[TYPO3-dev] TYPO3 Association releases Version 4.2: Focus on Usability and Performance Improvements

[Tobias Pierschel]

Hi Ingo,
you and your team did a great job.
Particularly the performance of our sites increased noticeable.

Thank you!
 T o b i


Ingo Renner schrieb:
> Dear TYPO3 users,
> 
> BAAR - The TYPO3 Association has released a new version of their very 
> successful open source project. TYPO3 has been downloaded over 3.000.000 
> times from Sourceforge.org which makes it one of the World's leading 
> enterprise Open Source products.
> 
> The main focus of the new 4.2 version is improving usability, but there 
> are also many enhancements for system administrators and developers. 
> Including bug fixes, there are nearly 650 enhancements in TYPO3 4.2.
> 
> 
> In addition, the new TYPO3 version now requires at least PHP 5.2.0 in 
> order to run. PHP 4 has served the web developer community for over 
> seven years, but its time has passed. PHP 5 was released three years ago 
> and offers many improvements. In partnership with other popular open 
> source projects, TYPO3 joined the “goPHP5” initiative and agreed to move 
> to PHP 5 and to formally stop supporting PHP 4.
> 
> This release incorporated substantial changes to the TYPO3 backend 
> interface aiming to improve the usability for end users. Major new 
> features include a top stationary icon and option bar called a “document 
> header”, tabbed forms for editing page properties and content elements, 
> page-type dropdown menu items grouped by categories, and currently open 
> documents accessible via the document header bar.
> 
> The "Cleaner Backend Project" which began with TYPO3 4.0 continued its 
> task to restructure the TYPO3 backend. This included enhancements to the 
> included t3skin extension, which improves the overall appearance as well.
> TYPO3 uses “htmlArea” as the default Rich Text Editor (RTE) for content 
> editing. The RTE has been updated with several enhancements including 
> support for Apple’s Safari browser and many bug fixes. In addition, for 
> developers, a new plug-in API enables TYPO3 extensions to extend the RTE.
> 
> The Template Module now includes an improved TypoScript editor with 
> syntax highlighting, code snippets, and more. Also, the Constant Editor 
> incorporates a more intuitive interface that eliminates the need for a 
> checkbox next to each field.
> 
> TYPO3 4.2. has a new login-box system extension called "felogin". This 
> is an enhanced version of the "newloginbox" extension, and is now 
> integrated into the TYPO3 core. When installed, the new extension will 
> replace the old login content element. The new extension comes with a 
> new redirection framework and many configuration options, but runs well 
> using only the default settings.
> 
> The Workspaces module with its workflow features was introduced in TYPO3 
> 4.0 and has been improved in TYPO3 4.2. Kasper Skårhøj implemented the 
> long-desired feature to more-easily move elements in a workspace. In 
> addition, workspace element "swapping" is now possible for new and 
> deleted elements just as it has been for changed elements. Also, 
> workspace updates can now be previewed by users who do not have a 
> backend user account. A special link enables access and that link can be 
> sent via e-mail.
> Several performance improvements have been included in TYPO3 4.2 as 
> well. Speed enhancements have been made to indexed search, local caches, 
> caching of language files, and internal handling of the character set. 
> Also, the "Page is being generated" message has been eliminated using a 
> new locking mechanism.
> 
> Core Team Leader, Michael Stucki, states, "I'm really proud of the new 
> version and what we have accomplished. There have been so many changes 
> and improvements that it's really difficult to focus on just one aspect. 
> TYPO3 4.2 is the result of a combined community effort resulting in a 
> wide range of new functions."
> The TYPO3 Association is sure both developers and end-users will 
> appreciate this new version which will contribute to the continued 
> growth of this already highly successful open source project.
> 
> TYPO3 version 4.2 can be downloaded directly from 
> http://typo3.org/download/. Technical documentation and the release 
> notes can be found at 
> http://typo3.org/development/articles/release-notes-42.
> 
>