================================ 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 ` for more details or learn how to :doc:`manage 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` 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 ` 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.