The current version fixes a number of issues and makes various improvements. The API didn’t change much, although we did a few additions:

• Caching module, with an APC driver (memcached planned at a later time)
• Improved encoding support, adding encoding settings in database and output drivers
• CGI support
• Full SQL Server and Oracle support, including DBMeta drivers
• Forms externals (see below)
• Full LDAP support, including an LDAP authentication driver
• Much improved API browser (see below)

Forms externals:

Forms externals are a mechanism allowing a developer to build part of a form dynamically. Currently it allows a developer to retrieve options for selectable widgets directly from the model domain just by specifying a function or method to call. For example you could retrieve a list of users from a users set using <external type="set" source="myUsersSet::fetchFormOptions"/>. This method would return value/label pairs to be used as option items. It can also be used for hierarchical data types, where the hierarchy is represented by a multi-level array.

API browser:

The new API browser is based on the jQuery Finder plugin. There is still some quirks here and there, and we also intend to add additional functionality with subsequent releases (like a search function, allowing you to find the deprecated API, or all the interfaces, for example), but the main functionality is there and the result is already better than the original. Feel free to comment on it and suggest how we could improve it.

New server:

Two weeks ago we moved to a new and much bigger server. Now that we have enough flexibility we intend to put various services, including daily test reports from various sources (anyone will be able to setup a daily test that will be aggregated and displayed on our server). We’ll also start a few projects that will demonstrate how to use the framework. More information on that later.

Next release:

Our work will continue in the next release. It will include plugins, since after some discussion we now have a better idea of how we want to implement that. It will also include various improvements, most of them detailed in the roadmap.

Thanks for your interest and see you soon!

Today we released the next version of the Web:Extend framework, 0.4 beta.

This release introduces many many things. We improved the rendering pipeline; added an LDAP module (this is still a work in progress); improved the HTTP classes (cookies, sessions, file uploads); added QUnit, jQuery’s unit testing framework, to test these HTTP classes; and last but not least, added the UI module.

The UI module is our answer to RAD development. It works side by side with the model scaffolding classes to allow you to quickly design an application. It contains useful components like CRUD and pagination, that you only have to configure and render in your templates.

You can download the source code at sourceforge. It is licensed under the LGPL.

If you have some time to spend, head over to the documentation and leave us a comment, as we will use your input to improve the framework.

Next month we will release the Cache module along with a Plugins system, among other things. You might want to come back here in a week to discuss the RFC about these two additions.

Thanks for your interest.

The project is expected to stay in beta stage for at least a few months. At this time it is not stable enough for production, but it is stable enough to begin to learn about it and even to use it in small personal projects you might have. Most of the changes planned for the next releases do not change the API, with the exception of one or two function name changes. And although it’s a beta release, about 75% of the code is estimated to be covered by unit tests – and this will only improve with each new beta releases.

The documentation is becoming pretty good. A few chapters are still missing but they will be written shortly. All the essential chapters are available so learning the basics shouldn’t be a problem. A tutorial is even available (more will follow). You can also use the API viewer for fast lookup of classes or functions; once it’s loaded it runs locally.

This release introduces a few important features.

• the Forms Module now uses XSLT to efficiently transform XML-based form files into (X)HTML
• DbMeta allows you to query a database about its structure (get table list, columns, keys…)
• the Application Module implements the MVC pattern with a passive view
• the Model Module supports database scaffolding

This last item is pretty exciting, especially if you pair it with the upcoming UI Module, planned for the next release, 0.4 beta. It is scheduled to be released in about a month. We follow a 5-weeks per release cycle.

You can download the source code at sourceforge. It is licensed under the LGPL.

If you wish to help us, there is a lot you can do. The most important thing is to proof-read the documentation or the API and to forward us any problem you might have with it. Typos, invalid code, comprehension problems or anything else. You can also discuss the various RFC or try to learn how to use the framework and report bugs you may find. At a later time you will also be able to translate it in your language.

Please leave us any comment you might find relevant, as we will use your input to improve the framework.

Thanks for your interest.