Backdrop CMS Weekly, 28 May 2015

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From YouTube: Backdrop CMS weekly check-in 5/28

Description

Weekly check-in on development tasks for Backdrop CMS.

A

Alright, we are on air, it is Thursday, may 28 2015 and we're going to do a quick check in today on development tasks for backdrop, CMS.

A

Alright, um as usual, we still have phpstorm licenses for backdrop CMS developers. So if you are already a member of the backdrop, contribute and would like to use, phpstorm send an email to info backdrop CMS, and we can send you a license key if you are not yet a member of the backdrop kinship group and are working on factor of kinship projects, let us know we can help you get through that process and we have phpstorm licenses if you want to use it.

A

Since last week we've had a little bit of growth Nate. Do you want to give us an update on where we stand with our community.

B

Yeah, thank you. So projects we've had one new contributor join up to the backdrop, contribute love to see those people come again, I'm hoping that we'll get some more after the call to action and the mailer that we sent out this week and we have 117 total projects for backdrop CMS on the github contribute.

B

The area where we saw the most growth in the past week was that our main tanners have been actively going through and tagging official releases. Thank you guys so much for doing that. We really appreciate it and we've moved up from 42 projects with official releases 251 projects with official releases, which is just fantastic.

B

So all of those official releases what's happening with every time somebody cuts. One of those official releases is that github now synchronizes with backdrop CMS org to record those projects in the project directory listing that we're working on building out over on the flagship website, so I'll just roll right over into the next topic, because this is all kind of related and that's all of those official releases that people have been cutting now finally have update status working.

B

So if you up, if you tag a release for one point, 0 point 0 and then later you tag relates to one point, 0 point 1, then those updates now will automatically be distributed to all backdrop, websites out there saying that the module needs to be updated. So it's also exciting. We deployed the update server checking for core as well, so ever the backdrop site that is out there is now actively well, everyone that has turned on update jacking, at least is getting notified of the updates, as they happen.

B

It's also great because we're starting to collect usage statistics, because all of those things are done together when I, like ghost check for its updates, it also backup, CMS or which version is currently running, which allows us to aggregate how many back drop sites are up there and which versions they are running. We just turned on Monday, so it's only been four days so far that we've collected statistics for it, but it's been pretty exciting to see them come in and see what modules people are running and which versions of backdrop itself they are running.

B

So that's all really exciting. There's nowhere to actually see the project usage statistics yet because we don't have the project directory listing in place, but that is the next major item for our flagship website making it. So you can easily find and search modules and see how many instances of each of those modules is installed and what most popular modules are and all of that information.

B

Yesod statistics are kind of interesting because we can see the raw data coming in, but that raw data is only aggregated on a weekly basis, so we won't be in until this coming Monday that will actually have a full week's worth of data and then we'll start figuring out. You know how many installs of various modules there are, and it's like going up and down, and things like that, so all very exciting yeah.

B

So an item in the agenda here is that we currently know which version of core people are running, but we don't know which modules within core they're running and to make it so that our analytics can provide us with a lot more useful information.

B

We want to start recording which modules inside of core people actually have enabled, and actually even further than that, we also like to check other anonymous but highly useful information for us to know like whether or not clean urls is turned on or off or not, and what are some other examples like just general, like major things that we need to figure out like what kind of configurations people are commonly using, so that we can make some judgment calls on whether or not certain features are valuable or not.

B

Okay, that's all I've got for update checking and community growth. You wanna pick it back up, Jim sure.

A

So the next item on the agenda is dressed status. um I know, uh let's see, we've got a couple. A couple feasible working on just status doesn't like they're here this week, but the status of things right now is that we do have a layer of abstraction in the latest version of Josh, which is josh seven. That will allow drush to work on things that are not Drupal, but we need to do in backdrop.

A

Itself is build in a kind of add rush interface layer that will allow you to run commands like Josh, CCL and it'll know, which function and backdrop to run. We've got a bunch of people have been working on that.

A

There are a couple of stumbling stumbling blocks in terms of even if we introduce our entire own compatibility layer might still not completely work with Josh, but we can't anticipate what those problems are going to be until we have that compatibility layer there that we're using so we've got some people working on that, and we should have updates on that. Moving along, which is really fabulous, I couldn't imagine doing drupal or backdrop development without rush anymore.

A

Now that I've gotten used to it so I'm really looking forward to having updates and address dl and all of those handy commands that we use all the time and Josh working for backdrop do so soon that we should get that underway and other things we're working on next is backdrops flagship website backdrop CMS org. We are obviously aggregating all of the modules that are posted on github we're trying to build a user interface with people can actually find the module they want as well.

A

So that involves a design task which is getting a design of the find page which we have and we should start implementing soon, as well as a design for the project page itself. So the module theme or a layout that you found on backdrop, CMS org, will have all the information that you need to decide whether you're going to use it or not in starting in just a few days. That should also contain usage statistics so that it is going to be super useful for us as well.

A

So we're starting to get into a point where you can actually compare backdrop to Drupal because we're starting to have all of the same infrastructure tasks to done as well. So that's pretty fighting as soon as we get our module theme layout stuff done. The next item on our list is to get a showcase built, and that's just because people keep asking like you know what sites are running back job. The answer right now is no way: don't you collect heeya, so we'd like to build a place where people can submit their own little.

A

Showcases of this is a site of Belton backdrop. These are things that are super interesting about it in provide companies, or maybe the web sites themselves a way to get a little link back. So we can handle some, you know hand off some, some SEO love as as well there.

A

So, uh let's see right now, we have backdrop. One point, one point: one out: I think yeah and we've we've got. Let's see that came out looks like May nineteenth is in this agenda here, and our next patch release would be one point. One point: two: we've got a couple of tasks left for that we've got some issues that went into set Drupal 7.36 that we want to get merged in and some issues that went into 7.37 that we also want to get results for back job.

A

It looks like we're pretty close on getting those done um other than that we don't have any major bugs that need to be fixed, but obviously 1.1 is new and if we come across new bugs in 1.1, they need to be solved quickly, well, just issue a new release as those get resolved, so our next minor release is 1.2 and that is scheduled for September, 15 2015 and we're hoping that that version will contain a built-in rich text editor. So this is right now.

A

The one thing that I think is a huge detriment to anyone who's trying to compare backdrop to WordPress like oo WordPress is wysiwyg. It's also a little bit of a judgment for people who are comparing backed up against Drupal 8. Yes, fact off was out under blade, isn't butcher blade? Has a rich text editor and backdrop doesn't so we could get on par with getting that and that will be fabulous and I.

A

Think that is our next super high priority item for backdrop, in addition to getting the rich text editor in, which is likely to be super hard and complicated, we've added a bunch of easier tasks to our list too, and that will be taking fields that offer different field types into course.

A

So getting modules like date and link in email, things that are really commonly used moved into core will also be helping us compare modules that are in core with modules that Drupal 8 has been core introducing basic functionality that it applies to the masses of sites that are using Drupal merged in decorah means less having to search for contribute with them. In most of these modules already have ports to backdrop which is fantastic and which means that all we need to do is: do it there?

A

A review of that port, make sure that I'll test the stuff passing and then see what does that module look like if it were in court? Does it need our rewrite, or is it fine to just put it in because we're in the 1.1 cycle we will likely not be doing a major rewrite.

A

We might be doing a little cleanup here and there of code, but for the most part we want your current backed websites if you're running 1.1 right now to be able to upgrade smoothly from one point one to 1.2, and that means well changes as little as possible in order to get that in so the modules on our list right now, our date field link fields and email field, but if we end up having other field modules that are in high demand, we want to put those into.

A

We can also look at in those, but our priority for 1.2 is, of course, the rich text editor. So let's focus on the hard thing first and then look at all the easy things later. Alright. So, in addition to those major tasks for backdrop, 1.2 we're also continually improving various other things, there's obviously a bunch of issues and the github q. In addition to the issues in our github q, since we're starting with drupal 7, we also have all the same issues that exist for drupal 7.

A

So, as you guys are going through doing your daily work, whether that's backed up or drupal, if you notice issues with the system bugs report them, if we don't have them already in urk, you already, we want to know about them if drupal doesn't have them and their queue already. Drupal needs to know too. So my daily process usually involves working on a Drupal 7 site.

A

Finding a bug posting the bug, fixing a Drupal cute, going to backdrop confirming the bug exists, posting about fixing the backdrop Q, hopefully trying to solve all the problems for everyone at once, which hope we'll move everyone forward together.

A

Ideal kisser narrow, maybe not realistic for everyone, so issues that we're currently working on solving user experience is super important to us over here in backdrop land, because long-term we're going to be competing against people who are trying to figure out whether they should use a backdrop or wordpress and wordpress has a super slick user experience, mostly because it's very simple and what it can do, which means when we're trying to compete with a more complicated product, we need to create user interfaces that are more intuitive than what we have today.

A

So if we're going to be successful in competing against poor oppressive gonna, improve our user experience, I know, if have a whole bunch of issues in the queue already getting momentum on adding things like a in app module browser a field you I redesign, there's some stuff that I know people are really passionate about and we've been working on already. So thank you. Everyone who's worked on those issues and let's keep going in those directions.

A

If you're interested in user experience in particular, you can put square bracket UX in the search field or issues on github. You can see all the issues we've already tagged as user experience issues and weigh in on those. If you want to help there same thing is true for developer experience.

A

We are trying to make code that most people will learn how we'll be able to learn how to use, and that means that we need to remove the stuff that is really weird and confusing as much as possible or simplify or provide helper functions in ways that we can make it easier for people to get into the code.

A

These things are obviously harder to do during the 1x release cycle because we're trying not to change or break any aps, but if we can solve problems by adding wrapper functions or helper functions and ways that don't change anything, but maybe just introduce a layer like a compatibility layer with Drupal or something that make things easier to use. We can definitely do that, and so in our suq. We also have issues that are tagged with DX in square brackets.

A

That'll help make those got a little more attention, but again, we've got to be a little bit more careful with how to fix those. So if you guys are porting modules from Drupal 7 the backdrop if you're building sites, if you're, writing custom modules, as you find things are weird, let us know we will try and make them less weird and more intuitive. ah So it is Thursday every Thursday we have a little mini sprint on backdrop.

A

We usually hang out in our IRC channel a truth be told, though, usually there, every day, six days in particular, we tend to be more focused on backdrop and less focused on everything else. So if you want to come and help with anything, we're working on or ask questions about what it is we're doing or how things may be different over here in backdrop land, you can jump in our IRC channel. It is pound backdrop there's a whole bunch of fun people in there who can help answer questions and we usually work together on issues.

A

So, if you're working on stuff- and you want feedback on what you've been doing, you can post links in there and get some feedback. It's also a good place to ask like hey, I'm new. Where do I get started? What do you guys need help with stuff, like that's a great place, to find us if I or C is not your thing?

A

We also have a subreddit which is at reddit.com, / r, / backdrop somehow forget that every week and that's a good kind of forum where, if you maybe aren't requiring instant feedback, what you have a good question: ask it in there there's lots of people watching that Q trying to make sure the questions get answered in a reasonable time. If there's nobody there who can answer your question, you can usually find someone who can somewhere else and get them to come back. So it's another good place, ask and answer questions. Also.

A

You can tweet with hashtag backdrop CMS, there's a whole bunch of people who are following that tag, and if you have questions you need answers that way. If Twitter is your thing, we also have a facebook presence, but it's not been super active, we're going to try and change that, because I noticed we secretly somehow about a ton of Facebook followers. So I guess maybe we should behave in Signet, so I'll trying to improve that too.

A

Just try and make it easier for people to be able to talk about work with and get questions answered, polar backdrop. Every week we have a meeting at one p.m. pacific on thursday. That's this meeting that we're in right. Now, where we talk about the remaining development tests for backdrop, this list shrinks as we fix things and grows as we find new things that are higher priority and it helps to kind of keep us focused on the things that we want to get done for the next major version of the software.

A

So if you're interested in working on core, you can join this meeting if you're interested in just seeing what it is that we are working on. You can also watch the video on YouTube. We do a live stream and then it gets posted on our YouTube page for future. So that can be fun for you to join in too, and if development is not really your thing and you feel like you're, more a designed or user experience person, we also have a fortnightly meeting which is right before this one this week.

A

It will happen again in two weeks where we talk about design tasks that were working on for backdrop so backdrop the software as well as backdrop, the community. We have other things we need in terms of our primary website. Our twitter presence just places where people who have design skills could be valuable to us, also use your experience skills.

A

So if you watch one of those meetings, see something you want to do, you can tweet at us or join us in IRC or use the reddit or, however else you feel like getting in touch with the backdrop community. Let us know what you want to work on and we'll try and help you get going so yeah. Well, definitely, however, anyone wants to get involved. We will take it.

A

Both. Those two meetings are, on our backdrop meeting calendar when we have an ical feed for that. If you're interested in that I'm going to post it on our contribute page on the backdrop CMS to org website, we've had people ask about where those links are four or five times and I think my response has been.

A

Oh, it's in our google doc for the meeting agenda and it's on our subreddit, but both of those places are a little bit hard to find so I'm just going to throw them up on our website and let people grab them there and we also have a second calendar which is for backdrop friendly events this year. Those events are entirely Drupal. Events, we're adding drupal camps or people are giving talks on backdrop and drupal sprints where people are sprinting on back job.

A

Mostly, it's all drupal events, because backdrop and drupal are still kind of the same community like drupal, 7 and backed up are kind of the same thing over time. That will change as people stop using drupal, 7 and start using drupal 8. The differences between drupal and backdrop will get larger and larger as backdrop moves forward in one direction in Drupal and another, and at that point this calendar will start to contain backdrop specific events. Hopefully, by that point, our community will be large enough to support those on its own and we won't need these.

A

You know combined events, but we'll see what people want I mean it could be that backdrop and drupal end up being friends and friendly forever. There's a couple events on the calendar that are just kind of open source e events, so something that might include ruby on rails on WordPress and backdrop and drupal altogether. It's also a good fit so just events calendar places where you can hear about backdrop generally speaking or speak about backed up. So if anyone wants to speak about backdrop, we would love to have other people who are watching this.

A

Video are curious about it. um You know want to do a review and so you've learned we would love to hear about where those things are going on and we'd love to throw them on our calendar. So if you are speaking at a camp coming up, let us know and I know: Wes you sent us an email last week about a vent in Philadelphia I. Think where you're going to be speaking, that's on the calendar now anyone else is anything else. Your.

B

Work you're good enough Pittsburgh.

A

Well, I got the state right, I guess that's pretty close.

A

Yeah, sorry, my geography is not strong. Oh so yeah, that's on the calendar. The calendar is open to any event. Eventually, we will have a way for people to submit their own events. That'll media aggregate ematic alee into a calendar, but sits right now. It's just a google cal. Just let us know, email info back trip, CMS or tweet at backrub, CMS that just like strep CMS and we'll find it we'll throw it on there and all right.

A

So in terms of publicity, some of the upcoming events on our calendar include drupalcamp, colorado, where I know there's at least one talk submitted on backed up we're, not sure yet whether it has been selected, but we can check on that when they get closer to selections. That is june. Twenty to twenty first there's Twin Cities drupalcamp same thing: there session submitted not sure if it's been selected, I that is jun 25th route when th so the weekend immediately after then we have nerd summit.

A

This is the open-source summit which is sep tember 11 through 13. We are absolutely positively sure there will be lots of backdrop at that event. I think Nate has been asking a keynote speaker for that, um so we're on the around the schedule there we're working out on you talk that will give for that one. So that should be really fun um and yeah sep tember 11 through 13th, is also a big week for us, because September 15th is the one point to release of backdrop.

A

So hopefully we'll have some pretty cool stuff to show off by that time too.

A

Alright. So um in the section where should we add anything else to this weekly agenda, Nate has typed in project browser and project browser server. So do you want to take that take over and talk about that? A little bit yeah.

B

So maybe I should have mentioned it during the update section, but I wanted to just tack it on at the end, because it's an area that there seems to be a pretty good amount of enthusiasm around issue 870 in the backdrop issue queue or backdrop core itself, doc wellmont has been working along with a couple other community members, grandma, liver and, let's see I guess mostly Graham, but a couple.

B

Other people are really interested in first year and that is the ability to install and find modules or themes from directly within core without needing to go and visit backdrop CMS org, which has been an issue that they've been trying to get done in Drupal for really really really really long time like four or five years.

B

But the great thing is is that all the code is written for triple seven and it's pretty much all ready to go. But they're held up on some infrastructure issues around like the complexity of drupal.org and the version of dribbled org, because at one point they were running triple six and med to be swift, upgrades to Table seven and so there's been delay after delay. Getting that integer pole, but for ourselves with a lot smaller community and a lot simpler infrastructure. We have a great opportunity to implement that really in the very near future.

B

So our comments were doing some amazing work getting those projects working and I'm wondering if we should I to UM that into the 1.2 release. You know: we've got essentially still three and a half months before that release and there's a really good chance that we could actually complete that within that time, but there's a bunch of other you know. Issues were also trying to work on. At the same time, I think.

A

B

Should just decide whether or not that's priority not.

A

So do you want to discuss um I think it sounds amazing. I would love to get more user features like more site builder features into the product and I think, especially if you've got a whole bunch of people are simple, passionate about it and working on it. There's no reason we should prevent something like that from going in I know, that's something that's been.

A

You know, there's been a bunch of really active user experience enthusiasts to Drupal who are working on that for a really long time, and you know something: Drupal community feels that strongly I think it's something we should feel strongly about. You.

B

Okay, yeah, that's that's kind of my feeling as well like I'm, going to do everything I can to facilitate the movement on that I set up a dev server last night, because right now backdrop CMS org, we just had our local hosts and then the live site, but with more people getting involved on backdrop, CMS org having a Deb side of course, is going to be beneficial to us, so that should be set up and I'll get dr. Wilmont access to it.

B

So he can start experimenting with his project browser server module, which is the server side component of the project, browser module, which is what lives in core cool yeah. So we'll just keep facilitating that as much as possible, whether or not it's a 1.2 target or not I'm, not really sure that it needs to be like a super high priority. But you know if it happens, then you know that's great.

A

Fantastic all right well, is there anything else that we should either talk about every week. Now that one point one is out or stuck that we should talk about this week, questions comments.

A

Not really, okay, good.

B

A

It's probably time for us to get back to work, so I'm headed to IRC I'll, be there for a little while got to make a couple of updates to a couple of things we're working on, but then I got a gun I'm pulling today. So hopefully the rest of you um will be able to make use of our little sprint day but yeah. Thank you all for joining the meeting, and we will talk to you next week. All.

B

Right, bye guys thanks for coming, you.