[wp-testers] Don't Kill the Messenger

[Doug Stewart]

On 9/27/07, wp-tester at spamex.com <wp-tester at spamex.com> wrote:
> Well, I'm sure he'll be hearing plenty. He's already heard from me on
> other issues.
>
> The simple fact of the matter is that the WP people left these tables
> in there until the last minute, thus masking the problem.
>
> If there appears to be no problem, it will not get fixed. I would
> have gladly addressed this earlier if I had known it would be a problem.
>
> I applied nearly a textbook test cycle. I have a site under
> development, using a minimal number of plugins, carefully chosen to
> enhance synergy. I have written a number of heavy-duty plugins and
> themes that DO NOT access the database directly. I applied nightly
> builds; exactly as prescribed.
>
> Yet, at the VERY LAST RELEASE, the system suddenly went pear-shaped.
>
> It is disingenuous to suggest that it's my fault because I give you
> news you don't want to hear. I patched the problem, as I said,
> because I follow good best practices. I'm a professional software
> engineer with well over 20 years of heavy-duty softdev experience. WP
> is an excellent system, developed with professional standards, which
> is a chief reason I selected it to use for this site. This was a
> mistake, and it may not affect many people, but it was a mistake in
> process nonetheless.
>
> I fully realize that the site I'm developing (http://
> longislandna.org) "pushes the envelope," and is not a standard WP
> workflow, so I have been prepared from the start to encounter issues
> where there might be mismatches.
>
> I'm a pro geek. I'll make it work. I'm working double-time to avoid
> hacking the core. The site is an extreme makeover of WP, but it
> follows the rules to the T. I have been able to immediately apply
> nightly builds to it because I have kept all the mods inside the API
> and the wp-content folder (including a complete reroute for mobile
> content, which is being developed now).
>
> This was a boo-boo, and it wasn't mine. It's not a devastating one,
> and I'm not hitting the alarm klaxon. It's an open source project
> that gives me a very powerful and useful system for free. I very much
> appreciate that, and I am working the system exactly as prescribed. I
> have no problem with workarounds.
>

To quote Cool Hand Luke: "What we've got here is a failure to communicate."

Chris, much has been said as to plugin compatibility in WP 2.3.  I've
found that Ryan's blog is the place you need to watch for these sorts
of issues in particular (e.g.,
http://boren.nu/archives/2007/09/16/wordpress-23-plugin-compatibility/,
http://boren.nu/archives/2007/09/05/wordpress-23-database-schema-changes/).
 The full impact of dropping the category-related tables has swirled
about wp-hackers and wp-testers for months, with the decision to force
the drop coming in the last RC.  I would think that interested plugin
devs, seeking maximum compatibility, would look in on particularly
wp-hackers and the lead developers' blogs every once in a while.

 I don't think it's entirely fair to dump on WordPress for these
plugins failing. I do think we could have forced the issue earlier in
the 2.3 release cycle (back before the RCs would have been ideal,
methinks).

Just my $.02.


-- 
-Doug

http://literalbarrage.org/blog/