So, about those screenshots, eh..

[Bob]

If you have questions regarding the screenshots we posted, please keep them to this thread.. Some of the more frequently asked questions are:

1. When is it going to be released??
Short and blunt: When it's done. Basically we're not going to put a 'final' stamp on it, until we're completely satisfied that it's the best and most solid weblog tool ever. Exactly when that will be is hard to predict, since it's dependant on a lot of factors.

Basically the idea is to release the first alpha at the end of july, and then we'll do monthly releases of Alpha, Beta and RC quality until it's done.

2. When's that first alpha going to come out again? Can't wait to update my weblog!!
Please don't.. The alpha releases will likely miss features and/or contain bugs that might make working with it on a live website less than enjoyable. If anything, the Alpha's will be less robust than we'd like them to be.
If you're adventurous, you can start using it on real sites starting with the first Beta release.

3. MySQL? does that mean i can't use flat files anymore?
No, flat files are still supported.

4.Flat Files? does that mean i still can't use MySQL?
No, you can use MySQL if you have access to it.

5. What about SQLite and PostgreSQL?
We've added options for them, but 2.0 will likely support MySql and Flat files only. SQLite and PostgreSQL will be added shortly afterwards.

6. Does Pivot 2 have 'feature X'?
Maybe, maybe not. But, we'll have a very, very flexbile extension architecture, which will allow extension authors to add justabout anything.

7. So, about this flexbile extension / widget architecture?
Like i said: It's very simple to add stuff to the Pivot interface: Things that change something, add something, or whatever. Because it's simple and powerful at the same time, it'll also bevery easy to write horrible extensions. To prevent this we'll
- Provide documentation for how to communicate with the pivot framework
- We'll have 'best practices' on how to do things the right way.
- We'll provide common object to do things safely without hassle.

8. Doing things safely how?
- Accessing variables passed on the URL or via forms that are sanitized to prevent URL or POST based attacks.
- Access to the SQL class which will (among other things) automatically quote variables. It will also be smart enough that if you call it with the _intent_ to do a 'select', it will refuse to do an insert, update or delete.
- Forms that are added to the Pivot Interface will have built in protection against XSS and CSRF exploits.
- We will have a 'seal of approval'. Everybody will be able to write and distribute plugins, but the ones that have our 'seal' are throroughly tested by us to make sure they don't negatively affect security or performance.

9. Any more new features?
Yes, there are a few other new things, that are quite revolutionary (if i say so myself). You'll have to wait a bit for those, though.

10. What's with these pages and chapters?
Pages are an easy way to make 'static pages'. You can use chapters to group several of those together, if you plan on adding a lot of those.

[timsamoff]

Bwa ha ha ha!

[Tenshi]

Want it, want it, want it! No really it looks great and ready to compete with Wordpress and alikes!

[Gratyn]

The screenshots seems to be visually attractive (especially the flying cat).
Will the extensions feature so easy to use ?

[Bob]

[sc123]

The shots look good so far! What is the upgrade process going to be like to go from 1.4x > 2.x? Just curious!

[Bob]

Upgrading the data (entries, comments and such) will be pretty much automatic.

I'm trying to make the new template parser as backwards compatible as possible, but i'm not sure if i can make it completely so.

The URL structure will change between 1.40 and 2.x, because all pages will be dynamic (no rebuilding, no generated files), so we'll need to do some serious htaccess trickery to prevent search engines or people from seeing stale links. If you were using mod_rewrite before, this will not be much of an issue, since we can keep those links the same.

[wedgin]

I think I just wet myself a bit

[Fredrik]

I'm like wedgin. That is really beautiful. "Gief now plix!", as we say in my little area of the world.

[marnix]

This really looks good bob, did you do a summercourse art-academy or so? stunning design. I can't wait to update.

[Tenshi]

[Bob]

Tenshi:

Keep in mind that if you're using mod_rewrite at the moment (like you do), that nothing will change.
This is just for those without mod_rewrite
example.org/pivot/entry.php?uid=100 will be example.org/?e=100
example.org/pivot/search.php?q=blabla will be example.org/?q=blabla

[gwbonline]

Can someone tell me something about mod_rewrite?

The url of every entry I post is something like: http://www.willembosma.nl/pivot/entry.php?id=160

Is this a good thing for search engines or can it be done better?

And the new Pivot...

It went beyond my expectations! I'm using Pivot for several years now and I was looking forward to something new (from Pivot) lately. The screenshots look great!

I'm using several static pages and some of them have different layouts, done by different templates. Is this going to change and can I give static pages in the new Pivot different layouts easier? I also use some extensions. Will those be compatible with the new Pivot?

[Tenshi]

[Struikel]

Can you say something about execution speed of Pivot? I use a very small energyfriendly server (Synology DS-160) which i updated the firmware lately. The speed is dropped to 12 sec to accept a reply.

It looks beautiful BTW.