Over the past several months we have been making some significant changes in our release process.  We have made a commitment to monthly releases, opened up our code repository and in general have made a move to be more transparent.  During this same period we have also made some changes to our development processes to separate our feature development from our bug fixes.  The DotNetNuke 5.3.0 is our first quarterly feature release that is benefiting from this new development process. 

In addition to splitting out our feature development, we are also using a more formal Scrum methodology and have broken down our features into different code sprints.  This process allows us to deliver a set of features that can stand alone  and be tested independent from other features or enhancements which might be delivered in later sprints.  This flexibility also enables us to be a little more fluid with our quarterly releases which are often timed to coincide with major marketing events.  This Alpha release is a merge between the 5.2.3 codebase and DotNetNuke 5.3.0 Sprint 1 development branch and includes the following features:

• Taxonomy – The base taxonomy feature includes a complete API and UI for creating and managing site taxonomies.  The core taxonomy supports both flat and hierarchical taxonomies and allows for the creation of multiple vocabularies.  Over time we anticipate that many modules will support the core taxonomy API rather than relying on their own categorization systems which are not portable across modules.
• Sitemap Provider – The new sitemap provider allows for greater control over the sitemap and allows individual modules to create a custom provider for their content.  Unlike previous sitemap implementations, this feature delegates generation of the sitemap down to the individual module which has more knowledge over the URLs that are managed by the specific module or module instance.  Once implemented, modules like blog and forums will be able to fully participate in generation of the sitemap which will aid in search engine optimization.  The alpha release includes a new Sitemap module, but there is no specific page created in the admin menus.  To test this new functionality, you will need to create your own page and add the Sitemap module to the page.
  NOTE: Due to a packaging issue the SiteMap provider is only available in the Source Code package.  This will be corrected prior to the Beta release.
• Messaging Provider – The new messaging provider incorporates a messaging store and core API for delivery of both synchronous and asynchronous messages.  The messaging provider is extensible and will allow for the creation of multiple delivery options.  The alpha release includes a new Messaging module, but there is no specific page created in the admin menus.  To test this new functionality, you will need to create your own page and add the Sitemap module to the page.
• Telerik Control Wrappers – Beginning with DotNetNuke 5.2.0, we started shipping Telerik ASP.Net AJAX Web Controls with DotNetNuke Community Edition.  The license only allows developers to use the Telerik controls if they have a separate developer’s license (which is also included as part of Professional Edition) or if DotNetNuke included specific wrappers for the Telerik controls.  In 5.3.0 we are delivering wrappers for a number of Telerik Controls.  These wrappers are included as part of the new DotNetNuke.web assembly.  The wrappers include:
  • DnnComboBox (RadComboBox)
  • DnnGrid (RadGrid)
  • DnnListBox (RadListBox)
  • DnnMultiPage (RadMultiPage)
  • DnnTabPanel  (RadMultiPage, RadTabStrip)
  • DnnTabStrip (RadTabStrip)
  • DnnTextBox (RadTextBox)
  • DnnTreeView (RadTreeView)
  • DnnWindowManager (RadWindowManager)

I am happy to announce that DotNetNuke 5.3.0 Alpha is now available for download.  You can find out more information on the Beta Testing page on DotNetNuke.com.  As an Alpha release, included features may not be fully implemented (as noted some are missing pages or menu items) and some features still have UI elements that are being worked on as part of our upcoming Beta release.  

Please note: Do not apply pre-release software to production websites.  Always ensure you backup files and data before attempting any upgrade.  You will not be able to upgrade automatically from one pre-release build to another, or from pre-release builds to the final release. Alpha and Beta testing software is provided for testing purposes only.