[wp-hackers] Rumor Mill Questions Need Answering

[Ryan Boren]

On Sun, 2005-06-26 at 08:15 -0500, Lorelle VanFossen wrote:
> The documentation team of volunteers is eagerly reading the hackers and 
> testers mailing lists, trying to distill what we need to know in order 
> to prepare documents for the next releases, all the way to 1.6. Rumors 
> are flying that there will be a new documentation site to handle 1.6. 
>
> New volunteers are now backing out because they do not want their 
> efforts to go to waste. So help us clear up some of the rumors, please.
> 
> We understand that the development team is working hard to improve the 
> interface, the Administration Panels, of WordPress. Our concerns address 
> other issues:
> 
> 1. Will all the current template tags be replaced in the new version(s)? 
> Or just expanded and added to?

All current tags will be carried forward.

> 2. Will Themes, as they are currently structured, continue to work? Or 
> need dramatic alterations such as with 1.2 to 1.5?

No.  Alterations weren't required in 1.5 either.  They were needed only
if you wanted to use the theme features.

> 3. Will Loop structures need to be changed or will they continue to 
> function?

No.  All loop structures ever supported by WP are still supported today
and will be supported in 1.6.

> 4. Will current plugins still work?

Yes, although there are usually some that break from release to release.
Some plugins did deep into WP internals, which may change.  Some plugins
rely on buggy WP behavior to do their work and break when the WP bug is
fixed.  So, there will likely be some breakage, but nothing systemic.

> 5. Will Pages be changed or improved? Will there be another additional 
> feature like Pages added to allow the user to work outside of the Loop?

I suspect there will be improvements.   Improvements are good, right?

> 6. WordPress Average User asks, "How much WORK will I have to do to 
> upgrade my WordPress site?"

Download files, upgrade.php.

The 1.5 theme changes were an exceptional event.  However, those changes
were completely optional.  1.2 templates copied into 1.5 work just fine,
you just can't use themes unless you upgrade your templates.

1.5 and 1.6 are going to have some notable differences (otherwise it
would be called 1.5.2).  The documentation team needs to decide how they
are going to support both 1.5 and 1.6.  Most documentation will apply to
both, but there will be some divergence as features are added to 1.6.

Ryan