django/docs/releases/1.3-alpha-2.txt

================================
Django 1.3 alpha 2 release notes
================================

Welcome to Django 1.3 alpha 2!

This is the second in a series of preview/development releases leading
up to the eventual release of Django 1.3. This release is primarily
targeted at developers who are interested in trying out new features
and testing the Django codebase to help identify and resolve bugs
prior to the final 1.3 release.

As such, this release is *not* intended for production use, and any such use
is discouraged.

What's new in Django 1.3 alpha 2
================================

Further tweaks to the staticfiles app
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Django 1.3 ships with a new contrib app ``'django.contrib.staticfiles'``
to help developers handle the static media files (images, CSS, Javascript,
etc.) that are needed to render a complete web page.

``staticfiles`` ships with the ability to automatically serve static files
during development (if the :setting:`DEBUG` is ``True``) when using the
:djadmin:`runserver` management command. Based on feedback from the
community this release adds two new options to the ``runserver`` command
to modify this behaviour:

    * ``--nostatic``: prevents the ``runserver`` command from serving files
      completely

    * ``--insecure``: enables serving of static files even if stupidly
      running in with :setting:`DEBUG` set to False

See the :doc:`reference documentation of the app </ref/contrib/staticfiles>`
for more details or learn how to :doc:`manage static files
</howto/static-files>`.

Backwards-incompatible changes in 1.3 alpha 2
=============================================

Introduction of STATIC_URL and STATIC_ROOT settings
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The newly introduced :doc:`/ref/contrib/staticfiles` app extends Django's
abilities to handle static app and project files, required the additon of
settings to refer to those files in templates and code, especially in
contrast to the :setting:`MEDIA_URL` and :setting:`MEDIA_ROOT` settings that
refer to user-uploaded files.

Prior to 1.3 alpha 2 these settings were called ``STATICFILES_URL`` and
``STATICFILES_ROOT`` to follow the naming scheme for app centric settings.
Based on feedback from the community it became apparent that those settings
created confusion, especially given the fact handling static files is also
desired outside the use of the optional ``staticfiles`` app.

As a result, we take the followig steps to rectify the issue:

  * Two new global settings that will be used by -- **but are not limited
    to** -- the :doc:`staticfiles</ref/contrib/staticfiles>` app:

    * :setting:`STATIC_ROOT` (formally ``STATICFILES_ROOT``)

    * :setting:`STATIC_URL` (formally ``STATICFILES_URL``)

  * Moving the
    ``django.contrib.staticfiles.templatetags.staticfiles.get_staticfiles_prefix``
    template tag to the core (``django.templatetags.static``) and renaming
    it to :ttag:`get_static_prefix`.

  * Moving the context processor
    ``django.contrib.staticfiles.context_processors.staticfiles`` to the
    core (``django.core.context_processors.static``) and renaming it to
    :func:`~django.core.context_processors.static`.

  * :ref:`form-media-paths` will use :setting:`STATIC_URL` as the prefix
    **if the value is not None**, and falls back to the previously used
    :setting:`MEDIA_URL`.

The Django 1.3 roadmap
======================

Before the final Django 1.3 release, several other preview/development
releases will be made available. The current schedule consists of at
least the following:

* Week of **November 29, 2010**: First Django 1.3 beta release. Final
  feature freeze for Django 1.3.

* Week of **January 10, 2011**: First Django 1.3 release
  candidate. String freeze for translations.

* Week of **January 17, 2011**: Django 1.3 final release.

If necessary, additional alpha, beta or release-candidate packages
will be issued prior to the final 1.3 release. Django 1.3 will be
released approximately one week after the final release candidate.


What you can do to help
=======================

In order to provide a high-quality 1.3 release, we need your help. Although this
alpha release is, again, *not* intended for production use, you can help the
Django team by trying out the alpha codebase in a safe test environment and
reporting any bugs or issues you encounter. The Django ticket tracker is the
central place to search for open issues:

    * http://code.djangoproject.com/timeline

Please open new tickets if no existing ticket corresponds to a problem you're
running into.

Additionally, discussion of Django development, including progress toward the
1.3 release, takes place daily on the django-developers mailing list:

    * http://groups.google.com/group/django-developers

... and in the ``#django-dev`` IRC channel on ``irc.freenode.net``. If you're
interested in helping out with Django's development, feel free to join the
discussions there.

Django's online documentation also includes pointers on how to contribute to
Django:

    * :doc:`How to contribute to Django </internals/contributing>`

Contributions on any level -- developing code, writing documentation or simply
triaging tickets and helping to test proposed bugfixes -- are always welcome and
appreciated.

Several development sprints will also be taking place before the 1.3
release; these will typically be announced in advance on the
django-developers mailing list, and anyone who wants to help is
welcome to join in.