R.A.D. Computer Consulting

That's right, Etomite Prelude v1.1 is now completed and available for download... I will attempt to explain why we made another release so quickly after releasing Prelude v1.0 as well as giving a brief list of what has changed...

First, because I know someone is going to ask, here is the changelog section which pertains to v1.1:
2008-05-10
Etomite Prelude v1.1 Released
Ralph (many more than listed)

• Globally changed to EOL character for all text based files in the code base for better cross-platform compatibility. This fix addresses the v1.0 english.inc.php problem discussed in the forums.
• Re-wrote the installer to allow less error-prone upgrades.
• The code base no longer comes with the manager/includes/config.inc.php file. It now contains the file, manager/includes/config.php, which is only a placeholder for the actual file. This file must be renamed or copied to manager/includes/config.inc.php before performing a New Installation.
• Fixed lingering HTML markup errors in several manager scripts.
• Modified the TinyMCE integration files for better functionality.
• Modified the Xinha integration configuration file for better functionality.
• Modified the parser, index.php, file to account for installer and config changes.
• Removed all PHP short_open_tags from the code base to eliminate potential variable display problems.
• Modified the intTableExists() API function by adding the FROM clause to resolve ongoing issues.

Now, let me explain, more in depth, the WHY behind this rapid re-release... It was becoming obvious that we were getting far too many support issues as people were attempting to perform upgrades... And while I had implemented several new features to the installer it was apparent that those changes weren't enough... So, glutton for punishment that I am, I went ahead and made a few more changes... The v1.1 code base does not contain the manager/includes/config.inc.php file and the installer now handles any changes to that file when performing an upgrade... However, when performing a new installation you must rename or copy the placeholder file, manager/includes/config.php, to manager/includes/config.inc.php and make it writable before attempting an install... Of course the installer now was added checks, warnings, and instructions, which should help eliminate many of the installation related support issues... So, unless there is sme catastrophic problem during an installation or an upgrade, there is no reason why you need to manually edit your manager/includes/config.inc.php file... There is now an HTML version of the README file that is accessible from within the installer as well...

I have tested this new code base by doing new installs as well as upgrades of older releases and have had no problems... I have even intentionally messed things up in an effort to test the various "what if" scenarios that could arise... The installer keeps you adequately informed... Upgrading a older release can be as simple as several mouse clicks, one to upgrade the configuration file, one to return to the upgrade panel, and one to upgrade the database, one to get back to the upgrade panel, and one to open the Etomite Manager where you are immediately taken into the Etomite configuration panel to verify and save your site settings...

So, should you upgrade...??? Of course... Many additional small bugs were fixed in the HTML markup... And so many other changes were made that it's well worth the effort to be running the very latest code base... I would never even consider upgrading any older release to anything but Etomite Prelude v1.1 because it's a far simpler task... It's almost a "no-brainer"... Even sites which have just upgraded to Prelude v1.0 should go ahead and upgrade to Prelude v1.1, for support reasons if for no other...

Today, May 1st., 2008, is the official release date of Etomite Prelude v1.0 which marks a major milestone in development. This release will prove to be the most stable and feature-rich release to date. The number of bug fixes, improvements, and overall performance enhancements is far too great to list them all here. Suffice it to say, a lot has changed. Anyone who is running an older release of Etomite is encouraged to upgrade. You won't be disappointed.

So, what are some of the new features? Here is a short list:

• New manager skin
• New default page template
• New default installation content
• New default snippets
  
• Chunks now utilize permissions
• Integrated new release of EditArea code highlighter/editor
• Integrated new release of TinyMCE
• Integrated new pop-up calendar for date selections
• Addressed virtually all Bug Tracker issues
• Fixed multiple hidden bugs in the Etomite parser and API functions

The following configuration options were added to the Etomite configuration panel:

• Added global manager date display format selection
  
• Added global manager time display format selection
• Added empty cache default setting for documents
• Added show in menu default setting for documents
• Added Enable/Disable manager audit trail option
• Added maximum number of login attempts setting
• Added SQL debugger option
• Added Snippet debugger option
• Added Enable/Disable embedded PHP option
• Added inline viewable filetypes setting for the file manager
• Added viewable filetypes setting for the file manager
• Added editable filetypes setting for the file manager
• Added exclude paths setting for the file manager
• Added maximum upload size setting for the file manager (and elsewhere)
• Added display link-back to Etomite option

One major modification that was incorporated into the code base relates to how hosts are configuring newer versions of PHP on their servers. Issues with the PHP include_path setting were becoming a major problem and there was no easy solution. Re-writing every include statement within the entire code base was the only effective solution to the problem. This fix has been tested on at least one server known to exhibit this problem and everything is working perfectly.

The list goes on and on but this is all I can think of at the moment. While the new resources mentioned earlier won't be installed during upgrades they will be installed if a new full installation is performed. That about wraps it up for now. This release marks the end of development of the Prelude code base branch and only minor bugs will be addressed from this point on. I need to rest up so we can get started on the next major release.

THE END

Although the Etomite 0.6.1.4 release has proven to be the most stable release to date there is still some room for minor improvements. The Etomite 0.6.1.5 release will fix a few lingering issues which remain to be addressed. It will also attempt to remedy several minor glitches which made were created by enhancements in the last release. I'll add more information on which items are being addressed as time allows. We're trying our hardest to focus on bugs and not on further enhancements for this release. Stay tuned.

Yes, it's true, Etomite 0.6.1.4 has finally been released. The development team has worked feverishly in order to get this release out on May 15th., 2007. So far everything appears to be working as planned. We had almost 250 downloads in the first twenty-four hours. That's not bad for an open source software package that didn't publicize the release in advance! The changelog for this release is extensive and we did more than just bug fixes in this release. All of the fixes and new features were added now as we will be putting this release into maintenance-only mode so we can concentarate our efforts on the new code base, Cocoon. Anyone using Etomite is urged to upgrade to this newest release as it addresses security issues, bug fixes, cosmetic and language issues, and adds some nice new features.

Okay, you're probably wondering what new features are included. Well, one new feature is the integration of EditArea, a code editor which can be used in place of standard textareas for editing Etomite resources like templates, snippets, chunks, and even document in non-Rich Text mode. Here is an image which was pulled from the snippet resources section. It has intentionally been resized for display here.

As you can see, it provides line numbers, search and replace, the ability to customize the editors font size (for us old geezers), utilizes language syntax highlighting, goto line, as well as undo and redo. The rest pretty much speaks for itself, like the nifty counters at the bottom of the editor. This is a welcome addition and I'd like to thank Johan Larsson (nalagar) for providing the integration of EditArea into the Etomite code base.

I'd additionally like to thank Johan for his continued improvements to the Drag-N-Drop feature that he has integrated into the Etomite managers document tree. Many users have commented on this handy addition and it now appears that virtually all of the bugs have been worked out of the integration.

While I'm at it I'd like to thank the entire devlopment team as well as everyone who helped in getting the code base to the point it is today. This group includes, but is not limited to, Dean, Randy Casburn, Jelmer, and more wo will be added to this list in the near future. Thanks for all the help.

Stay tuned for more about the Etomite 0.6.1.4 release right here.

Well, if you've visited the site before you are probably noticing that the sites appearance is changing. I am adapting a template that I made several years ago, which utilizes rounded corners, to use as the main site template. Things may not look all polished just yet as I am making some major formatting changes which is having trickle-down effects on other items. This is all being done in an effort to reduce the overall amount of custom formatting tweaks that I have been using. Doing so will make it easier to share more of my personal development work with the Etomite community. By not having to worry about how much HTML bending I need to un-bend in order for others to use my code I will be able to spend more time at PHP development.