Drupal Release: 6.0-beta-3

TL;DR

Drupal 6.0-beta3 brings significant improvements to usability, performance, and security. This release includes drag-and-drop functionality for blocks and menus, improved installer experience with better localization support, enhanced theming capabilities, and numerous bug fixes. The update focuses on making Drupal more user-friendly with improved terminology, better error messages, and more intuitive interfaces. Several modules have been split for better maintainability, and database performance has been optimized by removing temporary table usage.

Highlight of the Release

• Drag-and-drop functionality for blocks and menus administration
• Improved installer with better localization support and error messages
• Split modules (trigger, comment, profile) for better maintainability
• Enhanced taxonomy usability with improved terminology
• Removed temporary table usage for better database performance
• Better OpenID integration with usability improvements

Migration Guide

Upgrading to Drupal 6.0-beta3

Module Developers

• Several modules have been split into smaller components:

  • The trigger module has been split (#181576)
  • The comment module has been split (#163499)
  • The profile module has been split (#191544)
  • Update your module dependencies accordingly

• API Changes:

  • drupal_install_schema() and drupal_uninstall_schema() now return queries performed
  • menu_set_location() has been replaced with menu_set_item() for consistency
  • Added reset parameter to user_access()
  • Form elements can now enable form caching for AHAH framework
  • nodeapi load should return an array (not an object)

Theme Developers

• Better theming support for book module (#160200)
• Themes can now override *_node_form forms by node type (#184694)
• Improved theme inheritance in Minnelli theme (#181582)
• Form IDs have been cleaned up to ensure proper XHTML compliance (#111719)

Database Changes

• Drupal no longer requires CREATE TEMPORARY TABLE and LOCK TABLES permissions (#193580)
• Several PostgreSQL-specific fixes have been implemented
• Temporary table usage has been removed from several modules

Terminology Changes

• "Categories" has been renamed to "taxonomy" throughout the interface
• "Logs" has been renamed to "reports"
• Some instances of "node" have been changed to "post" or "content" as appropriate

Upgrade Recommendations

For Development Sites

We recommend upgrading development sites to Drupal 6.0-beta3 to test your modules and themes for compatibility with the upcoming stable release. This beta includes significant changes to core modules and APIs that will help you identify potential issues before the final release.

For Production Sites

This is a beta release and is not recommended for production sites. Production sites should remain on Drupal 5.x until the final 6.0 release is available. If you choose to test this beta on a production site, ensure you have a complete backup of your database and files before proceeding.

Upgrade Path

The upgrade path from Drupal 4.7.x and 5.x to 6.x is supported. Updates from unsupported Drupal versions were initially removed but have been restored to allow any 4.7.x version to be updated to 6.x (#193510).

Special Considerations

• The files directory is no longer shipped by default to prevent potential data loss during upgrades (#191310)
• Several modules have been split into smaller components, which may affect custom code
• Terminology changes (categories → taxonomy, logs → reports) may affect documentation and training materials
• Review your PostgreSQL configuration if applicable, as several PostgreSQL-specific issues have been fixed

Bug Fixes

Content Management Fixes

• Fixed taxonomy data loss on node preview (#163728)
• Fixed revisions being associated with the wrong user (#187799)
• Fixed blog/[uid] to only display posts for that user and set proper title (#179519)
• Fixed translation workflow by properly adding tnid to node form (#172584)
• Fixed node type filtering on admin page (#188914)

Database and Performance Fixes

• Fixed PostgreSQL issues:
  • Made drupal_write_record() work on PostgreSQL when password not specified (#183125)
  • Fixed installer PostgreSQL connection parameters (#125105)
  • Fixed PostgreSQL upgrade path for node_comment_statistics table (#124979)
  • Fixed locale tables update path (#128866)
  • Fixed null value constraint in revision log field (#188462)

Theme and Display Fixes

• Fixed non-phptemplate files discovery with proper extension handling (#184876)
• Fixed Garland theme notice when site_fields is empty (#177738)
• Fixed user avatars not being displayed on nodes (#191931)
• Fixed broken select-all checkbox with moving table headers (#154593)
• Fixed gradient coordinate counting in color module (#134984)

Form and API Fixes

• Fixed AHAH expandability for hidden and fieldset elements (#188386)
• Ensured proper XHTML id attribute values for form elements (#111719)
• Fixed file_save_upload() to treat 'dest' param as a directory (#172943)
• Fixed file_save_data() with realpath() call for Windows compatibility (#180126)
• Fixed broken teaser splitter in Konqueror (#178818)

New Features

Drag-and-Drop Functionality

• Added drag-and-drop support for blocks administration (#191282)
• Implemented drag-and-drop ordering for menu items (#181126)
• Added drag-and-drop ordering to filter formats (#193572)

Installer and Localization Improvements

• Improved installer localization with a two-pass process (#190283)
• Enhanced error messages during installation (#191310)
• Added opt-in for update module on install to address privacy concerns (#178581)
• Automatically populate email fields during installation (#180948)

Module Enhancements

• Split trigger module for better maintainability (#181576)
• Split comment module into smaller components (#163499)
• Split profile module for improved maintainability (#191544)
• Added page compression option (#121820)
• Added permission to administer contact forms (#136970)

User Interface Improvements

• Renamed "categories" to "taxonomy" throughout the interface for clarity (#192209)
• Changed "logs" to "reports" for better usability (#165140)
• Made "more" links themeable (#147492)
• Added node title to comment overview page for easier identification (#185867)
• Improved OpenID login with usability fixes and JS cleanup (#186658)

Security Updates

Access Control

• Disallowed editing user data of uid 0 (anonymous user) (#25605)
• Protected profile category page menu items with visibility settings (#192692)
• Fixed CSRF vulnerability by converting menu overview page to a form (#178608)

Input Validation

• Used filter_xss() to filter content type descriptions instead of printing them verbatim (#189409)
• Fixed OpenID service discovery confusion caused by newlines within meta or link tags (#193800)
• Removed XHTML invalidating ID attribute on links (#164330)

Error Handling

• Improved error reporting for various functions
• Fixed 404 and 403 error pages when the path set for these error pages does not exist (#84754)

Performance Improvements

Database Optimizations

• Removed temporary table usage from search module (#146466)
• Improved index on system table for better database performance (#185126)
• Removed temporary table usage from comment_enable() (#189837)
• Simplified block rehash code by removing deletion and database lock based approach (#80963)

Caching Improvements

• Fixed caching bootstrap to ensure hook_boot() and timer are called when required (#182675)
• Added form caching capabilities for custom form elements (#193191)

Resource Usage

• Added option for page compression to improve bandwidth usage (#121820)
• Improved JavaScript handling for better performance

Query Optimizations

• Removed unnecessary LIMIT on locale module UPDATE query (#186977)
• Removed redundant queries in several places (#186718)
• Optimized menu handling for better performance

Impact Summary

Drupal 6.0-beta3 represents a significant step forward in the development of Drupal 6, focusing on usability, performance, and developer experience. The introduction of drag-and-drop functionality for blocks and menus makes site administration more intuitive and efficient. The improved installer experience with better localization support makes Drupal more accessible to non-English users.

Performance improvements are substantial, with the removal of temporary table usage from several key modules and optimized database queries. These changes should result in better performance, especially for sites with high traffic or complex content structures.

The splitting of several core modules (trigger, comment, profile) into smaller components improves maintainability and sets the stage for more modular development in the future. This architectural change, while transparent to end users, provides developers with a cleaner codebase to work with.

Security has been enhanced with better input validation, protection against CSRF vulnerabilities, and improved access controls. The opt-in approach for the update module addresses privacy concerns while still encouraging users to stay updated.

For site builders and content editors, the improved terminology (using "taxonomy" instead of "categories") and more intuitive interfaces for common tasks will reduce the learning curve and improve day-to-day efficiency.

Overall, this beta release demonstrates Drupal's commitment to improving both the user and developer experience while maintaining security and performance. It provides a solid foundation for the upcoming stable release of Drupal 6.