MySource Matrix Developer

MySource Matrix Developer Newsletter Issue 82
Friday 7th July 2006

covers versions 3.8.4 stable, 3.10.0 RC1, 3.11.0 development

News

3.10.0 Release Candidate 1 Released

The new 3.10.x stable branch of MySource Matrix was kicked off with the release of version 3.10.0 RC1 last Monday. This first release candidate contains almost 90 new features and improvements over the 3.8.x branch.

This release candidate is available for evaluation purposes, and current users of the 3.8.x branch are recommended not to upgrade to this version. If no significant issues are found with the release candidate, the stable version of MySource Matrix 3.10.0 will be released on Monday 7th August.

New 3.6 and 3.8 Stable Releases

Versions 3.8.4 and 3.6.10 of MySource Matrix were also released on Monday, and represent the latest releases of our stable branches.

Version 3.8.4 contains 37 bug fixes and a couple of minor functionality improvements to the News Item and Link Manager Page assets. Version 3.6.10 is a bug-fix only release, containing 6 bug fixes.

The 3.6.10 release is expected to be the last bug-fix release for the 3.6.x branch, with critical bugs only to be fixed. Stable version testing and fixes will continue to be performed on the 3.8.x and 3.10.x branches only.

No Further Development on 3.10.x Branch

The 3.10.0 RC1 release signals the end of development for the 3.10.x branch of MySource Matrix. No new core development will be included into this version unless it adds significant performance or usability benefits. New features will be placed into the new 3.11.0 development version, for future release in version 3.12.0.

New Features

Session File Garbage Collection Script

Added to: 3.8.4 stable, 3.10.0 RC1, 3.11.0 development

Bug #1475 was caused by PHP's internal session garbage collection system being disabled by moving the storage of session files to MySource Matrix's cache directory. This bug was fixed by adding a separate garbage collection script (scripts/session_file_garbage_collection.php) that clears stale session files instead.

This script should be added to the directly added to the crontab to handle garbage collection periodically. This should only need to be run once a day on most systems, but may need to be run more often on high-traffic systems.

Hide Frames in Simple Edit

Added to: 3.11.0 development

Currently, someone accessing the Simple Edit interface of an asset can add a query variable "ignore_frames=1" to stop the Simple Edit interface (including header bar and asset map) being printed around the asset being edited. This is desirable in some circumstances where a custom Simple Edit layout is being used. However, it is not suitable for longer ones because the lack of a header bar means the lock will not be refreshed as editing continues.

A new query variable "hide_frames=1" has now been added that is a "middle ground" between the normal Simple Edit mode and "ignore frames" mode. The header and asset map frames will still be printed, however they will be hidden away. This means that the lock will continue to be refreshed, ensuring changes are not lost. In the case of the asset map, the resizer is not printed at all, which means it will remain hidden until called into action by an asset finder.

Data Directory Restructure

Added to: 3.11.0 development

Larger systems running on a Linux/Unix system using an Ext2/Ext3 filesystem may find that they cannot create more than 32,000 of a certain asset type. This is due to an filesystem limitation that permits no more than that many links in a directory. (Each subdirectory takes up one link.)

This change to MySource Matrix's storage of files allows this limitation to be bypassed, as a new level of directories has been introduced. These new directories are named using a hash of the asset ID. The maximum number of directories defaults to 20, but can be changed using the SQ_CONF_NUM_DATA_DIRS configuration setting in main.inc - however, once a system is installed or upgraded, this should not be changed as this can result in data loss.

Following an upgrade, the maximum number of assets of a certain type that can be in a system with an Ext2/Ext3 filesystem will be approximately (SQ_CONF_NUM_DATA_DIRS * 32,000), or about 640,000 using the default settings.

Please follow the upgrading instructions given below carefully, as this is a major upgrade to the MySource Matrix core system.

Planned Development

No new generic features are currently scheduled for development.

Upgrading

3.11.0 Development

Additional queries: No additional queries are required for upgrades.

Additional comments: 

ATTENTION: the upgrade to the MySource Matrix data storage system is a significant one. It is strongly recommended that you back up your system before attempting this upgrade.

These installation instructions assume you are running the script from the root of your MySource Matrix installation.

1. Before updating your system's code, disable any Cron tasks for your MySource Matrix system that you may have in your crontab. If this is not done, and any Cron tasks run, it is possible for that task to get stuck in an infinite loop, and would then need to be killed.
2. Run step_02.php to create the additional configuration setting. (This script is safe to run because it does not touch any assets.)
   $ php install/step_02.php .
3. Run the following script for a report on the estimated size of the upgrading job:
   $ php scripts/upgrade_data_dirs.php -s . --report-only
4. Once satisfied, run the following script to run the upgrade.
   $ php scripts/upgrade_data_dirs.php -s . --start-upgrade --show-details
5. If the upgrade is successful (look for a "Congratulations!" message at the end of the script), the Cron tasks can now be re-enabled.
6. Complete the upgrade by running the step_03.php installation script.
   $ php install/step_03.php .

Clearing your system's cache is recommended after the upgrade, so that any new accesses to the system return references to the new __data URLs.

New Bugs Added To Bug Tracker

Notes:

Bug #1458 (Regenerate metadata fails) was submitted by Anthony Barnes on 28th June 2006 and was previously fixed in 3.6.8, but was awaiting feedback. This bug has now been marked as Fixed following the 3.10.0 RC1 release, as no further bug fixes will be added to the 3.6.x branches and no feedback was received for almost two weeks.

Bug #1467 (Metadata multiline text fields don't preserve white space) was reported by Anthony Barnes but was marked as not being a bug because the metadata system was primarily designed with META tags in mind, and this does not use multiple line metadata.

Bug #1476 (Locale backup and restore doesnt work) was submitted by Avi Miller but was marked as not being a bug because the script was working as intended.

Bug #1477 (Allow Unrestricted Access broken in File assets) was submitted by Scott Kim but was marked as not being a bug because the reporter forgot to add public read access to the file, which is a prerequisite for public data path usage.

Bug #1478 (A-Z sort on multiple root nodes not strict alphabetical) was submitted by MargieW and confirmed as a bug in 3.6.x, however the bug could not be replicated in 3.8.x, 3.10.x and development branches and no further bug fixes are added to the 3.6.x branches. The bug was marked as Fixed in these later versions.

New Feature Requests Added To Bug Tracker

Bugs Fixed In The Bug Tracker

View Comments