Joomla 1.6 as native platform
Projectfork 3.0 has been built with Joomla 1.6 compatibility in mind. For 3.1, we'll turn this around and make it a Joomla 1.6 native component with backwards-compatibility for Joomla 1.5. I am aware of the fact that Projectfork is currently listed as "1.6 native" component on JED. This will be corrected with the next Projectfork maintenance release (3.0.5). Reason why it is listed as "1.6 native" is simply because there was no option to select it as "compatible" until recently. There are no consequences for current users of PF 3.0/Joomla 1.5. Projectfork and it's extensions will work just like before when upgrading to Joomla 1.6/Projectfork 3.1. This is just a minor change in the code logic.
ACL update
Access levels, groups, flags and scores. Sounds complicated? I agree. Projectfork 3.1 will feature an updated permission system that is easier to understand and to maintain. First, we now have a clear and streamlined terminology for what is what:
- User roles (formerly "groups") - The "role" a person takes in a project. For example: Client
- Access types (formerly "access level") - The (technical) nature of a role. There are 3 choices: Regular, Project admin, System admin
- Permissions (terminology remains the same as it was in 3.0) - The permissions that will be given to a user by a role
- Access conditions (terminology remains the same as it was in 3.0) - Additional conditions that must be met before a permission is granted. For example: User must be logged in.
Second, roles (groups) and access types (access levels) are now merged together. In 3.0 and earlier, you have to manage access levels and groups separately. In 3.1, you can choose an access type for every role. The "Score" factor for permissions, which is currently part of "access levels" has been removed entirely in 3.1.
Third, I'm pursuing a "what you see is what you get" approach to make it clear who has what role, what permissions are given by a role, what conditions must be met by each permission
and which conditions can be combined.
I bet the changes are a bit hard to understand like this and it's easier to see it in action and try for yourself. Since the ACL update is still a work in progress, you'll have to settle with a few screenshots for now. Again, this is a work in progress and therefore the interfaces are not fleshed out.
User roles (It's under: Projectfork -> Users -> Roles)
Role users (Pop-up in the role list)
New user role (merged "groups" and "access level" functionality)
Permission configuration (The checkboxes are disabled/enabled and even checked/unckeched dynamically, depending on what you do)
Third party extensions
We'll incorporate several third party code contributions and extensions into 3.1. I can't give any details about which contributions will make it in at this point, but if you have written a free PF extension or any kind of code to improve Projectfork, make sure to check your forum PM's soon. We'll get in touch with you before we incorporate your work.
Improved email notifications
The current email system isn't too fleshed out and we intend to change that in 3.1. We are also researching the possibility for users to insert data via email replies. For example, make it so that you could reply to a comment notification via email instead of having to login to Projectfork and replying there.
Interface and design changes
We intend to make some minor changes here and there. Mostly to make Projectfork more resilient against "outside CSS", coming from Joomla templates, other components or plugins.
Release date(s)
As done with Projectfork 3.0, we intend to release at least one test/alpha version during the development to gather some feedback from the community. We're aiming to get all that we've planned done within April and launch the beta phase in May. Hopefully the stable release won't be too far away from there.
