[wp-hackers] "Outdated plugin" notice (was: load_plugin_textdomain() )

[Xavier Borderie]

> You could check the replacement function @since information to see when the
> function came to. This might not mean the same as when it was deprecated,
> but it should get you close.

Your making it sound as if it would be a good plugin project, and
indeed it would, but I think the usefulness of the whole thing would
be if all these data was centered on Extend, and information was
transmitted using the Notification process, which implies a change in
Core code, among other things.

Indeed, it implies a lot of work, if it were to follow my ideal view:
# First step:
  - parse @deprecated and @since tag from each /branches versions into
a wp.org-hosted database, along with "not available in this version"
flag (so that we can get a begin and end date between that and @since,
and mark the whole method as deprecated in the generated table). Bonus
points if the parser can compare each function's @param and @return
changes between major version, in order to mark WP version with "major
change for this method" flag.
  - modify WP's Notification process in order to display deprecation
notes and unavailability notices if plugin is at latest version, new
version notification if it is not yet.
# Second step
  - modify Extends backend to double-check plugins version
requirements, and notice/mail author about a need for verification.

Clearly, this is not something that can be undertaken by a single
developer, and it would be of a lot of help to just about any WP user,
it would most certainly relieve a lot of stress from the forums, and
it would make Compatibility tables that much more up-to-date.
I feel therefore that this task, ask huge as it is (on the Extend side
at least) has to be done by the Automattic folks, and therefore I'd
like to hear the opinions of Matt, Ryan and the others of the
feasibility of this. Too bad GSoC is done.

The bad thing is that, even by cutting it into two steps, this might
not be doable for 2.7, and therefore the decision to
replace/remove/deprecate load_plugin_textdomain() still remains.

Again, I really don't know if I'm just aiming too high and asking for
the impossible, so let me know if I do.
I do feel, tho, that this could be important and very useful to
everyone, so pardon me for insisting on certain ideas.


-- 
Xavier Borderie