» posted on 22:11 - 28 December 2009 | posted by Lev

» last modified on 14:13 - 29 December 2009 | last modified by Lev

If you thought the unusually long lag between 1.0.0b5 and 1.0.0b6 was a sign a lot had happened; you would be right.

As the date for the stable release of Theia (currently hoped for on Jan. 23 2010) draws closer, many of the things changed with the latest version of Theia are about standardization - in all senses (not just web standards, but how CSS class, module and function names are written, etc.).

Another major aspect of Theia that is "rapidly evolving" is the presence of module-based CSS files. This means two major things: 1) Theia will NOT use or rely on HTML template files, but instead a pure CSS layout and appearance, and 2) hundreds of new CSS classes are being added (thankfully, on a modul-basis), which means virtually everything will be contained and configurable in appearance with only CSS. Since areas of content can be placed anywhere you like in CSS, or hidden completely, it seems silly to burden development with an extra, unnecessary layer (being individual HTML template files for each area). Because of this, it means many additional CSS files are now included in the package (for the default theme that comes along), and by the time the stable release of 1.0.0 is out, there will be many more included.

Theme Management

• Improved CSS management tool makes updating and customizing themes a whole lot easier, with a more dynamic interface.
• The "Missing CSS Classes" pane is much more discriminant at determining if one of your style sheets is missing any CSS classes they should have.
• The "Missing CSS Classes" pane can also be minimized from display - and will remain that way on subsequent use of the file editor
• Easily add additional (perhaps missing) CSS files through the interface, which is great for people who want an easy way to update to Theia, while retaining their original styles, or people who add plug-ins into Theia

Calendar

• Integrated with the clubs module, so that clubs can have their own schedules of events
• Improved flexibility with appearance
• Dynamic display of events with jquery integration
• RSVP feature: request a response from other members to determine if they will participate in an event

Clubs

• Easily and instantly search through all the clubs
• Integration with calendar module so each club can have its own schedule of events
• Added categories make organization possible
• Customize the entire layout and appearance of the club's homepage using a WYSIWYG editor
• Upload a custom logo for each club (or use pre-installed icons)
• Improved flexibility and interface for adding sections to a club (unlimited sections of any allowed types, and multiple sections of the same types)
• Rate clubs using the newly added rating system
• A "wall" for each club so members of that club can write whatever is on their mind (using a WYSIWYG editor)
• Tag clubs individually to improve their SEO and their prevalence in Theia's search tools

Other things worth mentioning

• Customize the destination URL for members upon logging in
• All groups of admin tools can now be minimized and will remain that way for your session
• Members can now enter their first and last names
• Login now works using your email address OR your username
• Admin tool for disabling/enabling the control panel
• Admin tool for controlling reserved usernames
• Admin tools for controlling comment/rating configurations (allowing you to plug-in your own code with a unique type ID)
• Graphs added covering how many clicks you've been sending into the site (part of the affiliate program which is still in the works)

There have also been hundreds of little fixes, optimizations and improvements. For a complete list of all changes and fixes, see out development history

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