handbooks chat in with the docs chat and having a regular docs chat on Thursdays from 18:00 – 19:00 UTC?

#office-hours

Remembering Kim

The project is going to be offering an annual travel scholarship in Kim’s name. This is a really fitting way to remember her, giving other people the same joy that she felt through her participation in the community. You can read more about it here: https://make.wordpress.org/community/2015/01/15/remembering-kim-parsell/

Thanks to @jenmylo, @matt, and everyone else who was involved in arranging it.

#kim-parsell

Kicking off helphub

Helphub is a new docs/support/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. project. If you’d like to be involved, you can read and comment on kick-off post here and read the full specifications here.

#helphub

Docs Information Architecture

I’ve split the types of people who’ll be approaching the content into two broad groups:

  • Users: anyone who uses WordPress, from amatuer bloggers to people setting up a complex multisiteMultisite Multisite is a WordPress feature which allows users to create a network of sites on a single WordPress installation. Available since WordPress version 3.0, Multisite is a continuation of WPMU or WordPress Multiuser project. WordPress MultiUser project was discontinued and its features were included into WordPress core.https://codex.wordpress.org/Create_A_Network. installation. WordPress users are a very broad group.
  • Developers: anyone who extends WordPress, i.e. with plugins and themes (or the JSONJSON JSON, or JavaScript Object Notation, is a minimal, readable format for structuring data. It is used primarily to transmit data between a server and web application, as an alternative to XML. 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/. in the future).

Below is a diagram which outlines how I envisage the content in the Codex being split up:

docs_ia

I’ll go through each of these sections.

Use

Knowledgebase

https://wordpress.org/support
Priority: High

Goal: to provide WordPress users with a searchable database of answers to common questions.
Target Audience: WordPress users of all levels and ability.
Example content

  • How do I add an image?
  • How do I activate multisite?
  • How do I add a new user?
  • Can I change my domain?
  • How do I move my plugins folder?
  • How do I increase my PHPPHP PHP (recursive acronym for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) is a widely-used open source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for web development and can be embedded into HTML. http://php.net/manual/en/intro-whatis.php. memory limit?
  • What is a permalink?

Status: Helphub spec in draft. To be published soon.

Guides

https://wordpress.org/support
Priority: Low
Goal:To provide barebones guides to specific use-cases for WordPress
Target Audience: WordPress users of all levels and ability, though each individual guide will be tailored towards a specific user level (for example, blogging will be less advanced than the multisite guide
Example Content:

  • Admin Guide
  • Multisite Guide
  • Installation Guide
  • Blogging Guide
  • Troubleshooting Guide

Blog

The blog can be used for release-related documentation or guides relating to a specific event. For example, whenever we anticipate an issue with a release we will publish an article in the Codex. The blog will provide a platform for that.

Extend

http://developer.wordpress.org

Code Reference

https://developer.wordpress.org/reference
Priority: High

Goal: to provide WordPress developers with an automated code reference that includes explanations and user-submitted examples
Target Audience: WordPress developers of all levels and ability.
Example content

  • Function Reference
  • Class Reference
  • Hook reference

Status: Live. Still actively developed.

Handbooks

https://developer.wordpress.org/handbook-name
Priority: High

Goal: to provide WordPress developers with guides to extending the platform
Target Audience: WordPress developers of all levels and ability.
Example content

  • Theme Developer Handbook
  • 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 Developer Handbook
  • Intro to developing with WP (including WordPress basics, setting up dev environment)

Status:

  • Plugin Developer Handbook – v1
  • Theme Developer Handbook – being worked on
  • Intro to Developing with WP Handbook – not yet started

Resources

https://developer.wordpress.org/resources
Priority: Low

Goal: to provide WordPress developers with resources
Target Audience: WordPress developers of all levels and ability.
Example content

  • Dashicons
  • Other tools

Status: Dashicons live.

Blog

A blog for publishing useful information for developers, for example information they need to know about a new release, or about changes to developer.wp.org.

#information-architecture

RIP Kim Parsell

It is with great, great sadness that I write this post. Last weekend, the docs team was struck by some truly tragic news: Kim Parsell, one of our most beloved members, died at home in Ohio.

Kim has been an integral part of the docs team for the past few years, and to say that she will be missed is an understatement. Kim was such an important part of both the docs team and the wider project. She worked hard to improve WordPress’ documentation, spearheading the inline docs efforts with @drewapicture. She was a Recent Rockstar in WordPress 3.7, and has been a contributing developer since WordPress 3.9.

But she’ll be remembered for much more than her achievements in documentation and code. The first time I met Kim was at the very first docs meetupMeetup All local/regional gatherings that are officially a part of the WordPress world but are not WordCamps are organized through https://www.meetup.com/. A meetup is typically a chance for local WordPress users to get together and share new ideas and seek help from one another. Searching for ‘WordPress’ on meetup.com will help you find options in your area. in Cincinnati in 2013. The first thought that struck me was “wow, that lady can talk!”. And talk she did: she was open, and welcoming, and big-hearted. She shared so much of herself, and listened when others wanted to share with her. She had such incredible warmth. I will always remember the last time I saw her – when she gave me a tight, tight hug, when we said goodbye in San Francisco. She was a great hugger.

I hope, that despite our grief, that we can reflect with gladness on the last few years of Kim’s life. She has been part of a community that she loved and that loved her, a community that gave her joy. From her remote corner of Ohio, she made friendships across the world. She flourished in the WordPress community, and became part of something that made her happy. I am proud to have played a small part in her happiness, just as she played a part in mine.

Kim was not someone to get knocked down easily. She was tenacious, and she was a fighter. So the docs meeting will continue as usual, this Thursday, and rather than letting this knock us down we will keep doing what we do, and in doing so keep her spirit alive.

RIP Kim. We will miss you.

docs-team-752x312

#kim-parsell

Devhub update 16th December

Apologies for my lack of updates of late. Meetings have been going on 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/., but I’ve not been good at writing up the notes.-

This week we discussed:

  • parser@coffee2code will be running the parser after 4.1 lands tomorrow. Re-parsing will reveal some new goodies, such as the Used by/Uses information
  • explanations@drew has a patch to scott to review. Once explanations land we’ll start testing them.
  • design – jan, who’s on the dot org team at automattic will be redesigning devhub in the new year
  • related content – we discussed #174 – link to generally related functions/classes. We’ll return to it next week after the Used by/Uses information lands.
  • plan for 4.1 parsing@coffee2code will run the parser tomorrow shortly after release. Please be available in the devhub room in case we have issues (especially you @Rarst 🙂 )

Committed this past week:

  • Introduced get_summary() and used it. Abstracted the fact the summary (aka short description) is stored in post_excerpt, primarily to force display of special characters.
  • Displayed function/method return types in the same style as parameter types (parenthesized, italicized)
  • Italicized parameter types in the display of the method signature
  • Enabled display of inline source code for classes
  • Moved formatting-related code into dedicated include file

#devhub

Docs Update 4th December

Thanks everyone for attending the docs chat today! Here’s what we discussed:

General updates

  • theme developer handbook: slow going at the minute, but progress is happening at the docs meetups
  • Inline docs: most of the 4.1 work has been completed. There are just a few pending tickets to be reviewed and committed
  • devhub: the next big step is to handle explanations and then we can move content from the Codex
  • admin help: has been updated for 4.1
  • 4.1: @kpdesign has nearly completed the Codex page for 4.1. She’ll pull out a list from that of updates that we need to do.

Future Projects

  • helphub: @samuelsidler and I have put together the spec for helphub and will post it once 4.1 is out of the way. We’ll aim to kick the project off in earnest in the new year

We’re aiming to have these meetings on the 1st Thursday of every month but in January that will be new year’s day. The next monthly docs meeting will be Thursday 8th January, 18:00 UTC.

Happy holidays everyone!

#chat

Monthly Docs Chat 4th December

At the recent community summit we discussed having a monthly docs chat in order to catch up with one another. It will enable us to all to stay on top of all of the docs projects, and see where we can help one another out. We agreed that this should be the first Thursday of every month, and since tomorrow is the first Thursday, let’s do it 🙂 The meeting will be at 18:00 UTC, Thursday.

Agenda
1. Review of current projects – each project lead to give a status update and outline their plan for the next month. Also raise any issues or discuss any challenges.
2. Discussion of future projects
3. Any general docs business

If anyone has anything specific to add, please leave a comment so that we can make sure that it’s discussed.

See you there 🙂

#chat

Devhub update 10th October

Thanks everyone who attended the chat. The logs are here.

WP-Parser

There was quite a lot of work done on the Parser at WCEU

  • Luca and Anton did some test sources
  • @atimmer has done some fixes and will be integrating P2P
  • Julio started on the admin 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. box ticket

Other parser stuff:

Code reference

  • lots PRs from @tarendai at wceu
  • @coffee2code to implement redirect from /themes/ to /theme/ and /plugins/ to /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/

devhub to-do list

@sams has put together a to-do list for WCSF. These are all things that need to be done by WCSF. Most are being kept in hand by @coffee2code. Except for:

  • Some assistance from a designer is required for #630.
  • the MediaWiki plugin is being dealt with by @otto42

#devhub