The XOOPS Development Team is pleased to announce that a new version, XOOPS 2.5.4 Final, is available for download and testing. The major focus of this release is on updating all Core modules (PM, Profile, Protector) to our new ModuleAdmin GUI, so all of them have a consistent "look & feel".
XOOPS
XOOPS 2.5.4 RC released
XOOPS 2.5.4 RC, is available for download and testing. In addition to updating our libraries to their latest versions, the major focus of this release is on updating all Core modules (PM, Profile, Protector) to the new ModuleAdmin GUI for consistent "look & feel":
XOOPS 2.5.3 Final released
The XOOPS Development Team is pleased to announce that a new version, XOOPS 2.5.3 Final, is available for download. This release is focused on fixing bugs from previous versions and on security. As a result, over 60 bugs have been fixed, as well as several new enhancements have been added.
XOOPS 2.5.2 RC released
The XOOPS Development Team is pleased to announce that a new version, XOOPS 2.5.2 RC, is available for download. This release is focused on fixing bugs from previous versions and on security. As a result, over 60 bugs have been fixed, as well as several new enhancements have been added.
XOOPS rewritten using Zend Framework: Alpha 1 released
The XOOPS Project is proud to present Alpha release of its next generation Web Application Development platform – the Xoops Engine.
It is definitely the most daring and innovative development in the almost 10 year history of XOOPS!
XOOPS is one of the most successful Open Source CMS solutions, constantly winning top places in various competitions, and receiving various awards. But it was slowly showing signs of aging that would require major rewrites of the Core. After much deliberation the team decided to rewrite it from the ground-up using a standard off-the-shelf PHP Framework. Following the same thinking as IBM or Apple did when they decided to use standard Intel chips, the XOOPS team believes that using standard components and libraries while focusing on unique value-add, will increase the “speed to market” for XOOPS. This way the team can take advantage of latest Web developments and vast resources provided by the respective Framework’s developers. It's like getting suddenly a whole new team of some of the best PHP programmers joining XOOPS!
It will also lower the entry barrier to XOOPS for people who are already familiar with a particular PHP Framework.
After much research, XOOPS team has selected Zend Framework, the best and most popular PHP Framework on the market. The Xoops Engine will be probably the first and only case so far of rewriting a major Open Source project using an industry standard PHP Framework.
“We are happy to see XOOPS, one of the leaders in the Open Source CMS space, is using Zend Framework as the foundation of their ‘next generation’ release”, said Eldad Maniv, SVP Marketing and Products at Zend. “We are confident that by leveraging the power of Zend Framework and its vibrant community, XOOPS can achieve its goals and grow in popularity.”
Why did we choose Zend Framework
Judging Five Open Source Content Management Systems
Last fall, I once again had the privilege of participating as a member of the judging panel for Packt Publishing's Open Source Awards. For the 2010 event, I participated by voting for the category of Open Source CMS Awards. In that award, the winner was declared by the panel to be CMS Made Simple, with SilverStripe as first runner up followed by MODx as second runner up.
I received a lot of inquiries asking me how and in what order did I rank the content management systems. Each of the judges on the panel, selects and ranks their top three CMS from the five included in this category. The judges are given a lot of reign for how they rank the CMS and may consider a number of factors including performance, usability, size and support from community, accessibility, ease of configuration, customization, scalability and security.
It has been my history to be transparent to all with how I rank each CMS as my vote will have some differences to those of the panel. This time around, I find myself hesitant and under personal protest with me providing information on how I ranked the five content management systems.
I question whether we're doing any good by declaring one CMS as better than another CMS. Dean Barker discussed on his blog some time ago this same uneasy feeling you get when you judge a CMS without having some reference to real world requirements. None of these content management systems would I consider losers and all of them remain worthy of future consideration. Yet, I'm disturbed that people will look at the numbers and interpret the results in a ways I never intended my rankings to be used.
My rankings for the Five Best Open Source CMS (with number one being the highest) were:
- SilverStripe
- mojoPortal
- MODx
- XOOPS and CMS Made Simple (Tie)
I'm not a firm believer in ties when it comes to ranking content management systems. Yet, this year I did just that for XOOPS and CMS Made Simple. All five content management systems that were reviewed I would consider as a candidate for a future project. None of the CMS would I consider a "last place" CMS so I refused to do so. It is also important to note that neither Drupal, Joomla!, or WordPress competed in this ranking as previous winners in this category duke it out in the Hall of Fame category.
XOOPS 2.5.0 Final Has Been Released
The XOOPS Development Team is pleased to announce that a new stable version of the Top 5 Finalist of 2010 Packt Open Source CMS - XOOPS 2.5.0 Final is available for download.
The XOOPS 2.5.0 release is a major redesign of the System Module which has been AJAX-ed with jQuery. Some of the new features are truly amazing, like the visual placement of blocks, and we're sure that the System Admins will love them 
Other major improvements/additions include:
- Help System for Admin and modules
- MySQL Dump in Maintenance
- New Redirect messaging
- Column sorting in tables
- Smarty plugin for icon pack
- Smarty plugin for breadcrumb navigation
- jQuery plugins for display popup or manage drag & drop
- File Manager (Plugin)
- Maintenance with Cache Clean-up, and Tables Maintenance
- Visual module ordering with drag & drop
- Visual block placement with drag & drop
- Refactor all PHP code for use XOOPS API
- Use template in the same way that front user, admin side for module can call a main template define in xoops_version.php
- Allow override of template in admin theme like frontend if we set template in ADMIN_THEME
- Manage editor for blocks, comments and for all module if module developper want to use it activate or deactivate system section
- Choose number of line for admin section
- Display or hide tips
For more info and download please click here
New Xoops Engine (X3) Goes Zend Framework
We are very pleased to present you X3, the new Xoops Engine for the next generation of XOOPS powered web application development.
This new Xoops Engine was long time in coming. During that time, we went through different phases of trials and errors, but we believe that we finally have the best combination of features and technologies to strategically position XOOPS as one of the top Web Application Platform solutions.
The new Xoops Engine has been re-designed from the ground up to take advantages of third-party frameworks like Zend Framework and Smarty 3.
Why did we rewrite XOOPS?
XOOPS is one of the most successful Open Source CMS and portal solutions, constantly placing in top places in various competitions, and receiving various awards. But it is showing signs of aging, that would require major rewrites of the Core.
In order to keep us focused on creating a flexible and extensible development engine for developers and a high performance application platform for end users, the development team has decided to use industry-standard frameworks. By doing so, we can focus our limited resources on aspects that make XOOPS unique and special, while leaving standard functionality to be addressed by off-the-shelf frameworks. This way we can take advantage of latest internet developments already included in those frameworks - it's like getting suddenly a whole new team of some of the best and brightest PHP and RIA programmers joining XOOPS!
After much research, we've selected a couple of frameworks at this stage:
PHP: Zend Framework
Template: Smarty 3,
JavaScript: jQuery
Meanwhile the multi-engine mechanism of the Xoops Engine will ensure the possibility of adopting other excellent frameworks in the future, like Yii Framework, Dojo Toolkit, etc.
XOOPS Receives "Best Technology Award" for X3 from NEA OSS Forum
We are extremely pleased to announce that XOOPS has received the "Best Technology Award" from the North East Asia OSS Forum for the upcoming X3 version of XOOPS, that will be officially released as Alpha version this weekend. The judges were impressed with X3 architecture, its usage of state-
of-the-art PHP libraries such as Zend Framework andSmarty 3, and the direction XOOPS is taking toward becoming a "Web Application-oriented development platform"
The Award will be presented on Thursday, Nov. 4th, in Seoul, South Korea, and Michael Beck, the project manager, will be there to receive it on behalf of XOOPS.
After that, he will travel to Beijing for a XOOPS China Community summit.
XOOPS 2.5 RC Released
The XOOPS Development Team is pleased to announce that a new version of the Top 5 Finalist of 2010 Packt Open Source CMS - XOOPS 2.5.0 RC is available for download.
(Don't forget to vote for XOOPS: read here)
The XOOPS 2.5.0 release is a major redesign of the System Module which has been AJAX-ed with jQuery done mainly by Nicolas Andricq (ForMusS), Cointin Maxime (kraven_30), and Grégory Mage (Mage). Other major contributors include Trabis, Voltan, Kris_fr, and Marco. Some of the new features are truly amazing, like the visual placement of blocks, and we're sure that the users will love them
Other major improvements/additions include:
- Help System for Admin and modules (see PM module)
- MySQL Dump in Maintenance
- New Redirect messaging
- Column sorting in tables
- Smarty plugin for icon pack
- Smarty plugin for breadcrumb navigation
- jQuery plugins for display popup or manage drag & drop
- File Manager (Plugin)
XOOPS 2.5.0 Beta Released
The XOOPS Development Team is pleased to announce that a new version of the Top 5 Finalist of 2010 Packt Open Source CMS - XOOPS 2.5.0 Beta is available for download.
The XOOPS 2.5.0 release is a major redesign of the System Module which has been AJAX-ed with jQuery done mainly by Nicolas Andricq (ForMusS), Cointin Maxime (kraven_30), and Grégory Mage (Mage). Other major contributors include Trabis, Voltan, and Kris_fr. Some of the new features are truly amazing, like the visual placement of blocks, and we're sure that the users will love them 
Other major improvements/additions include:
- Help System for Admin and modules (see PM module)
- MySQL Dump in Maintenance
- New Redirect messaging
- Column sorting in tables
- Smarty plugin for icon pack
- Smarty plugin for breadcrumb navigation
- jQuery plugins for display popup or manage drag & drop
- File Manager (Plugin)
- Maintenance with Cache Clean-up, and Tables Maintenance
- Visual module ordering with drag & drop
- Visual block placement with drag & drop
- Refactor all PHP code for use XOOPS API
- Use template in the same way that front user, admin side for module can call a main template define in xoops_version.php
- Allow override of template in admin theme like frontend if we set template in ADMIN_THEME
- New variable 'system_menu' in xoops_version.php of each module, this variable generate a tab menu for module admin side if set to 1, this feature is for give one unique tab menu for all menu (eg: module PM for).
- Add jquery plugin in xoops_lib
- Change install for install admin template and admin setting
- Manage editor for blocks, comments and for all module if module developper want to use it activate or deactivate system section
- Choose number of line for admin section
- Display or hide tips
For more info and download please click here
Finalists in Packt's 2010 Open Source Awards announced
Packt Publishing recently announced the finalists in each of the categories for their 2010 Open Awards. While award categories for content management systems are still included, this year Packt is also adding additional flavors of open source projects to be judged. The new award categories include awards for most promising open source project, e-commerce applications, graphics software, and JavaScript libraries.
The Voting for the winners in each of the categories ends on November 5, 2010. This "public vote" will then be combined with votes by a panel of judges in each category to be announced on November 15, 2010.
This year, I will once again be participating as a judge for the Open Source CMS Award. I'll be in good company on this panel and have been a long time admirer of the work done by OpenSourceCMS's Scott Goodwin and CMS Wire's Dee-Ann LeBlanc. Karen Koombs, librarywebchic.net, is a new name to me and I'm looking forward to getting to know her better via this panel. There is always some controversy in these type awards on whether those projects awarded are really "the best" in their category. I plan to give my perspective on these awards in a separate blog post.
The following projects make up the finalist of the 2010 Open Source Awards:
Every Content Management System (CMS) that is based on one of the Open Source licenses is eligible to participate for this category. Vote for your favorite Open Source CMS here.
Finalists:
This category is reserved for those CMSes that have won the Overall Open Source CMS Award at least once in the past. Vote for your favorite Hall of Fame CMS here.
Finalists
Most Promising Open Source Project
This category is for all Open Source projects, whose first release date is less than two years from 9 August, 2010. Vote for your favorite Most Promising Open Source Project here.
Finalists
- BuddyPress
- LiveStreet CMS
- Pimcore
- Tomato CMS
- WolfCMS
XOOPS Powers SHPE Conference Website
XOOPS is powering the Website of the upcoming 2010 National Conference of SHPE, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers .
The Annual SHPE National Conference (http://conference.shpe.org) is one of the largest gatherings of its kind, bringing together more than 5,000 Hispanic students and educators, as well as more than 300 corporate, industry and government recruiters and sponsors. This year's convention will be the 33rd Annual SHPE National Conference, and it will be held at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati Oct. 27-31, 2010.
"Our SHPE Conference Website receives thousands of visitors, and we wanted a CMS platform that would make it easy for us to create the content, but also to extend the functionality if needed. XOOPS has a very good reputation, receiving many awards and recognitions, and so far it has been the right choice for us. Their developers are very helpful, and we're very pleased with the performance and functionality" - said Frank Barragan, IT Manager for SHPE. "As a non-profit organization, we are interested in using Open Source software where we can, as it allows us to save money and keep our operating cost down, and XOOPS did it for us", added Mr. Barragan.
"We are very proud that SHPE decided to use XOOPS for their website", said Dr. Taiwen Jiang, the XOOPS Project Leader. "A conference website is something that XOOPS can do a very good job with, thanks to its modular architecture. Organizations like SHPE can just select the modules that they need, and within hours they can have a fully functional Website," he added.
Through local and regional chapters nationwide, SHPE reaches out to students K-12, as well as at the undergraduate and graduate levels, with science fairs and camps, scholarships, mentoring programs, training, and other grassroots efforts to attract Hispanics into the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) professions. Today SHPE is one of the leading sources of Hispanic STEM talent in the country.
The SHPE National Conference will not only provide educational workshops for students, it will also offer a career fair where corporations and government can interview and meet with the students.
WOX (World of XOOPS) Newsletter for September 2010 Released
XOOPS (www.xoops.org) just released the September issue of its WOX (World of XOOPS) Newsletter.
Highlights of last month:
- Work continuous on XOOPS 2.5.0 Alpha 2 (see latest development on SVN)
- XOOPS Innovation Award - for people who create something very unique and innovative for XOOPS. This time the award goes to to Ricardo Costa (Trabis) from Portugal, for his innovative Mymenus 1.1 module! This is his 2nd Innovation Award! .
- XOOPSer of the Month Award: is given to XOOPS members who show extraordinary dedication to XOOPS, and go the extra mile for XOOPS. This month, it goes to Benoît Puissant (Solo71) from Belgium for the support on XOOPS France and his many modules. Solo71 is a XOOPS member since 2002
XOOPS 2.4.5 Final Released
After over 40,000 downloads of its previous version in just over five short months, the XOOPS Project, one of world’s leading Open Source CMS, has released a new version of its award winning software – XOOPS 2.4.5.
This release is mainly for bugfixes and cleaning up conflicts in previous versions of the XOOPS 2.4 series. Some areas, including tinyMCE/ckeditor editors, have been improved.
The main features of the 2.4 series are:
- new user friendly Admin GUI
- new mechanism to modularize and extend Core via Preloads
- central support for jQuery
- improved Installer
- Themeable Admininstration area
- support for WYSIWYG Editors: CKEditor, wymeditor, Xinha, and Spaw2
- new System License Key
- Support to PHP 5.3
System requirements
Any PHP version >= 4.3 (PHP 4.2.x may work but is not officially supported, PHP 5.0+ is strongly recommended) MySQL server 3.23+ (MySQL 5.0+ is strongly recommended) Web server: Any server supporting the required PHP version (Apache highly recommended)
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