Core Team Update: February 2021

Beware, seven posts are incoming in the next 2 days. I had a bit of a backlog 😇

Current release: WordPress 5.7

In February, a new 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. and a major releaseMajor Release A set of releases or versions having the same major version number may be collectively referred to as “X.Y” -- for example version 5.2.x to refer to versions 5.2, 5.2.1, and all other versions in the 5.2. (five dot two dot) branch of that software. Major Releases often are the introduction of new major features and functionality. of WordPress were in the works:

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//Full Site Editing (FSE)

Miscellaneous blog posts, updates, and discussions published in the Core Blog

#core

Core Team Update: December 2020

WordPress 5.6 released

On December 8th, WordPress 5.6 “Simone” was released.

Three silent release candidates were added to the schedule

Twenty Twenty-One and Twenty Nineteen received updates two weeks after 5.6 was released.

You can partecipate in the 5.6 retrospective.

Next release, WordPress 5.7

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/

Miscellaneous blog posts, updates, and discussions published in the Core Blog

If you would like to read more granular reports, check the Week In Core updates.

#core

Core Team Update: November 2020

Current major releaseMajor Release A set of releases or versions having the same major version number may be collectively referred to as “X.Y” -- for example version 5.2.x to refer to versions 5.2, 5.2.1, and all other versions in the 5.2. (five dot two dot) branch of that software. Major Releases often are the introduction of new major features and functionality.: WordPress 5.6

The month of November 2020 was a busy one for WordPress CoreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress.

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/

  • At the beginning of every month, planned tasks are posted. This is what was planned for November.
  • Gutenberg 9.3 and 9.4 were released

Miscellaneous blog posts, updates, and discussions published in the Core Blog

For more granular updates, check the Week In Core.

#core

Core Team Update: October 2020

Current major releaseMajor Release A set of releases or versions having the same major version number may be collectively referred to as “X.Y” -- for example version 5.2.x to refer to versions 5.2, 5.2.1, and all other versions in the 5.2. (five dot two dot) branch of that software. Major Releases often are the introduction of new major features and functionality.: WordPress 5.6

The past month of October 2020 saw the WordPress 5.6 release cycle kick into high gear with weekly Betas.

You can read an update on the progress of the release and a note explaining why the widget screen will not ship in 5.6, after all.

Not included in the initial scope was the REST API Authentication, which was proposed and merged in October!

Minor Releases: 5.5.2 and 5.5.3

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/

  • At the beginning of every month, planned tasks are posted. This is what was planned for October.
  • In October, Gutenberg 9.2 (the last version of 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 to go into WordPress 5.6)

New Default Theme: Twenty Twenty-One

At the end of September, the new default theme was introduced.

In October, work continued on tirelessly on it, to make it as accessible, performant and usable as possible. Meetings continued and a couple of test-scrubs were organised to test overall functionality, UIUI UI is an acronym for User Interface - the layout of the page the user interacts with. Think ‘how are they doing that’ and less about what they are doing., UXUX UX is an acronym for User Experience - the way the user uses the UI. Think ‘what they are doing’ and less about how they do it., and Dark Mode.

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. 8

Works continues to make WordPress CoreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. as compatible as possible with the next release of PHP 8, scheduled to be released few days before 5.6 is released.

A detailed call for testing has been published in the blog, with instructions. Deadline is November 17th.

Miscellaneous blog posts, updates, and discussions published in the Core Blog

The next update will be about November and it will be published in early December. We are committed to bringing Core updates to this blog 🙂

In the meantime, you can also check the Week In Core updates, which have been brought back today in the Core blog.

#core

Marketing team update – July 2020

We have brought together some of the work we are doing at the moment as a bi-monthly roundup. Do come along to the 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/. channel if you have a background or experience in marketing and want to get involved.

What does that word mean?

We have been reviewing the WordPress and contributing jargon buster/ glossary. This builds on the work done on this at WordCampWordCamp WordCamps 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. Europe (WCEU).

Come and join the Marketing channel or reply below if you would like to work on this or suggest words you think should be included in the next update.
https://make.wordpress.org/marketing/handbook/wordpress-jargon-glossary/ 

WordPress release 5.5

From the marketing team, Mary Baum (@marybaum ) is the Marcomms Co-ordinator for the release. Yvette Sonneveld (@YvetteSonneveld ) and Abha Thakor (@webcommsat ) are also on the working group. We are finding opportunities for members to give feedback, including developers on the team. Thanks to everyone who has been supporting this.

WordPress 5.5 Beta 1 came out for testing last week. Do please consider how you can help with this. Update: Beta 2 launched on 14 July 2020.

We have even more marketing team members involved with 5.6! More on releases and what marketing is doing to support this work in future updates. You can understand more about developments in 5.5 by following the weekly dev meetings in the #core Slack channel on Wednesdays, 20:00 – 21:00 UTC. 

Onboarding videos

We are recruiting help to make different language versions of our onboarding videos to help non-native English speakers to connect with the global Make Teams and participate in contributor events.

We have a number of resources being developed including a video on how to join WordPress.orgWordPress.org The 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/ and Make WordPress Slack. These videos make it easier for new contributors, especially in advance of online contributor events. They are helping the Marketing Team, WordCamp Europe and other teams to support new joiners, and reducing onboarding time. We will be adding to the seven videos already voiced-over in different languages, with voiceovers being prepared in Spanish, Greek, French, Hindi, Italian, Romanian and more.

How you can help

As this has a marketing and outward looking focus, we need contributors with strong presenting voices who are confident translators. We also ask them to link in with the relevant locale and so we can promote information about their Slack channels too. If you can help, contact (@)abhanonstopnewsuk and (@)macgraphic in the Make WordPress Slack.

We are working towards getting more videos and other onboarding material ready for the WordCamp US contributor event.

You can find the videos we have completed so far on YouTube. Once all subtitled, they are being moved to WordPress.tv and the links will be updated on the WordPress Contributor Day Handbook on GitHub.

Next onboarding / introduction to contributing to the Marketing team

Tuesday 14 July 2020, 12:00 UTC via video-conferencing. A final reminder for anyone who wanted to come to this session, please register on the sign-up sheet.

These sessions cover:

  • working in Slack
  • collaborating in documents

Promoting WordPress Meetups

If you are a 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. organizer, help us to help you market your events by completing our survey. We continue to create materials in response to feedback and support organizing teams during the pandemic.

We hope many of our initiatives will help the community stay connected and to welcome new joiners. You can use #OnlineWPMeetup on your social channels to share your chapter events with others from a global audience.

Video marketing and subtitling WordPress.tv videos

We’ve trained another 20 people to identify videos on WordPress.tv which could be used to market WordPress, its features and its amazing community.

We continue to work with the TV Team on this and prioritizing videos which need subtitling. Through this marketing campaign, we want to help more users be aware of and use these free resources in their work or hobby website projects.

Supporting contributor events

The work post WordCamp Europe and leading up to WordCamp US is continuing at pace. We have welcomed a lot of new members joining us from other teams or new to the project.

A very big thanks to @webcommsat , @OGlekler , @meher , @nullbyte, @marks99, @yvettesonneveld and @amethystanswers for leading various aspects and doing a tremendous amount of work during many months. Thanks too to every member of the team that is involved with the work and participates in working groups and tasks throughout the week on an ongoing basis.

Core Group Update for February 5th, 2014

It’s time for another CoreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. Group Update!

3.9 is going strong — here’s a short synopsis of last week’s happenings:

Enhancements and HooksHooks In 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.

  • The first run for a refreshed “Edit Image” modal inside TinyMCE landed, which includes a “replace image” function. Work continues on #24409, if you’d like to help out!
  • Arguments are now included when filtering wp_dropdown_categories() with wp_dropdown_cats. #24103
  • New Hook, resetpass_form, in wp-login.php #21044
  • Add wp_install and wp_upgrade hooks to the respective functions. #25762

Database changes

  • Improved Compatibility with MySQL 5.6, which has stricter default SQL modes.
    Disables NO_ZERO_DATE, ONLY_FULL_GROUP_BY, STRICT_TRANS_TABLES, STRICT_ALL_TABLES, TRADITIONAL. Introduces filterable wpdb::set_sql_mode(), with incompatible_sql_modes filterFilter Filters are one of the two types of Hooks https://codex.wordpress.org/Plugin_API/Hooks. They provide a way for functions to modify data of other functions. They are the counterpart to Actions. Unlike Actions, filters are meant to work in an isolated manner, and should never have side effects such as affecting global variables and output. for plugins. #26847
  • We now throw a notice when wpdb::prepare() is called without a placeholder. #25604
  • In wpdb::db_connect(), allow the loading of a translatable custom database error template. #25703

Library updates

  • TinyMCE updated to 4.0.16. This is important to note as Core shifts to TinyMCE 4.0, because many plugins that extend TinyMCE will need to be updated. #24067
  • Dashicons updated to latest. Adds line break, paragraph, code, and bbPressbbPress Free, open source software built on top of WordPress for easily creating forums on sites. https://bbpress.org.. #26936
  • MediaElement.js updated to 2.13.2. #26954

3.9 Team Updates:

  • Audio/Video: There’s an update post by @wonderboymusic.
  • 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. CustomizerCustomizer Tool built into WordPress core that hooks into most modern themes. You can use it to preview and modify many of your site’s appearance settings.: “We’re running more users tests; Working on keyboard 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) features; Trying to figure out support for wide widgets; Asked for some code review/notes; And digesting feedback from our recent p2 post.” (@shaunandrews)

Housekeeping items last week included a call for GSoC participation from @jenmylo, and trac component reorganization proposal from @nacin. The reorganization was approved during the chat on Wednesday and is well under way. Additionally, there’s now a new Trac reports overlay and TracTrac Trac is the place where contributors create issues for bugs or feature requests much like GitHub.https://core.trac.wordpress.org/.’s navigation got overhauled.

For expanded details on recent happenings in core, check out “Last Week in WordPress Core,” and last-last week in WordPress Core.

#core

Core Group Update for January 13, 2014

Most of coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. was on hiatus during the holiday season, but things are kicking off again!

Here we go:

On 3.8:

  • 3.8.1 is still under development, and may be released as early as this week.
  • There are still tickets in need of assistance, so if you’d like to lend a hand, check out report 4.

On 3.9+

On General Awesomeness

If you have anything to add, or there are questions on the above, please comment below!

#core

Core Group Update for November 14th, 2013

On the 3.8 Release:

  • The merge window closed with yesterday’s dev meeting. If you missed it, you can catch the logs.
  • All of the plugins mentioned in last week’s chat as candidates made it in:
    • MP6
    • DASH
    • THX38
    • Widgets Area Chooser
  • TwentyFourteen is still chugging along.
  • Work continues on other development, including enhancements that were not built into plugins, which you can participate with on trac, until 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, scheduled for next Wednesday.
  • There’s a run to fix JavaScript errors under jshint headed up by @kadamwhite, which is a great place to pitch in if you’re 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/. inclined.
  • We’re still deciding exactly in which manner to include Open Sans in core, and how much to bundle.

On Future Releases:

  • Chats continue for The Search Initiative (Previously “Omnisearch”), which is growing in scope a bit, but in a good way.
  • There is still some interest in Featured Content, but it’s in need of a lead to give it a chance to land in a future release.
  • Work continues on the Front End Editor project, with regular chats on Mondays at 16:00 UTC.

On CoreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. Standards:

If you have anything to add, or there are questions on the above, please comment below!

#core

Core Group Update for November 5th, 2013

Hello there! It’s (past) time for a CoreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. Group update!

Apologies for the latency. Now that I’m no longer on the road, this should be a bit easier to keep up appropriately.

On the 3.7 Release:

On the 3.8 Release:

  • The initial merge planning meeting happened this Monday. If you missed it, you can catch the logs.
  • As of this week, tomorrow, dev chats will transition to 3.8 talk, and the Wednesday dev chat has been shifted to 21:00 UTC to account for DST shifts.
  • Members of the core team are buddying up with each of the separate teams, to work with them to aid in merging, or aiding in deciding what parts will reach core, and which will not.

If you have anything to add, or there are questions on the above, feel free to comment below!

#core

Core Group Update for October 21, 2013

Hello there! It’s time for a CoreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. Group update!

On the 3.7 Release:

  • On Friday, October 18, 2013, RC1 was released.
  • If the stars align, we’re expecting a final release before this Friday, or if not, early next week. We’re really trying to avoid a Friday release. Really. For sure. (Okay, maybe that last bit is just from me)
  • There has been intensive testing of automatic upgrades by individual users and hosts, including mass upgrades on the part of GoDaddy (props @kurtpayne).
  • We’re no longer removing all transients on database upgrade, and only removing expired ones ([25838]).

On the 3.8 Release:

  • Twenty Fourteen: Missed in the previous update, per Twenty Fourteen chat, there will be a slider, albeit as a compromise, disabled by default. Since Featured Content may not be ready for 3.8, users will be able to assign content to the slider through the use of a tag.

#core