I'm home from my trip to Birmingham, AL for the 2008 WordCamp Birmingham that I mentioned a few days ago. I had a great time but it wore me out, which translates to: "I don't remember as much as I wanted to share with you". But never fear. I can make it up to you by pointing out a few cool things.
- My presentation can be found in HTML format (with clickable links and copy/paste code) here at SEO for WordPress.
- It can also be found in presentation format, along with 3 of the other presentations, at SlideShare. (Note: one of the other 3 didn't actually get presented, but we get to view what "would have been presented" anyway, which is cool). So be sure to check them all out when you get a chance.
While all the presentations were great (and not all are listed on the SlideShare site, sorry), one stood out for me especially, which was the one presented by Dougal Campbell on the Future of WordPress. Dougal is officially known as a WordPress Developer Emeritus, but he explained that it basically meant he was a former WordPress Developer who is now retired. In any case, it was great to meet him, and I wanted to make sure you got to see what's coming in future WordPress releases.
This first group is a listing of confirmed new features coming in version 2.7 in November (next month).
- Another Backend UI Redesign
- Upgrade API
- Comment improvements
- Sticky posts
- "Quick Edit" inline editing
- HTTPonly cookies
- New HTTP request API
- "Press This" improvements
- Settings UI APIs for plugins
- phpDoc
This next group includes "possible" features that "might" make it into version 2.7 in November.
- APP Importer
- Movable Type
- TypePad
- Blogger
- New default theme
- Based on Sandbox?
This last group is pure speculation on Dougal's part - and only speculation. He went through the trac tickets and made some guesses as to what he thinks we might see in versions 2.8 and beyond.
- Better page management
- Select page order
- Hide pages
- Expand template functions
- Users
- Comments
- Attachments
Of the confirmed features, I'm most looking forward to sticky posts and quick edit inline editing. Of the possible features, I'm hoping to see a new default theme, possibly based on Sandbox, emerge. And of the future speculated features, I'm wishing for better page management.
Of course, not all of the items listed above are spelled out in great detail, and I don't remember the detail for some of them, but you at least get a general idea of what's coming down the pipeline. And hey, if you wanted perfect detail, well, you shoulda been there. 😉
I'd give a shout out to all the cool people I met there, but no doubt I'd forget someone, and I'd rather not do that. So instead, here's a shout out to everyone I met there - you know who you are. 🙂