Category: Technology Author : Duncan Riley Posted: June 11, 2009
Tags : blogging, WordPress, wordpress 2.8
The latest version of popular blogging CMS WordPress has been released.
WordPress 2.8 offers a range of enhancements and bug fixes, although is not as big an upgrade as WordPress 2.7 was (which some would argue should have been called WP 3.0). A list of some of the enhancements below.
As with any significant WordPress release (x.x.1 are patch releases so don’t count) my advice always remains the same: you shouldn’t install it yet. Although this release is less likely to break plugins vs 2.7, new WordPress releases without fail nearly always result in compatibility issues with plugins and other features (see screenshot above.) Wait at least a couple of weeks, and then make sure any plugins you’re running on your blog have been certified as being compatible with 2.8, either in their existing form, or with updates.
Here’s the WP 2.8 highlights list:
- New drag-and-drop widgets admin interface and new widgets API
- Syntax highlighting and function lookup built into plugin and theme editors
- Browse the theme directory and install themes from the admin
- Allow the dashboard widgets to be arranged in up to four columns
- Allow configuring the number of items to show on management pages with an option in Screen Options
- Support timezones and automatic daylight savings time adjustment
- Support IIS 7.0 URL Rewrite Module
- Faster loading of admin pages via script compression and concatenation
Jun 11, 2009
Just FYI: I upgraded, naively, earlier today and am still having unresolved problems with the visual editor not working and the text inside the editor being white.
I've tried a few suggestions that seemed to work for other people, all to no avail so far.
Great.
–Kyle
Jun 12, 2009
This post is speculation and hype; it is not based on practical experience. Test before you bash!
Jun 21, 2009
But then if nobody upgrades to WordPress 2.8 right away, all those bugs wouldn't be reported as quickly.
The optimal solution is for people to immediately try out the latest version of WordPress on a test installation, and make sure that there are no show-stopping bugs or incompatibilities. If things look clear, then the main installation should be upgraded to the latest release of WordPress in order to patch up any security holes in the older WordPress version.
If things don't work out immediately, one should just wait until an official patch (or widely tested unofficial patch or plugin) is released before upgrading.
Jun 22, 2009
That post was common sense and intelligence, not speculation and hype. It's exactly like a windows product or a new snazzy phone – the first release is the buggy one. If you can't afford blog or plugin downtime, wait a couple weeks until it's stable and plugins are updated. Using common sense isn't bashing – duh