The Month in WordPress: April 2019

This past month has been filled with anticipation as the community builds up towards a big new release, plans some important events, and builds new tools to grow the future of the project.

WordPress 5.2 Almost Due for Release

WordPress 5.2 is due for release on May 7 with many new features included for developers and end-users alike. The Field Guide for the release provides a lot of information about what is in it and what you can expect, including a few key elements:

Site Health Check

One of the most highly anticipated features for v5.2 is the Site Health Check. This feature adds two new pages in the admin interface to help end users maintain a healthy site through common configuration issues and other elements that go along with having a robust online presence. It also provides a standardized location for developers to add debugging information.

Fatal Error Recovery Mode

The Fatal Error Recovery Mode feature was originally planned for the 5.1 release but was delayed to patch up some last-minute issues that arose. This feature will help site-owners recover more quickly from fatal errors that break the display or functionality of their site that would ordinarily require code or database edits to fix.

Privacy and Accessibility Updates

Along with the headlining features mentioned above, there are some important enhancements to the privacy and accessibility features included in Core. These include some important developer-focused changes to how privacy policy pages are displayed and user data is exported, as well as moving to more semantic markup for admin tabs and other improvements such as switching post format icons to drop-down menus on post list tables, improved admin toolbar markup, and contextual improvements to archive widget drop-down menu.

New Dashicons

The Dashicons library was last updated was over 3 years ago. Now, in the upcoming release, a set of 13 new icons will be added to the library along with improvements to the build process and file format of the icons.

Block Editor Upgrades

The Block Editor has seen numerous improvements lately that will all be included in the v5.2 release. Along with the interface upgrades, the underlying Javascript module has been reorganized, improvements have been made to how the block editor is detected on the post edit screen, and the Javascript build process has been enhanced.

WordPress 5.2 is now in the Release Candidate phase and you can test it by installing the Beta Tester plugin on any WordPress site.

Want to get involved in building WordPress Core? Follow the Core team blog and join the #core channel in the Making WordPress Slack group.

WordPress Translation Day 4 is Almost Here

On 11 May 2019, the fourth WordPress Translation Day will take place. This is a 24-hour global event dedicated to the translation of all things WordPress, from Core to themes, plugins to marketing.

Over the course of 24 hours, WordPress communities will meet to translate WordPress into their local languages and watch talks and sessions broadcast on wptranslationday.org. During the previous WordPress Translation Day, 71 local events took place in 29 countries, and even more communities are expected to take part this time.

Want to get involved in WordPress Translation Day 4? Find out how to organize a local event, follow the updates on the Polyglots team blog, and join the #polyglots channel in the Making WordPress Slack group.

Block Library Project Gets Started

Since the initial proposal for a Block Library that would be made available from inside the block editor, work has been done to put together some designs for how this would look. Since then the project has received a more direct focus with a planned out scope and timeline.

The project is being managed on GitHub and people interested in contributing are encouraged to get involved there. You can also keep up to date by following the Design team blog and joining the #design channel in the Making WordPress Slack group.

Further Reading:

• The results from the 5.0 release retrospective survey have been published – this is the first time this kind of open retrospective has been done for a WordPress release and the results provide valuable insight into the project and its contributors.
• The team behind the WordPress Coding Standards has released version 2.1, including some very useful new sniffs.
• The community is looking for volunteers for the Get Involved table at WordCamp Europe on 20-22 June.
• Gutenberg has been ported for use within the Laravel framework in a project dubbed Laraberg.
• The 2019 WordCamp for Publishers event has opened its call for speakers.
• The Gutenberg team has published an RFC regarding blocks being used in widgets.
• WordCamp Europe, taking place on 20-22 June, has published the schedule for the event.
• The Community Team has published the results of the 2018 meetup group survey.

Have a story that we should include in the next “Month in WordPress” post? Please submit it here.

PHP Internals News: Episode 8: Deprecating Short Open Tags

Depression now finds its roots in being rejected on online dating apps

– Maneesh Venkatesh

Of late, you can find people signed on to one or more dating apps. Whether it be actual interest, casual flings or just plain boredom, people are busy swiping. But a closer look at the dating app life reveals the darker side to it. Harikrupa Krishnan, 21, says, “While using dating apps, you only really look at the pictures. The two- to three-lined bio that accompanies one’s profile picture does not give you much information. So basically, if you flip the situation, you’re openly getting rejected by someone for the way you look, and it affects your confidence and self- esteem in ways you never thought possible.”

Rejection affects self esteem

Psychiatrist Dr Vikram Prabhu says, “Dating apps themselves do not cause depression, rather it is the individual’s level of vulnerability that causes depression. The anxiety that people feel because of these dating apps can lead to depression.’’ He explains that different expectations usually create feelings of sadness and rejection. “People usually go on to these online relationships with different expectations, and are let down and disappointed with how it turns out. It is about how an individual is able to cope with the disappointment that sets in, which may make them vulnerable to depression,” explains Dr Prabhu.

Of how the younger generation uses dating apps, Harikrupa adds, “My generation thinks dating apps are the only way to get physical with someone — so, when someone looks for something serious, they may not always find it.”

Dealing with rejection

“One must try to begin to deal with rejection and depression by first building resilience. Life has its ups and downs, and we should be able to deal with both with some level of maturity. You must remember that this is a situational rejection and not a rejection of you as a person. We should accept the present and be optimistic about the future,” advises Dr Prabhu.

Susheel Varma [name changed], 19, adds that we should look on the brighter side, “Dating apps can be a sinkhole of self-pity, but I think we need to be reminded that there’s much more to a person than what an app can convey.”

Dr Prabhu leaves us with the important step of seeking out help if one is unable to adequately deal with anxiety and depression, “If you have tried ways to calm down and feel happier, but still feel that things are not looking good, please seek professional help. Personal well-being should be of utmost importance.”

Tips to manage anxiety

Take deep breaths, count slowly from one to five, while inhaling and exhaling

Write down your thoughts and feelings. Visualising them can help manage them

Take a walk and focus on the details of the things you see around you. Getting your mind temporarily off what is troubling you can help ease tension and anxiety

Article source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/spotlight/depression-now-finds-its-roots-in-being-rejected-on-online-dating-apps/articleshow/69130284.cms

PHP 7.2.18 Released

PHP 7.3.5 Release Announcement

Voices of the ElePHPant: Interview with Matthias Noback

@matthiasnoback

Show Notes Style Guide for Object Design: Release of the PHP edition Mattias’ Blog

Audio

This episode is sponsored by

The post Interview with Matthias Noback appeared first on Voices of the ElePHPant.

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