[JDEV] A Quick Update

[Jeremie]

(this is a copy of the item just posted to http://dev.jabber.org/, real
soon these will probably be automatically sent from news postings to the
site)

The Jabber.org project has been able to keep up with the communication and
coordination of development lately, and as a team we're working hard at
improving upon this.  One of the steps is keeping everyone informed
with regular updates such as this one.  A larger more comprehensive status
project update is on the way in a few weeks, so here I'll just outline a
few important points and what we're working on in the short term.

A new tarp/php driven site replaced the old jabber.org in December.
Although it's a bit limited yet, it's quickly progressing and is much
easier to add features to and manage.  Justin (opie) is working hard on
integrating user support (jabber users @jabber.org, via temas's new jabber
php module) which will allow users to post news, comments, manage project
listings, todo lists, and have diaries again.  The new docs.jabber.org
is also maturing and will soon allow anyone to manage a docbook based
documentation project or post comments on other documentation.

In an effort to improve the accessibility and exposure of the development
team and projects they are responsible for, the new team page on
dev.jabber.org will get a facelift as well.  With the addition of user
support on the site, we're going to allow anyone working on any related
project to list themselves via the team site and post "help wanted" notes
inviting more team members for certian projects.  Most of the developers
also frequent the jdev at conference.jabber.org room throughout the day,
with logs at perl.jabber.org/logs/.

The new 1.4 server development has been progressing wonderfully.  A pre1
was just released, with a pre2 expected early next week fixing some build
issues and xdb/mio bugs.  The final release will have openssl support,
dynamic services (CGI like support for extending the server during
operation), better generic XML storage support, and some preliminary
browsing features.  One of the best features of 1.4 is it'll be easier to
install and support more platforms (with the static build option), as well
as being released with much improved documentation thanks to stpeter.
We're shooting for a final release in a few weeks.

Transports :)  Yes, there have been lots of public complaints and problems
with the four main transports lately.  Many of their problems
on the jabber.org server are often administrative or the fact that we're
always running the latest development (unstable) copy.  I've worked hard
the past few weeks to get all four of them up and keep them running, and
often I'm able to use all four reliably.  Unfortunately, the yahoo and icq
transports will crash or become unresponsive frequently in their current
state.  All four are receiving a great deal of development attention,
and will be released in either a stable or beta form with the 1.4 server.

That's going to be keeping us all busy for the next few weeks, and we're
gearing up to make some big news over the next few months with some new
projects and developments!

Thanks,

Jer <jer at jabber.org>

PS: I apologize for not keeping up on jdev email traffic, my personal
filterd inbox alone is weeks behind and approaching 1k messages again.  
If you need to contact me for any reason, you're best bet is via Jabber or
in the jdev conference room ;)