Kicking off TYPO3 v4.4 - "the last 20%"

By: Benjamin Mack

The development of TYPO3 v4.4 has begun. Starting with TYPO3 v4.4 there will be fixed releases every six months. For this next version, the TYPO3 development will be focused on "the last 20%".

The development of TYPO3 v4.4 has now begun. For the next release, which is scheduled to be released in May 2010, the TYPO3 development will be focused on the "the last 20%" of the current feature-set to shape the rough edges around the package.

More details about release dates and up-to-date infos about the tasks can be found in the wiki page on the TYPO3 Forge.

Goals for TYPO3 v4.4

The release of TYPO3 v4.4 has these high-level goals:

1. To increase adoption of TYPO3
2. To stabilize the TYPO3 Core package by finishing open tasks
3. To pave a way for a smooth transition to TYPO3 v5
4. To ensure maximum backwards compatibility

Release Cycle for the Next 4.x Versions

We want to release major versions of TYPO3 4.x more often. Thus, TYPO3 v4.4 will be available roughly six months after TYPO3 v4.3 was published (Nov 30th, 2009). We want to follow this new release cycle in all future TYPO3 4.x versions. With TYPO3 v4.4 we want to incorporate the following strategy:

• There will be roughly four (4) months developing new features until a fixed date (feature freeze).
• There will be two (2) months of shaping the Core package and finishing it for the next release.

This means that the TYPO3 Core Team will release set on a fixed date rather than on the completeness of single features. The "feature freeze" is set with the release of beta1 of the next major versions. This package should be usable for new projects you want to set up. Details about the maintenance of the new release will be revealed by our new Maintenance policy in the next weeks.

A-Class Extensions

With the TER growing and keeping over 4200 extensions available for free and ready-to-install within a few clicks, one can easily loose track of what are common extensions for common problems. That's why we want to mark some extensions as very valuable, mostly because of the following reasons:

• The extension is not a one-man-show and is actively maintained by team, keeping up the community spirit
• The extension was at least once checked by the TYPO3 security team to ensure basic security measurements
• The extension is well documented
• The extensions' code is following the TYPO3 Coding Guidelines
• The extension is used by a high percentage of the TYPO3 community and serves a general purpose

We will present these A-Class Extensions shortly before the TYPO3 4.4 and hope that this list will make it easier for users to decide which extensions are available and recommended. If you have a suggestion for an A-Class Extension, let us know (benni(at)typo3/org).

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