[Xerte-dev] Next Release

[Julian Tenney]

Hi,

I'd really like to get the next version done for 30th March, so I reckon that gives a little bit of time to add any new bits and pieces, and then, from Monday 5th March we concentrate on testing what's there and putting that straight. The testing needs to complete by around 23rd (or more or less) so we can start thinking about making the builds etc.

Is that OK with everyone?

As a heads up, after that we are going to be looking at developing the html5 runtime, for the next six months at least. We need to think hard about how to best manage any new functionality to the existing system whilst we develop that. I would like to put a line in the sand that says after this build, play_560 will have an example of every page template in it (this will be my contribution to the testing), and the html5 runtime will (eventually) handle every page type in the build. What's going to be hard is having people adding new templates whilst we try and replicate the functionality in the new stuff.

In the long term, we also need to give some more serious thought to the implications of where we are going, because at some point, the HTML5 runtime will become the primary delivery system, and we have to look to a future where xerte is not part of the toolkits ecosystem at all. Finger in the air, I'd say that's 18 months - 2 years away, but maybe less.

Once we get stuck into the new HTML5 stuff, we won't be looking to spend any time on the existing interface, accessibility, etc, but will deal with it all 'on the other side' as it were. After April I won't be looking to increase the number of templates in the main distribution.

One of the biggest challenges of all this is to come up with some sensible framework for the javascript / css etc that will make it easy for developers to add new templates in the future. I still anticipate the xwd driving the wizard form, and therefore some xml payload being delivered to your code - somehow - for you to use to drive your templates, but we haven't even started to really think about that just yet.

Thanks for all the work since September,

J





-----Original Message-----
From: Tenney Julian 
Sent: 22 February 2012 13:04
To: For Xerte technical developers
Subject: RE: [Xerte-dev] Xerte 2.18 State of play

Thanks very much Jonathan, that's brilliant
________________________________________
From: xerte-dev-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk [xerte-dev-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Kemp Johnathan [johnathan.kemp at ntlworld.com]
Sent: 22 February 2012 12:51
To: Xerte Developers Discussion List
Subject: [Xerte-dev] Xerte 2.18 State of play

The setting of a time frame for the next release of Xerte certainly serves to focus the mind.

I have taken the liberty of trying to pull together a list of what I think still needs doing or deciding upon, and what has been agreed or completed. I am not trying to tread on anyones toes, or take over management of the project. I just want to be sure that everything is covered, that there are no misunderstandings or differences in expectation, so that the project delivers on time.

I will upload the list to the Xerte svn in the pageWizards folder as "Project State of Play.rtf" and have attached a copy here for convenience.

I am sure I will have missed somethings off the list, so please feel free to edit the version in the svn so that we can all keep up to date on progress.

As people complete things perhaps they could update the document accordingly in the svn.

Kind regards

Johnathan