Georgetown Release - Work in Progress

Georgetown, Guyana: Governmental administration.

Introduction

Georgetown Release is the code name for the TWiki Release 5.0, TWikiRelease05x00. This release will supersede the FreetownRelease (TWikiRelease04x02). The CodeName of the release after Georgetown is not determined yet.

Release Focus

The TWikiMission specifies the overall purpose of the project.

The release focus is per our roadmap

below is an include from TWikiRoadMap

• Usability:
  • Seamless, quick, extensible WYSIWYG
  • Point and click permissions
  • Flow of manipulating content: File upload, more screen,...
  • Polish content of the TWiki distribution to be more accessible to different types of personas
• Performance & scalability:
  • Fast structured queries
  • Fast text search
  • Storage back-end that scales to gazillions of pages with compatibility and audit trail
  • Address high traffic bottlenecks by e.g. implementing caching
  • Topic Object Model
• Application platform:
  • Easy ways to build & exchange applications & components
• Mashups:
  • Easy ways to mash up different data sources & applications (XML/SOAP/JSON/OpenSocial toolkit)
• UI:
  • Stable template baseline for skins [1]

[1] Summit discussed this. Some quotes in italic. They are quotes for further discussions and should be not taken as decisions or conclusions

• Need a meeting with skin developers to conclude on this point.
• Provide a simple way for new TWiki admins to create/modify a skin to get the look of a corporate branding standard
• Easier to upgrade TWiki without having your tailorings redone
• (added after summit) - simplifying upgrades is one of the major requirements for MoveableTypeSkin, which decouples the TWiki's look and feel from TWiki features, creating a css based design environment which will not require changing as TWiki changes.

It should be noted that the roadmap in no way excludes anyone from contributing features in other areas. Contributors can still raise proposals per TWikiRelease04x01Process. Also note that items that had 0 votes are still desired features. The voting is simply for showing the priority among the summit participants.

Open Issues

• Release manager for Georgetown
  • KennethLavrsen volunteers once again.
  • baring surprises, I (SvenDowideit) expect to continue as co-ReleaseManager
• What processes will be used to manage the development/release process?
  • SD considers that more processes need automation
• Can we agree on a release focus? The list above is worthy, but lists possibles only

Georgetown Release Meetings

Meetings are held in #twiki_release IRC channel.

Features / Change Proposals

See TWikiFeatureProposals

-- Contributors: PeterThoeny, CrawfordCurrie, SvenDowideit - 07 May 2007

Discussion

I added Usability to the Release Focus . I'm convinced that TWikis lacking ease of use (in some parts) needs to be improved a lot. It's the next major release, so we need to make a bis step forward in this area.

-- CarloSchulz - 23 Jan 2008

Database storage would be the feature that TWiki needs. I'm no big coder but will seek to contribute whatever I can. I wish for a narrow feature list, mostly focusing on database support.

-- LarsEik - 23 Jan 2008

Ability to easily install/deploy Twiki in a (virtual) hosted solution which does not have command line (shell) access, nor ready access to other utilities (such as gunzip etc), and where cgi-bin can not be dedicated to simply having Twiki in it (since a variety of other packages also run off the same virtualised hosted area).

-- TonySutherland - 30 Jan 2008

Tony, TWikiStandAlone is probably something you want to help along then. I managed to get it running on my laptop. Really great and easy. I think that is nr.2 feature after database storage.

-- LarsEik - 17 Feb 2008

I am supporting Carlo for adding Usability as a main goal for TWiki.

-- MartinSeibert - 18 Feb 2008

Nobody is interested in ProposedUTF8SupportForI18N ?

-- JurajVariny - 14 Apr 2008

Its not that no-one is interested in seeing it done. Rather that no-one has commited to doing the work. Are you interested in doing it (we really do need more hands in this area in particular)?

-- SvenDowideit - 14 Apr 2008