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

[Ingo Renner]

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.


-- 
Ingo Renner
TYPO3 Core Developer, Release Manager TYPO3 4.2