So Parker a.k.a. WordPress 3.8 was released on schedule and while that may not seem impressive consider that there were 170 contributors to this project and that it was pretty much developed in tandem with the 3.7 update. As a software development manager I find that to be simply astounding because most of these contributions came from Average Joe/Jane volunteers and not employees.
It’s difficult enough to organize a small group of developers who’s job it is to create a medium sized project into a tight team capable of producing reliable results. One element that makes this possible is the new plugin first development structure of the core. This shift in design in important because it allows development to occur in a silo. If a feature is not completed for the release it can easily be postponed for later release or even released on it’s own without adversely impacting the project timeline, scope, and deliverables.
Another advantage of this is that it basically forces developers to use the existing WordPress technologies to build new features. This follows nicely along with my personal mantra:
Remember if you do not use what you make; then you have failed to make something useful. ~ Mikel King
We become better developers by applying this very simple rule to software usage and development. You can have as many discovery phase sit downs with end users or draft detailed technical specs as you want but until you actually attempt to use something you built you will never truly understand the then pain of the form you have created.
So all things considered what is so special about WordPress 3.8 besides being named after ‘Charlie Parker‘ that is. For starters we have a streamlined aesthetic. Simplified fonts, clean vector graphics and a completely redesigned widget engine. In addition the wp-admin no sports more custom personal colour schemes.
On top of that the theme design team has outdone themselves withe the new Twenty Fourteen default theme. This theme has some of the best plumbing ever produced in a default theme and was designed to support seamlessly both mobile and desktop devices.
The last feature that I want to talk about is one not even noted in the release update notice. The seemingly minor change to the wp-admin plugin listing page. Now your installed, uninstalled and out of date plugins are highlighted ever so slightly. It is easy at a glance to focus on what need updating. While this may not seem important as a busy developer and site manager I find this sort of thing extremely handy.
Similarly the admin messages and notices in the wp-admin have been given a welcome colour scheme makeover.
Over all I believe this is one of the nicest changes to WordPress I have seen in a long time. What are your feelings about Parker?
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Thank you Shital.