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 1.18 ==
   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 1.18 ===
  22 * The WantedPages::getSQL hook has been removed and replaced with
  23   WantedPages::getQueryInfo . This may break older extensions.
  24
  25 === New features in 1.18 ===
  26 * Added a special page, disabled by default, that allows users with the
  27   'disableaccount' privilege to permanently deactivate user accounts.
  28 * (bug 8130) Query pages should limit to content namespaces, not just main namespace
  29
  30 === Bug fixes in 1.18 ===
  31 * (bug 23119) WikiError class and subclasses are now marked as deprecated
  32 * (bug 10871) Javascript and CSS pages in MediaWiki namespace are no longer
  33   treated as wikitext on preview.
  34 * (bug 22753) Output from update.php is more clear when things changed, entries
  35   indicating nothing changed are now all prefixed by "..."
  36 * Page existence is now not revealed (in the colour of the tabs) to users who
  37   cannot read the page in question.
  38 * (bug 19006) {{REVISIONUSER}} no longer acts like {{CURRENTUSER}} in some cases
  39 * (bug 16019) $wgArticlePath = "/$1" no longer breaks API edit/watch actions
  40 * (bug 18372) File types blacklisted by $wgFileBlacklist will no longer be shown as
  41   "Permitted file types" on the upload form
  42 * (bug 26379) importImages.php gives more descriptive error message on failure.
  43
  44 === API changes in 1.18 ===
  45 * (bug 26339) Throw warning when truncating an overlarge API result
  46 * (bug 14869) Add API module for accessing QueryPage-based special pages
  47 * (bug 14020) API for Special:Unwatchedpages
  48 * (bug 24287) Wrap API Help output at 100 characters
  49
  50 === Languages updated in 1.18 ===
  51
  52 MediaWiki supports over 330 languages. Many localisations are updated
  53 regularly. Below only new and removed languages are listed, as well as
  54 changes to languages because of Bugzilla reports.
  55
  56 == Compatibility ==
  57
  58 MediaWiki 1.18 requires PHP 5.1 (5.2 recommended). PHP 4 is no longer
  59 supported.
  60
  61 MySQL 3.23.x is no longer supported; some older hosts may need to upgrade.
  62 At this time we still recommend 4.0, but 4.1/5.0 will work fine in most cases.
  63
  64
  65 == Upgrading ==
  66
  67 1.18 has several database changes since 1.17, and will not work without schema
  68 updates.
  69
  70 If upgrading from before 1.11, and you are using a wiki as a commons reposito-
  71 ry, make sure that it is updated as well. Otherwise, errors may arise due to
  72 database schema changes.
  73
  74 If upgrading from before 1.7, you may want to run refreshLinks.php to ensure
  75 new database fields are filled with data.
  76
  77 If you are upgrading from MediaWiki 1.4.x or earlier, some major database
  78 changes are made, and there is a slightly higher chance that things could
  79 break. Don't forget to always back up your database before upgrading!
  80
  81 See the file UPGRADE for more detailed upgrade instructions.
  82
  83
  84 === Caveats ===
  85
  86 Some output, particularly involving user-supplied inline HTML, may not
  87 produce 100% valid or well-formed XHTML output. Testers are welcome to
  88 set $wgMimeType = "application/xhtml+xml"; to test for remaining problem
  89 cases, but this is not recommended on live sites. (This must be set for
  90 MathML to display properly in Mozilla.)
  91
  92 For notes on 1.17.x and older releases, see HISTORY.
  93
  94
  95 === Online documentation ===
  96
  97 Documentation for both end-users and site administrators is currently being
  98 built up on MediaWiki.org, and is covered under the GNU Free Documentation
  99 License (except for pages that explicitly state that their contents are in
 100 the public domain) :
 101
 102         http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Documentation
 103
 104
 105 === Mailing list ===
 106
 107 A MediaWiki-l mailing list has been set up distinct from the Wikipedia
 108 wikitech-l list:
 109
 110         http://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/mediawiki-l
 111
 112 A low-traffic announcements-only list is also available:
 113
 114         http://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/mediawiki-announce
 115
 116 It's highly recommended that you sign up for one of these lists if you're
 117 going to run a public MediaWiki, so you can be notified of security fixes.
 118
 119
 120 === IRC help ===
 121
 122 There's usually someone online in #mediawiki on irc.freenode.net