Welcome to the April 2012 issue of WOX (World of XOOPS) Newsletter (see here previous versions)
It's been a while since the last issue, almost a year, but things have been hectic around here, we had some turbulent times that kept us busy, and there are only 24 hours in a day 
But we hope that we'll be able to get back to our regular monthly cycle.
The most important thing is that XOOPS development is going forward, with XOOPS 2.5.5 Final released this week. This is the best XOOPS version ever, with several bugs being fixed.
In parallel to working on XOOPS 2.5.5, the Core Team has also worked very hard on cleaning up and refactoring of the Core as the foundation for XOOPS 2.6.0, and you'll see the results soon. Just to give you an idea about the magnitude of the work that especially Trabis did, is the fact that the current XOOPS 2.6.0 Core, which is still in the pre-Alpha stage, already runs on PHP 5.4 with NO SINGLE error in E_STRICT mode. If you want to check out the source code, you can download it from our SourceForge SVN, but be aware - this is a "pre-Alpha" code and a lot of wrong things can happen, and a lot of things are missing.
The current focus is on improving quality and streamlining the source code so we have a solid foundation for the future. There was just too much PHP4 and old XOOPS related code that got accumulated over time, and we needed to get rid of all this "baggage" 
So XOOPS 2.6.0 will be our focus for the upcoming months, as well as finalizing our Basic Module Pack, with all the module sharing the same "look & feel"
The key to make all of this happen, is to have enough developers and contributors. So we would like to encourage everybody to ask themselves a question:
What can I do for XOOPS?
What could I contribute to XOOPS?
We cannot expect that few people will do everything:
- develop Core
- develop Modules
- develop themes
- develop documentation
- provide support
- translate into local languages
By putting too much pressure on them by expecting too much, it will only cause their "burnout" and quitting XOOPS
We need to create more teamwork and more community spirit by getting more people actively contributing to XOOPS.
Let's make XOOPS a true "Community Project"!
Recent Highlights:
Please help us spread the word about XOOPS!! .
And if you're not happy with something in XOOPS, please let us know so we can fix it and improve! Better yet - help us fix it and improve it!
If you like the XOOPS system, and would like to give something in return, you can make a donation to the XOOPS Foundation! Simply use the XOOPS Donation System and use your PayPal account or your Credit Card to donate .
Your donation will be used to promote and advance the use and development of the XOOPS system. The XOOPS Foundation is a registered not-for-profit organization in the USA, dedicated to promote XOOPS! All donators will get the Friend of XOOPS rank here on this website. Thanks to all the Friends of XOOPS for their donations and continued support!
If you wonder what is happening with XOOPS money, please read the 2009 XOOPS Financial Report. The 2010/2011 XOOPS Financial Report is coming soon.
Donations we've got since last newsletter in May 2011:
- Godet: $5
- Gazmend Limani: $20
- Anonymous in July: $50
- Anonymous in September: $15
- Daniel Christophersen: $5
- 森 健一: $5
- George Varga: $5
- Sebastien Cauchy: $25
- Ivan Kosak: $15
- Michael Moore: $15
- James McNeil: $5
Thank you so much for supporting XOOPS!!!!
Standard maintenance of the Website, and keeping it current.
Our
"XOOPSer of the Month" Award is given to XOOPS members who show extraordinary dedication to XOOPS, and go the extra mile for XOOPS. Sometimes they do something spectacular, but most of the time they just do something everyday, but by doing it day-in and day-out, they make a BIG DIFFERENCE in life of XOOPS community. And we thank them for that!!!
This month, we would like to recognize Gregory Jomi (sabahan) from Malaysia, for his help on testing and debugging XOOPS 2.5.4
Where are you from, and where do you live now?
I'm from Malaysia and currently live in the state of Sabah, North Borneo
How long have you been programming?
I'm still really new in programming and still in newbie stage. I'm more into PHP/MySQL..
What got you to XOOPS?
In early 2000, I was a loyal visitor to one of the most popular website in my state and I have been wondering how did the webmaster of the website build his website. There were so many cool features like forums, poll, news, chat etc after some time, I found out it by myself from his site footer that he used XOOPS. Since then, the rest is history
What do you like the most about XOOPS?
The modularization feature and that it is easy to customize
In what area of XOOPS do you contribute and why?
I like to test the XOOPS core and modules then report bugs and suggest new features. With some basic XOOPS knowledge, I also like to give support in http://www.xoops.org forum. currently I'm working on XOOPS Malay translation in SourceForge - If any Malaysian out there want to help please contact me
If you could add one feature to XOOPS, what would it be?
Social network profile module like Facebook
What is your major achievement in programming that you're most proud of?
I have created a simple XOOPS module that basically do add/update/delete records using PHP for internal use at my office
What are your hobbies, when you're not coding?
Surfing the Net and Workout
You favorite dish and drink?
dish - Local food in my state: Hinava and Bambangan (you can search it internet if you are interested) drink - water
What about movies and music?
so many, this what comes up to my mind as I type this - Johnny English Reborn (just watched this last night) & Jon Bon Jovi
Who is the person that you would like to meet and why?
I like to meet the XOOPS founder Mr. Onokazu and all the XOOPS developers and thank them for making our life easier 
05. XOOPS Innovation Award
Our XOOPS Innovation Award is given to people who create something very unique and very innovative for XOOPS! We are clear that XOOPS can only succeed, when we push the limits of our creativity, imagination, and innovation to "infinity and beyond" 
. And therefore we would like to recognize people who create this "WOW!" effect, when we see what they've done. The XOOPS Innovation Award is not a monthly award, i.e. theoretically, there might be a month where we won't give one, but we certainly hope that this will never happen
This month, we would like to recognize Andrey (andrey3761) from the Russia for his work on Chat module
Where are you from, and where do you live now?
I'm from Moldova, Transnistria.
How long have you been programming?
Programming was my major. But we were not taught to program in PHP. At first I started with some existing XOOPS modules by modifying those. Then I started designing modules myself. I've been programming for 3 years now.
What is your expertise?
I am a software engineer by education. I am mostly into web programming and server administration.
What got you to XOOPS?
I found out about XOOPS long time ago. I decided to create a website but I didn't have enough skills then. My friends suggested me to use the XOOPS CMS for my website. I installed it and I liked it! Since then XOOPS powers all of my websites. But XOOPS lacks some freedom of action, unlike CMF. But that's only better because one can easily understand it.
What do you like the most about XOOPS?
I like that it is modulized. You can create large dynamic portals and after some time extend their functionality by adding new modules.
Why did you decide to work on the Chat module ?
I came up with an idea to create a chat module long time ago. But I did not have the necessary knowledge in this area (AJAX) then. So I used some existing chat modules like Shoutbox. But I didn't like it for two reasons:
1) It could only be used from a block so one could not create a separate page for users to chat in.
2) It used iframe instead of AJAX. I've always wanted to have an AJAX chat.
That is how I created my Chat module. As I am a Russian speaker, the module was first published on Russian websites. I wanted to see some testimonials to improve the module functionality and publish it on Xoops.org then. But nobody really paid much attention to it.
By accident a link to my module was published on Xoops.org and I got some positive feedback so I decided to finish the module.
What are the future plans for Chat? Any other modules in development?
I intend to create an AJAX block for the chat retaining all the features of the main page. There are some problems for anonymous users to access the chat so that is the reason they can't use it now. These issues will be fixed in the block. I am also working on a couple of informational modules. They will be published on Xoops.org.
If you could add one feature to XOOPS, what would it be?
I suggested to add some XOOPS classes for working with the Jabber (XMPP) protocol many times. Using some ready solutions adapting those for XOOPS now.
I also want XOOPS core to have a functionality to set certain colors for users depending on their rank. It is implemented on my website but some system files modification is required.
What is your major achievement in programming that you're most proud of?
Mainly I am proud of the bit-torrent tracker module I designed. This module has been up on my website for over 2 years now. I had to translate a lot of BitTorrent protocol documentation and see how it is implemented in other engines to design the module. The module has not been published elsewhere as it is designed specifically for my website. But I do plan to adapt it so that everybody could install it on any XOOPS website.
What are your hobbies, when you're not coding?
I like listening to music on the modern Hi-End equipment
What about movies and music?
Of course I prefer Russian rock and Russian metal as in regard to the music! I also like international artists of the same genre.
If you could choose a place and time to live, what would it be and why?
I would like to live in 3000 getting to work using some flying vehicles or teleporting I love Hi Tech.
Congratulations to all of our Winners. Starting last year, all Winners will receive a free book of their choice from O'Reilly. Also a free copy of PHP Storm from JetBrain.
07. New/Updated Modules
08. New Hacks
09. Security Issues/Alerts
10. YAXS, Sites using XOOPS
11. Tutorials/Add-ons/Documentation
12. New/Updated Themes
13. New Translations
XOOPS 2.5.5:
Earlier versions:
We are still looking for more translations!!! Can you help? See the list here
14. News from around the World
