Mambo V4.6 Out now!

Written by Ric Shreves   

Mambo, the award-winning Open Source Content Management System, announced today the release of version 4.6.  This is the first major release in almost two years and provides users a leaner, faster Mambo with greatly improved scalability and stability – and more choice.

Version 4.6 is being released in two configurations: “4.6 Complete” includes the core system as well as an assortment of the most popular extensions and templates. “4.6 Lite” is a minimalist distro comprised of only the core files. No longer a “one size fits all” system, Mambo now offers users unrivalled flexibility to create exactly the CMS they want, using either existing extensions, custom development, or any combination that suits their needs.

Core Dev Team Leader Chad Auld noted, “A lot of work has gone into 4.6. The result is better code, improved usability, and more logical structure. 4.6 is not only the most stable, best performing Mambo ever, but is also the most flexible.”

Ric Shreves, the President of the Mambo Foundation Board of Directors added “Mambo is a mature Open Source project with a significant history behind it. Corporate and SMB customers will, I think, find 4.6 to be a giant step closer to the sort of CMS product they want and need.  Not only is the product great, but the users also have the assurance of a stable project that stands behind it to assure business continuity and coherent release schedules – the sort of issues that build business confidence in an Open Source solution.”

What's New in Version 4.6?

• More Templates. New variants to the default template have been added to this release.  All variants are available in 800 x 600 and 1024 x 768, and are fully CSS-driven.
• More helpful help! New help screens have been added and the help system has been expanded to help decrease inaccuracies in the delivery of help content. Help files are now embedded within the distro, meaning you no longer need to be connected to the Internet to view help.
• A faster, cleaner Mambo, with more potential for future development.  While all sites will see performance gains, large sites with high activity levels will notice in particular improved load handling and fewer bottlenecks.
• User comments for content items. This popular feature is now included as part of the default distro.
• Keep abreast of changes with Mambo’s Check For Updates feature. This new feature checks to see if you are running the latest version and/or patch of Mambo and will offer suggestions if not. It can also be used to display messages to Mambo admins and may come in handy as a tool to communicate issues such as security warnings. The functionality is not automatic at this time. It will not update Mambo automatically; this is still a manual process. It also does not check for updates without the user requesting it do so.  (This feature requires PHP5.)
• Internationalization of interfaces is improved by institution of a single standard mechanism. The mechanism makes it easier for translators to produce local language packs.
• Better Search Engine Optimization improves avoidance of server load problems and provides much better handling of bad URLs by means of 404 errors.
• Totally new integrated installer for plugins (components, modules, etc).  Users will see a single installer that is able to install any kind of plugin.  3PDs can create compound packages containing a mix of components, modules and Mambots which users will be able to install as a single .zip file.  An additional plugin installer for users running PHP5 enables one click installation of core extensions directly from The Source.
• New, better WYSIWYG content editor. 4.6 includes the full featured WYSIWYG content editor, MOStlyCE.  MOStlyCE is powerful, fast and includes a number of new functions; it is a major step forward in content management.
• Database Management Tools. You can now backup, view and restore your site’s database from within the Mambo admin interface.
• New RSS newsfeed reader (Magpie) that is both more efficient and more powerful.
• Improved site search.  The search option will now use stop words correctly to filter the search string.  This will allow users to search the site more accurately and achieve better result sets.
• Multiple bug fixes and minor enhancements.  4.6 resolves a number of open issues. For details on other additions and bug fixes not listed here, please check the changelog.php file that is included with the distribution.

 Download your Mambo V4.6 from Mamboxchange now - Everybody Mambo!

Mambo 4.6 RC2 released!

Written by Team Mambo  

Tuesday, 04 July 2006

Team Mambo would like to announce the availability of the Second public Release Candidate for the new Version 4.6 of the Mambo Open Soure CMS. The Release Candidate comes after an extended RC1 period during which the Team took feedback from a large number of users and made enhancements to the system. The RC2 release includes a number of significant changes which the Team wishes to evaluate before going to a final Production Release.

You should note that while these changes includes enhancements to improve stability and solve problems reported during the RC1 period, the RC2 release also includes new features and may reveal new issues which will require additional work before the final release. Your feedback on these issues is invaluable. We have created a new tracker to allow easier reporting of issues. If you have feedback on this release, visit the Tracker.

What's Changed in RC2?

• new Language Manager functionality;
• new embedded Help Screens for context-sensitive help;
• improved MySQL5 compatibility;
• elimination of the realpath functionality included in RC1;
• improvements to MOStlyCE WYSIWYG Editor;
• fewer bugs;
• fewer DB calls;
• new default template variations;
• better security.

RC2 will remain open for an undefined period before moving to the final Production Release. If significant issues do not arise, a final Release Candidate may be released. Developers should work against this Release for third party extension compatibility and translation teams should get to work based on this Release.

Click hereto download V4.6 RC2 now! Enjoy!

Mambo 4.6 RC1 released!

Written by Team Mambo 

Wednesday, 26 April 2006

Team Mambo would like to announce the availability of the first public Release Candidate for the new Version 4.6 of the Mambo Open Soure CMS. The Release Candidate comes after an extensive Public Beta period during which the Team took feedback from a large number of users and made enhancements to the system. Benchmarking during the Public Beta shows a significant improvement in performance and page loading speed.

Download V4.6 RC1 from Mamboxchange.com now!!!

What's Changed in 4.6?

• leaner, cleaner code set with significantly improved performance;
• Magpie RSS integrated to replace old Mambo RSS system;
• support for Atom 1.0;
• improved SEO with handling of 404 errors, more flexible metadata and better load balancing;
• context-sensitive help files embedded in distribution (no longer linked to Help.Mamboserver.com website);
• better handling of user validation;
• improved  site search performance (supports stop words);
• Mambots are now preferred as classes with defined methods;
• DOMIT removed;
• better handling of Pathway;
• better security.

What's New in 4.6?

• new more powerful and configurable WYSIWYG Editor: MOStlyCE;
• ability to view, backup, restore, and query database from within Mambo;
• Universal Installer - one installer handles installation of all extensions;
• gettext implemented to ease translation and management of language packs;
• new Module automatically displays newest Content Item;
• two new classes added to system: mosDirectory and mosFileManager.

RC1 will remain open for an undefined period before moving to the final Production Release. If significant issues do arise, a second Release Candidate may be released. Developers should work against this Release for third party extension compatibility and translation teams should get to work based on this Release.

You can also get regular blog updates on V4.6 RC1 from members of the Mambo core development team at The Source.

Mambo 4.6 Public Beta Released!

Written by The Source   

Wednesday, 08 March 2006

Team Mambo has released the Public Beta for version 4.6, the newest version of the Award-winning Mambo Open Source Content Management System. The beta release is provided in advance of the final release to encourage community feedback and to help third party developers understand better the changes which are being implemented in the system.

Benchmarking of 4.6 shows shows considerable performance gains over the previous versions of Mambo (and over similar competitor systems). Version 4.6 is also sporting several attractive new features including:

• a much-improved and highly functional WYSIWYG Editor tailored specifically for Mambo
• a universal installer, improving ease of use for administrators
• more search engine friendly
• improved ability to create and edit content from the front end of the website
• the ability to preview the site when it is set to "Offline" mode
• a new Latest Content module
• changes to internationalization
• improved help files
• and a number of bug fixes and performance enhancements

Details of the benchmarking results and of the technical changes will be released shortly.

Note that the Beta is not intended for production websites -- it is only released for feedback and testing purposes.

So please download it now and start testing. We will be opening a new thread on the forums to collect your feedback. We will be collecting responses until March 19th. At that time we will take what we have, fix anything found during the Beta / Release Candidate testing phases, and put out a solid release (including further internationalization changes). You can submit your bug reports here.

Development update- version 4.6

Written by Ric Shreves  

Monday, 30 January 2006

Happy (Chinese) New Year everyone. Team Mambo welcomes the Year of the Dog (loyal, hardworking and true!) with this update on development.

Currently under development is version 4.6 of the award winning Mambo Open Source Content Management System. Version 4.6 is a minor version release, Mambo’s first in well over a year (the last was 4.5). While the system does include some new features, the real revolution is in the underlying code base where a major overhaul of the code results in a leaner, faster Mambo with improved performance and stability.

Internal testing is being done now, with the first 4.6 release candidate expected in mid-February. Once feedback from testing is received, the team will work towards a final release of 4.6. The earliest reasonable date for a final release would be the end of February, but until RC1 is out in the wild, it is impossible to commit to a firm date with any confidence.

What should you expect from 4.6?

Development Update - ver.4.6

ricoflan

Advocacy & PR

January 29th, 2006, 08:46

Happy (Chinese) New Year everyone. Team Mambo welcomes the Year of the Dog (loyal, hardworking and true!) with this update on development.

Currently under development is version 4.6 of the award winning Mambo Open Source Content Management System. Version 4.6 is a minor version release, Mambo’s first in well over a year (the last was 4.5). While the system does include some new features, the real revolution is in the underlying code base where a major overhaul of the code results in a leaner, faster Mambo with improved performance and stability.

Internal testing is being done now, with the first 4.6 release candidate expected in mid-February. Once feedback from testing is received, the team will work towards a final release of 4.6. The earliest reasonable date for a final release would be the end of February, but until RC1 is out in the wild, it is impossible to commit to a firm date with any confidence.

What should you expect from 4.6?

User features

A faster, cleaner Mambo, with more potential for future development. While all sites will see performance gains, large sites with high activity levels will notice in particular improved load handling and fewer bottlenecks.

Internationalization of interfaces is improved by institution of a single standard mechanism. Mambo will now follow the main trend in open source development, which is to use gettext. The mechanism will make it easier for translators to produce local language packs.

Better Search Engine Optimization improves avoidance of server load problems and provides much better handling of bad URLs by means of 404 errors. This will improve the effectiveness of SEO in relation to search engines. An optional sef_ext.php for content will also be available.

Totally new integrated installer for plugins (components, modules, etc). Users will see a single installer which is able to install any kind of plugin. 3PDs can create compound packages containing a mix of components, modules and Mambots which users will be able to install as a single .zip file.

New, better WYSIWYG content editor. 4.6 includes the full featured WYSIWYG content editor, MOStlyCE, which is a new tool based on TinyMCE and mosCE. MOStlyCE is powerful, fast and includes a number of new functions; it is a major step forward in content management.

New RSS newsfeed reader that is both more efficient and more powerful.

Improved site search. The search option will now use stop words correctly to filter the search string. This will allow users to search the site more accurately and achieve better result sets.

Multiple bug fixes and minor enhancements. 4.6 will fix a number of open issues and improve compliance with new technologies like MySQL5.

Developer Features

Developers will see in 4.6 the results of a major coordinated effort to clean up the code and make it easier to handle, with an emphasis on making the system more efficient, more reliable, and capable of further development. Among the improvements planned:

Significant changes to the Mambot handler. It is now preferred that Mambots be classes with defined methods. Old type Mambots will still work but are deprecated. The parameters for the Mambot are passed to it as an additional parameter to avoid the overhead of having to look them up in the database. Further changes to the interface are planned so that parameters are more flexible objects, and defined in terms of methods, not properties.

Introduction of much greater flexibility in the login process through the use of new Mambot hooks. User authentication is now achieved as a Mambot hook with a default Mambo authentication Mambot provided at installation, but can be removed. All authentication Mambots must succeed, otherwise login fails. Additional Mambot hooks for optional login and logout time actions.

The responsibility for creating the pathway is shifted to components. Adding to the pathway is done by providing two parameters - a text label and a URL for the link. The older mechanism of adding HTML through $mainframe is still available for the moment.

A new mosDirectory class is introduced. The class includes methods for doing useful operations on file system directories.

A new mosFileManager class is introduced. The class will carry out file system operations, with further developments planned to deal with safe mode issues and the file system.

The new language handling mechanism based on gettext is introduced.

A completely new integrated installer. The new installer gives better diagnostics on XML defects. The chances of leaving a clean situation when an installation fails are greatly improved, and uninstall is more robust. Developers can now create packages including more than one plugin, and every XML file that is found at the top level of the zip package will be processed by the installer. There is a single installation mechanism, regardless of the plugin type.

Domit is removed from the standard Mambo installation.

The Magpie RSS handler is included. Magpie is an Open Source application which is mature, stable, extensible, and deals well with RSS newsfeeds.

The mamboCore class is introduced. mamboCore is a singleton class that can provide all the information about configuration values with greater security and control than the use of globals. Use of globals is deprecated.

NOTE Preliminary design work for Mambo 5 has commenced, and the core team welcome comments or discussions with 3PDs about the design of the new system.

Copyright 2006