RELEASE-NOTES

   1 = MediaWiki release notes =
   2
   3 Security reminder: MediaWiki does not require PHP's register_globals
   4 setting since version 1.2.0. If you have it on, turn it *off* if you can.
   5
   6 == MediaWiki 1.16 ==
   7
   8 THIS IS NOT A RELEASE YET
   9
  10 MediaWiki is now using a "continuous integration" development model with
  11 quarterly snapshot releases. The latest development code is always kept
  12 "ready to run", and in fact runs our own sites on Wikipedia.
  13
  14 Release branches will continue to receive security updates for about a year
  15 from first release, but nonessential bugfixes and feature developments
  16 will be made on the development trunk and appear in the next quarterly release.
  17
  18 Those wishing to use the latest code instead of a branch release can obtain
  19 it from source control: http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Download_from_SVN
  20
  21 === Configuration changes in 1.16 ===
  22
  23 * (bug 18222) $wgMinimalPasswordLength default is now 1
  24 * $wgSessionHandler can be used to configure session.save_handler
  25 * $wgLocalFileRepo/$wgForeignFileRepos now have a 'fileMode' parameter to
  26   be used when uploading/moving files
  27
  28 === New features in 1.16 ===
  29
  30 * Add CSS defintion of the 'wikitable' class to shared.css
  31 * (bug 17163) Added MediaWiki:Talkpageheader which will be displayed when
  32   viewing talk pages
  33 * Add group convertsion support for LanguageConverter. New magic word
  34   "{{GROUPCONVERT:xxx}}" enabled for this new feature. You can set related
  35   conversion rules in [[MediaWiki:Groupconversiontable-xxx/language_code]].
  36 * Superfluous border="0" removed from images
  37 * Added new hook 'MessageCacheReplace' into MessageCache.php. For instance
  38   to allow extensions to update caches in similar way as MediaWiki invalidates
  39   a cached MonoBook sidebar
  40 * Special:AllPages: Move hardcoded styles from code to CSS
  41 * (bug 6092) Add parser function equivalents of {{REVISIONID}},
  42   {{REVISIONTIMESTAMP}}  (and friends) and {{REVISIONUSER}} magic words
  43 * (bug 18529) New hook: SoftwareInfo for adding information about the software
  44   to Special:Version
  45 * Added $wgExtPGAlteredFields to allow extensions to easily alter the data
  46   type of columns when using the Postgres backend.
  47 * (bug 16950) Show move log when viewing/creating a deleted page
  48 * (bug 18242) Show the Subversion revision number per extensions in
  49   Special:Version
  50 * (bug 18420) Missing file revisions are handled gracefully now
  51 * (bug 9219) Auth plugins can control editing RealName/Email/Nick preferences
  52 * New hook: MessageNotInMwNs to handle localised messages that aren't in the
  53   Mediawiki Namespace, before checking the message files
  54 * (bug 18466) Add note or warning when overruling a move (semi-)protection
  55 * (bug 18342) insertTags works in edit summary box
  56 * (bug 18411) The upload form also checks post_max_size
  57 * Watchlist now has a specialized <div> tag that contains a unique class for each page
  58
  59 === Bug fixes in 1.16 ===
  60
  61 * (bug 18031) Make namespace selector on Special:Export remember the previous
  62   selection
  63 * The svn-version version numbers on Special:Version have been removed
  64 * (bug 17374) Special:Export no longer exports two copies of the same page
  65 * (bug 18190) Proper parsing in MediaWiki:Sharedupload message
  66 * (bug 17617) HTML cleanup for ImagePage
  67 * (bug 17964) namespaceDupes.php no longer fails on an empty interwiki table
  68 * Improved error handling for image moving
  69 * (bug 17974) On Special:SpecialPages, restricted special pages are now marked
  70   with <strong> tags, helps with text-based browsers
  71 * (bug 18259) Special:DeletedContributions now also uses
  72   MediaWiki:Sp-contributions-logs for the link to Special:Log
  73 * Don't add empty title="" attributes to links to anchors on the current page
  74 * (bug 18291) rebuildrecentchanges.php failed to add deletion log entries
  75 * (bug 18304) rebuildrecentchanges.php got size changes wrong
  76 * (bug 18170) Fixed a PHP warning in Parser::preSaveTransform() in PHP 5.3
  77 * (bug 18289) Database connection error page now returns correct HTML
  78 * "successbox", "errorbox" and related CSS classes are now available in all
  79   skins
  80 * Fixed a PHP notice when $wgEnableSerializedMessages was set to false
  81 * (bug 18316) Removed superfluous name="fulltext" from Special:Search
  82 * (bug 18331) MediaWiki:Undelete-revision can now have wikitext
  83 * The "noautoblock" flag is no longer displayed in the block log when blocking
  84   an IP address
  85 * (bug 18009) $wgHooks and $wgExtensionFunctions now support closures
  86 * (bug 17948) Maintenance scripts now exit(0) or exit(1) as appropriate
  87 * (bug 18377) Time in Enhanced ChangesList lacking localisation
  88 * (bug 12998) Allow <sup>, <sub>, etc. in DISPLAYTITLE
  89 * (bug 1553) Lowercase navigation headings in German
  90 * (bug 7830) Pending transactions failed to commit on loginToUse() error
  91 * (bug 11613) session.save_handler being over-ridden
  92 * (bug 11381) session.save_handler being set twice (causes error)
  93 * (bug 17835) ForeignAPIRepo throwing error on first page load for file
  94 * (bug 18115) ForeignAPIRepo cache isn't working
  95 * Fixed a bug caused by LanguageConverter.php, which brings an abnormal '}-'
  96   after some parsed math syntax.
  97 * (bug 18441) rebuildrecentchanges.inc no longer ignores $wgLogRestrictions
  98 * (bug 18317) Bolded selections in 1 | 3 | etc days on RecentChanges now use
  99   <strong> instead of hardcoded styles
 100 * (bug 18449) Fixed items number per column on category pages when the total is
 101   divisible by 3
 102 * (bug 18121) maintenance/deleteArchivedRevisions.php no longer deletes
 103   revisions when --delete is not passed
 104 * (bug 13172) GPS coordinates in image Exif data are now actually displayed
 105 * Overhaul of preferences system, includes the following bug fixes:
 106 * (bug 5363) Changes to default preferences now impact registered users.
 107 * (bug 14806) Hook to enable putting preferences in existing tabs.
 108 * (bug 17191) Registration date now listed on preferences page.
 109 * Note that this change will break some extensions which have not been adapted
 110   for it.
 111 * (bug 17020) Adding fallback encodings for Traditional and Simplified Chinese
 112   languages while the the text is typed as URLs.
 113 * (bug 18535) Search tab tool-tops are corrupted
 114 * (bug 17614) Prev / Next links not need on ImagePage file history if less than
 115   limit
 116 * (bug 18207) Strange spacing before [[irc:...]] links
 117 * Removed float from the user login form in RTL interface - caused display
 118   problems in FF2
 119 * (bug 15008) Redirect images are now subject to Bad image list rules
 120 * (bug 6802) profileinfo.php now also work on other database servers than MySQL
 121 * (bug 16925) Diffs no longer fail when $wgExternalDiffEngine is set to
 122   'wikidiff' or 'wikidiff2' but extension is not installed
 123 * (bug 18326) Chmod errors in file repos have been hidden
 124 * (bug 18718) Comma after a } create a error in IE
 125 * (bug 18716) Removed redundant class in Modern skin CSS for category links and
 126   tweaked spacing.
 127 * (bug 18656) Use proper directory separators in wfMkdirParents()
 128 * (bug 18549) Make Special:Blockip respect $wgEnableUserEmail and
 129   $wgSysopEmailBans
 130 * (bug 16912) Tooltips on images with link= disappear
 131 * (bug 18389) Localise numbers in EXIF data
 132 * (bug 18522) Wrap MediaWiki:Protect-cascadeon in a div for identification
 133 * (bug 18438) Tweak HTML for preview bar for consistency and accessibility
 134 * (bug 18432) Updated documentation for dumpBackup.php
 135
 136 == API changes in 1.16 ==
 137
 138 * Added uiprop=changeablegroups to meta=userinfo
 139 * Added usprop=gender to list=users
 140 * (bug 18311) action=purge now works for images too
 141 * Add parentid to prop=revisions output
 142 * (bug 17832) action=delete returns 'unknownerror' instead of 'permissiondenied'
 143   when the user is blocked
 144 * (bug 18546) Added timestamp of new revision to action=edit output
 145 * (bug 18554) Also list hidden revisions in list=usercontribs for privileged
 146   users
 147 * (bug 13049) "API must be accessed from the primary script entry point" error
 148 * (bug 16422) Don't display help for format=jsonfm unless specifically requested
 149 * Added PHP and database version to meta=siteinfo output
 150 * (bug 18533) Add readonly message to meta=siteinfo output
 151 * (bug 18518) Add clprop=hidden to prop=categories
 152 * (bug 18710) Fixed internal error with empty parameter in action=paraminfo
 153 * (bug 18709) Missing descriptions for some parameters in action=paraminfo
 154   output
 155 * (bug 18731) Show correct SVN links for extension modules in api.php?version
 156 * (bug 18730) Add version information to action=paraminfo output
 157 * (bug 18743) Add ucprop=size to list=usercontribs
 158 * (bug 18749) Add generator flag to action=paraminfo output
 159 * Make action=block respect $wgEnableUserEmail and $wgSysopEmailBans
 160
 161 === Languages updated in 1.16 ===
 162
 163 MediaWiki supports over 300 languages. Many localisations are updated
 164 regularly. Below only new and removed languages are listed, as well as
 165 changes to languages because of MediaZilla reports.
 166
 167 * Lower Silesian (sli) (new)
 168 * Uyghur (Arabic script) (ug-arab) (new)
 169
 170 * (bug 18474) Sorani (ckb - Central Kurdish) (renamed from ku-arab)
 171 * Add PLURAL function for Scots Gaelic (gd)
 172 * Add Estonian letters äöõšüž to linktrail (et)
 173 * (bug 18776) Native name of Burmese language (my)
 174 * (bug 18806) Use correct unicode characters in spelling of native Chuvash
 175   (Чӑвашла)
 176
 177 == Compatibility ==
 178
 179 MediaWiki 1.16 requires PHP 5 (5.2 recommended). PHP 4 is no longer supported.
 180
 181 PHP 5.0.x fails on 64-bit systems due to serious bugs with array processing:
 182 http://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=34879
 183 Upgrade affected systems to PHP 5.1 or higher.
 184
 185 MySQL 3.23.x is no longer supported; some older hosts may need to upgrade.
 186 At this time we still recommend 4.0, but 4.1/5.0 will work fine in most cases.
 187
 188
 189 == Upgrading ==
 190
 191 1.16 has several database changes since 1.15, and will not work without schema
 192 updates.
 193
 194 If upgrading from before 1.11, and you are using a wiki as a commons reposito-
 195 ry, make sure that it is updated as well. Otherwise, errors may arise due to
 196 database schema changes.
 197
 198 If upgrading from before 1.7, you may want to run refreshLinks.php to ensure
 199 new database fields are filled with data.
 200
 201 If you are upgrading from MediaWiki 1.4.x or earlier, some major database
 202 changes are made, and there is a slightly higher chance that things could
 203 break. Don't forget to always back up your database before upgrading!
 204
 205 See the file UPGRADE for more detailed upgrade instructions.
 206
 207
 208 === Caveats ===
 209
 210 Some output, particularly involving user-supplied inline HTML, may not
 211 produce 100% valid or well-formed XHTML output. Testers are welcome to
 212 set $wgMimeType = "application/xhtml+xml"; to test for remaining problem
 213 cases, but this is not recommended on live sites. (This must be set for
 214 MathML to display properly in Mozilla.)
 215
 216 For notes on 1.15.x and older releases, see HISTORY.
 217
 218
 219 === Online documentation ===
 220
 221 Documentation for both end-users and site administrators is currently being
 222 built up on MediaWiki.org, and is covered under the GNU Free Documentation
 223 License (except for pages that explicitly state that their contents are in
 224 the public domain) :
 225
 226   http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Documentation
 227
 228
 229 === Mailing list ===
 230
 231 A MediaWiki-l mailing list has been set up distinct from the Wikipedia
 232 wikitech-l list:
 233
 234   http://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/mediawiki-l
 235
 236 A low-traffic announcements-only list is also available:
 237
 238   http://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/mediawiki-announce
 239
 240 It's highly recommended that you sign up for one of these lists if you're
 241 going to run a public MediaWiki, so you can be notified of security fixes.
 242
 243
 244 === IRC help ===
 245
 246 There's usually someone online in #mediawiki on irc.freenode.net