WebsiteBaker Version 2.8.2 released

The Development Team is pleased to announce the new 'stable'-version of 2.8.2 today. From now on WebsiteBaker 2.8.2 is available on  this site for download.

One year has passed since the release of the last 'stable' Websitebaker 2.8.1. The Development Team under new leadership has determined that the allmost 8 year old code didn't compete with actual technics and trends. It seems obvious that continuing fixing and expanding the in the meanwhile outdated codebase should lead to a dead end. That's why we started to update the old codebase and replace it with new technics.

To ensure backwards compatibility with exisiting modules without any major changes the decission was made in 2010 to split the development up to 2.8.2 and the next version 2.9.0-dev. From then on the main focus in the 2.8.2 development was to close securityholes and to eliminate many error sources wich some of them originate from the beginning of WB. At many places where it was usefull and  functional new stable 2.9.0-dev codefragments were used. Since the release of 2.8.1 clearly more then 180 tickets from the repository solved. Many of the tickets didn't affect just one file, some of them affects a whole package.

As longer announced this concludes the development of the 2.8 series. Ofcourse will the 2.8.2 still be maintained. All future fixes and patches will be collected and closed and offered for download as a kind of servicepack. This will save complex upgrades or downloading a complete installation.

An Upgrade to the new version is strongly recommended.

With thanks to the testers and the Websitebaker Community WebsiteBaker 2.8.2 has become what it is today. Some suggestions couldn't make it to this version. But they will be realised in 2.9.0.

The important changes and highlights in short

1. Upgrade FCKeditor to version 2.6.6
2. Form and News module revised
   • Update news module to version 3.5.5
   • Update form module to version 2.8.1
3. Jquery update to version 1.6.2 and UI to version 1.8.14.
4. Frontend output filter settings can be switched between absolute and relative addressing.
5. Introducing an extention blacklist for uploads in media directory, place the extention in the option: Don't upload these file types.
6. Partly new translations and adjustments to language files.
7. With the new upgradescript it is possible to upgrade WebsiteBaker version 2.7 and greater direct to version 2.8.2.
8. ShowMenu2 is expanded with the new parameters SM2_XHTML_STRICT and SM2_NO_TITLE. Allso the old 'empty href-attribut' bug is fixed. With these changes SM2 can produce a valid XHTML-strict output.
   • ShowMenu2 update to version 4.9.6
9. Added the SecureForm.mtab.php wich is maintained by the WebsiteBaker Community, With the optional SecureForm Switcher you can switch between SingleTab and MultiTab.
10. Adjust the Admintools to the new security handling
    • Update jsadmin to version 1.3.0
    • Update Droplet to version 1.1.0
    • Update output_filter to version 0.2
    • Update captcha_control to version 1.2.0
11. Preventing of Droplets in 'news'- and 'form'- Modulen (input and textareafields).
12. E-Mail validation supports now allso domains with umlauts.
13. The directory admin/images again is in place, some of the modules still needs it. From version 2.9.x this directory will not be any more included. Affected modules need to be adjusted accordingly.
14. The Classic Theme is not supported anymore and removed.
15. The pagelist is valid
16. Testing and reworking of many backlinks in backend. The javascript backlinks are removed.
17. Many, many small bugs are fixed and part of the codebase is renewed.
18. Listing of all the changes in the CHANGELOG.

What brings the future?

Starting with the 2.9.0 the versioning will be normal continued. For the future there will be loads of work for the development team. With the new version an implementation of new interfaces, amongst others, is made. The transparent definitions of frontendmodules and admintools is of importance so module developers will have a stable and reliable basis at their disposal with wich new modules can be build faster, easier and more  secure. The current interfaces will be kept parallel in place for a long time ensuring the compatibility, with minor changes, of existing modules.

A big part of all the changes won't have visible effects but will dissapear in the core of WB. Ofcourse there will be new things wich will be noticed on the surface or with new functionality. More on version 2.9.x of WebsiteBaker will be revealed in an extra post in the forum.