Keeping Track of WordPress Development

If you know where to look, keeping track of the WordPress development cycle is easy, especially because the WordPress development team tries to make the development process as transparent as possible. You can track updates by reading about them in various spots on the Internet and by listening to conversations between developers. If you're so inclined, you can jump in and lend the developers a hand, too.

You have several ways to stay up-to-date on what's going on in the world of WordPress development, including blog posts, live chats, development meetings, tracking tickets, and bug reports, just to name a few. The following list gives you a solid start on where you can go to stay informed:

• WordPress Development Updates (http://wpdevel.wordpress.com): The WordPress development team's blog is where you can follow and keep track of the progress of the WordPress software project while it happens (see Figure 3-2). You find agendas, schedules, meeting minutes, and discussions surrounding the development cycles.

  Figure 3-2: The WordPress develop-ment blog.

  

• WordPress developers' chats (irc.freenode.net in #wordpress-dev): Using an Internet chat program called IRC (Internet Chat Relay), WordPress developers gather weekly to discuss a predetermined agenda of items that need to be addressed during the development cycle. You're invited to join the IRC chat room to listen in, or participate, if you want to. (You can download a free IRC program called mIRC from www.mirc.com for PC users, or a program called Ircle from www.ircle.com for Mac users. Follow the program's user manual for instructions on how to use IRC to chat via the Internet).
• WordPress Trac (http://trac.wordpress.org): Here are ways to stay informed about the changes in WordPress development:
  • • Follow the timeline: http://core.trac.wordpress.org/timeline
  • • View the road map: http://core.trac.wordpress.org/roadmap
  • • Read reports: http://core.trac.wordpress.org/report
  • • Perform a search: http://core.trac.wordpress.org/search
• WordPress mailing lists (http://codex.wordpress.org/Mailing_Lists):

  Join mailing lists focused on different aspects of WordPress development, such as bug testing, documentation, and hacking WordPress. (We provide specifics about mailing lists in Book II, Chapter 4.)