Re the MT5 documentation, we're told "it's coming". Very likely it is, but the question is when? We've been two months without essential documentation for the new template tags. God alone knows what else there is under the hood. Surely end users can't be expect to be on pronet or hit the git or the fog or whatever it is?
The truly disappointing thing about MT5, otherwise a great concept, is that the developer community wasn't really kept in the loop about the changes being made. Any plugin that modifies the admin interface is now truly borked -- and because a developer doesn't know what changes have been made, he can't update a plugin. I have this from an extremely irate developer of some some outstanding plugins. Why would SA do this?
On second thoughts, take your time with the MT5 documentation. Many of us are going back to 4.x; with regret to be sure, and not out of choice but because we're driven to it. Sayonara, MT5.
Reported on Movable Type 5
The UI issue for plugins happened in 3.X -> 4.X. Whenever a developer wants to modify a screen, they have to read through the template for that screen and figure out a strategy for modifying it. That's not changed.
Not saying your frustration is unjustified vis a vis the documentation, but the plugin developer issue is less about documentation and more about developers going "not this again..."
Well, yes and no. In MT3 the idea of modifying the interface didn't come from Six Apart, it came from another plugin developer.
In MT4, the idea of modifying the interface was updated and made into a core feature. Additionally, the idea of the registry was introduced, which specifically made adding somethings to the interface (menus) even easier.
So, I can completely understand the significant changes going from MT3 -> MT4. The changes from MT4 -> MT5, however, seem rather arbitrary to me--and, being completely undocumented and uncommunicated, they are changes that I don't have time or interest in exploring or figuring out myself. And unfortunately, that means my plugins are broken in MT5.
Even though it is part of the core API, I think my comment still stands about the behavior of standard features like the transformer callbacks. While it is easier to do some things like adding a new menu item, it still requires knowledge of the templates to insert content into the CMS pages in the majority of use cases. Even if it is something as similar as updating a serverside DOM call, that still requires a developer to figure out what has changed in the templates between 4 and 5.
http://plugins.movabletype.org/create-and-manage/
"This plugin adds a 'Create' and 'Manage' menu to Movable Type 5, so plugins written for Movable Type 4 that add submenu-items there will work again. Note that the menus will only appear if there are plugins installed that actually add submenus to them."
@Mike, not sure if this is correct. There are big changes, it seems, between 4 and 5 -- otherwise there was little reason for the admin interface to wind up with this total lack of functionality. In any case, what's so hard about announcing proposed changes to the developer community?
@Richard: many thanks. Will check it out.
If you haven't, read the developer docs on transformation callbacks and you'll understand why things broke and why 6A couldn't really document those changes other than to say "read the new templates and see where you can plug in."
Gautam,
Sorry about the status of English documentation. I was not aware that the MT5 template tag references were not synced. I'll work on translation and make it available soon since it's already there in Japanese.
http://www.movabletype.jp/cgi-bin/mt4/mt-search.cgi?tag=@new%20in%20mt5.0&blog_id=3&SearchSortBy=title&SearchResultDisplay=ascend
Movable Type 5 template tags are now available at the tag reference.
http://www.movabletype.org/documentation/appendices/tags/
I also updated Movable Type 5 documentation home to list new and updated documents for MT5.
http://www.movabletype.org/documentation/mt5/
Many thanks Jun.
Forgive me if I find this a little disquieting. The tags were there in Japanese but not in English? Did we do something wrong to be shortchanged for two months? Not your fault at all, but is anybody at 6A thinking about THIS constituency?
I appreciate your quick response. But I think you'll understand our disappointment, a feeling of having been abandoned, especially since there's not even a hint of an official apology. Some of us have stayed with MT for over six years. I have paid licenses. I really didn't expect this.
Gautam,
I understand your disappointment, and sincerely apologize for the disconnection that happened in the last couple month. There was some changes in roles, and probably we could do better for those kind of transition.
I totally agree on your point. We should share more information, plans, ideas, and anything that helps the community. That was exactly what I was doing in the Movable Type community in Japan. I can tell certainly that there are people in Six Apart who really care about Movable Type. And I strongly wish to connect the passion among those people, not to be divided by the company, organization, language, country, or whatever that prevents us from talking each other.
After all, I'm just one of the Movable Type enthusiasts :) and I'm happy to work for anything that helps to make it better.
http://www.movabletype.jp/cgi-bin/mt4/mt-search.cgi?tag=@new%20in%20mt5.0&blog_id=3&SearchSortBy=title&SearchResultDisplay=ascend
My Japanese is a little delinquent. Is there an English edition?
Yes ! it is listed on the MT5 documentation page.
http://www.movabletype.org/documentation/mt5/#Modifiers
Jun, thank you very much. This is one of the kindest and most considerate responses yet.