Future Development Plans - Post v2.3

Site Admin/Owner Joined: Aug 27, 2002 Posts: 17088

When v2.30.00 was released back in October, 2008, we included this in the Future Development Section of the Documentation.

Quote:

Important Announcement Concerning RavenNuke(tm) Post v2.30.00 Development

* It is our intention and direction to develop all future versions of RavenNuke(tm) using PHP 5.x and MySQL 5.x in all RavenNuke(tm) versions post v2.30.00. We are not planning to retrofit the v2.30.00 version, meaning we are not intentionally rewriting all of the v2.30.00 code. But we will be taking advantage of v5 features wherever it will enhance the amount of code being written and/or make the code more efficient.

* PHP ceased supporting their v4.x in December of 2007 (see PHP 4 end of life announcement [13-Jul-2007]) so if your host is not supporting PHP v5.x and MySQL v5.x then you need to press them to get current Smile

. At the very least your host needs to offer dual versions and let you decide which one to use. For more information concerning migration from v4 to v5 see Migrating from PHP 4 to PHP 5.0.x

* We have tried to retain as much backward compatibility with prior versions of other *nuke derivatives and will continue to do so, but effective with RavenNuke(tm) post v2.30.00 releases we will be changing approaches/designs in some areas so backward compatibility in all areas will not be possible. This is not to say that your current blocks/modules/themes will not work. They will possibly/probably need some tweaking here and there. We will continue to include conversion detail for upgrading from prior versions of RavenNuke(tm) as well as other *nuke versions in our documentation just as we have always done.

* With the next release of RavenNuke(tm) (post v2.30.00) there will be enough core structure/foundational changes to the code that what has been referred to as the "phpnuke engine" will no longer be a viable/legal comparison. It will be replaced with the RN Engine (or whatever we might choose to call it). This will provide us more liberty in the development and licensing model should we decide/need to take advantage of these features. What is more important is that there will be noticeable changes and more freedom in footnotes or the lack thereof. All credits will, of course, remain, but they will not necessarily need to be posted in/on your public pages.

* All Documentation is in the process of being converted to a Wiki format.

* More information will be forthcoming as we finalize it.

* Last, but certainly not least, the RavenNuke(tm) Team will be taking a very much needed development hiatus for a while. We have basically been working non-stop for about 4 years now, some even longer. We all need time to rest, re-energize, tend to our own sites and other responsibilities. This is not a hiatus from support. In fact it will probably improve the overall support as we won't be being pulled in so many different directions all the time. We will continue to work behind the scenes but other than for security issues we have no immediate plans for a post v2.30.00 release.

* The RavenNuke(tm) Team
October, 2008

Up to now we have tried, as much as possible, to stay compatible with things that were/are old. And, we've done a pretty good job. Especially when you consider the tens of thousands of changes/corrections/additions/deletions we have implemented.

v2.30.00 (v2.3x) was to be our pivotal release, structurally. This was to be the last major series release that stayed with PHPv4.x. You can breath a sigh of release, albeit a short one. We will be staying with PHPv4.x until at least RNv2.5. We will also be releasing a v2.30.01 wich is a maintenance release with some shored up security modifications this month.

Knowing that all things are subject to change, v2.4 will be concentrating in several areas and may be the longest in times of turn-around to the public. We have been averaging about 2 releases a year. v2.4 may be the only release, along with the inevitable fix pack, that we release. But you can count on it being an important one.

Then there's (c)Raven Nuke Merchant(tm). This will be an integrated eCommerce RavenNuke(tm) solution. Do any of you remember Calloway's Cart? Or any of the derivatives? Well, RavenNuke Merchant(tm) is being built under the direction of Brian Calloway himself. He firmly believes in RavenNuke(tm) and the direction and approach we are taking and wants add some glitter and Gold to our already excellent product. This is intended to be released by mid year.

v2.40.00 is going to be a very big release in terms of looks and that doesn't necessarily mean themes although that will be a part. All I can tell you is stay tuned and expect some great stuff! There's so much more!

BTW, we still need interpreters!

RavensScripts