diff --git a/vol_4/newsletter_4.txt b/vol_4/newsletter_4.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c528443 --- /dev/null +++ b/vol_4/newsletter_4.txt @@ -0,0 +1,479 @@ +Geany Newsletter #4 +------------------- + +About Geany +=========== + +Geany is a small and lightweight Integrated Development Environment. +It was developed to provide a small and fast IDE, which has only a +few dependencies from other packages. Another goal was to be as +independent as possible from a special Desktop Environment like KDE +or GNOME - Geany only requires the GTK2 runtime libraries. + +More information about Geany can be found at +`geany.org `_. + +Table of contents +================= + +1 About Geany +2 Geany 0.21 has been released +3 Geany-Plugins 0.21 has been released +3.1 New Plugins +3.2 Updates and Bugfixes +3.2.1 General +3.2.2 Addons +3.2.3 GeanyLaTeX +3.2.4 GeanySendMail +3.2.5 Spell Check Plugin +3.2.6 Updatechecker +3.2.7 WebHelper +3.2.8 Internationalisation +4 Geany-Plugins 0.21.1 has been released +5 Geany moved to Git +6 Change of project leadership +7 Geany local +7.1 Geany at OpenRheinRuhr 2011 +8 Let us introduce you +8.1 Plugin Focus +8.1.1 Split Window +8.2 Feature Focus +8.2.1 Colour Schemes +9 People behind Geany -- Interview +9.1 Enrico Tröger +10 About this newsletter + + +Geany 0.21 has been released +============================ + +After about 6 months of development, on 2 October 2011 Geany 0.21 was been +released. There have been a lot of changes, so only the highlights +are listed below: + +* Add support for real-time symbol parsing. +* Fix loading of non-UTF-8 templates. +* Update Scintilla to version 2.25. +* Add Scala custom filetype (werg). +* Add Cython custom filetype (Matthew Brush). +* Add support for separate single and multiline comments. +* Add support for filetype-specific indentation settings. +* Add filetype Cobol (Seth Keiper). +* SplitWindow plugin now works on Windows too. +* Add translations: fa. +* Update translations: ca, cs, de, en_GB, es, fi, fr, gl, it, ja, nl, + pt, pt_BR, sl, sv, tr, vi, zh_CN, zh_TW. + +A more complete list can be found on +http://www.geany.org/Documentation/ReleaseNotes + +Source tarballs as well as Windows binaries can be found as always on +http://download.geany.org. + + +Geany-Plugins 0.21 has been released +==================================== + +On 23 October 2011, about three weeks after Geany 0.21, Geany-Plugins in +its final version has been released. As seen in former newsletters +it has been a quite active time on plugin development, so we are +trying to give you an overview on one hand as well as digging +into some of the bigger changes that have happened. + + +New Plugins +^^^^^^^^^^^ + +Most of the new plugins have been already described in one of the +previous editions of this newsletter. However, so only a short overview is +provided here. + +* **Debugger**: A plugin to integrate debuggers like GDB. This is replacing + GeanyGDB in many places. +* **Devhelp**: Integration for GNOME's Devhelp and google code search. +* **GeanyPG**: Encryption, decryption, signing etc. from within Geany via GnuPG. +* **GeanyMacro**: A plugin to record and apply macros. +* **GeanyNumberedBookmarks**: A plugin to store bookmarks to files and + access them easily via a number. +* **Tableconvert**: A plugin to convert lists into tables. +* **XMLSnippets**: Helps on inserting (common) XML-snippets. + + +Updates and Bugfixes +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +General +####### + +Significant rework has been done on the Autotools build system as well +as some maintenance work on the Waf-build system. + + +Addons +###### + +* DocList addon: Add preference to define the order of the documents + in the list (#3204573) +* Tasks addon: Activate and update the task list when the Tasks + addon is enabled + + +GeanyLaTeX +########## + +* Moved LaTeX menu to a separate menu inside Geany main menu +* Added a feature to autocapitalise letters on typing at the beginning of a + sentence +* Added a way to put an icon for LaTeX wizard into Geany's main + toolbar +* Added a dialog for inserting BibTeX references based on available \*.bib-files +* Upgrade plugin API to version 199 +* Ensure not to insert {} after \^ and \_ +* Adding a keystroke to toggle inserting {} after ^ and _ +* Fixed an issue with wrong inserted formatting using a keybinding +* Small update to enable i18n also on Geany >= 0.21 +* Various bugfixes and memory leak fixes. + + +GeanySendMail +############# + +* Some minor cleaning up of code +* Fix for an issue with replacing of command string when %r was not used +* Don't double free a variable which might end up in a segmentation fault + when using plugin function more than once. +* Small update to enable i18n also on Geany >= 0.21 + + +Spell Check Plugin +################## + +* Reduce artifacts on partially checked words +* Improve \`Check as you type' feature, making it more reliable + + +Updatechecker +############# + +* Fix an issue with init threads for older GTK/glib versions by + updating to Geany API version 203. +* Small update to enable i18n also on Geany >= 0.21 +* Fix a typo inside Waf-build system + + +WebHelper +######### + +* Fix creation of configuration directory in some cases +* Fix missing update of navigation buttons on anchor links +* Fix thread initialization problem +* Fix some issues with keybindings on secondary windows +* Add a keybinding to show/hide web view's window (bug #3156262) +* Allow for better configuration of secondary windows + + +Internationalisation +#################### + +* Updated translations: de, pt, ru, tr + + +Geany-Plugins 0.21.1 has been released +====================================== + +Shortly after the major release of Geany-Plugins 0.21, an issue with +the build system was found which blocked installation of source +tarballs using the Waf-build system. This has been fixed inside a +minor source release. The Windows binary release isn't affected by +this issue. + + +Geany moved to Git +================== + +After a long discussion on the mailing list Geany finally moved to Git +as the main version control system. The goal is to be more flexible on +including patchsets from non-core-developers as well as making use +of a number of other features of Git. The new home of the Git +repository is http://github.com where you can access Geany's +sources at https://github.com/geany/geany + +During this switch, sources of other Geany-related resources have been +moved to GitHub as well and can be found on the overview page at +https://github.com/geany + + +Change of project leadership +============================ + +If you have been using Geany for a while and read the announcement of +Geany 0.21's release, you might have noticed something important. +The leadership of the Geany project has changed from Enrico Tröger to +Colomban Wendling, a current member of the development team. +Enrico's priorities changed so he decided it would be best if +someone else took on the leadership role. During Enrico's time as +leader, Geany has continued to gain in popularity and improve, +whilst staying true to its original design goals. + +Thank you, Enrico, for all that you have done, and thanks for taking +over Colomban. + + +Geany local +=========== + +Geany at OpenRheinRuhr 2011 +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +Together with the guys of Xfce, Geany was presented with another +booth at the annual OpenRheinRuhr at November, 11th and 12th in +Oberhausen, Germany -- A convention about all topics around Linux, +BSD and free software in general. The booth was again well visited +and people came not only to ask for help, but also just for having a +little chat with Enrico and Frank and discuss about Geany releated +topics. + + +Let us introduce you... +======================= + +This section is intended to introduce particular plugins or features +on a regular basis. + +Plugin Focus +^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +Split Window +############ + +The Split Window plugin provides a feature which is so useful you'll +never want to be without it. When enabled, choose Tools > Split +Window > Side by side | Top and bottom from the main menu and the +active window is split into two editing panes. Each pane can be +navigated independently of the other, complete with its own +scrollbar. + +In each window you can edit separate parts of the same file, with +each pane updated instantly with the changes made in the other. When +you want to return to "normal" view, choose Tools > Split Window > +Unsplit from the main menu. It's not possible to again split the +active window, only unsplit. + +The plugin was intended to allow you to work on the *same* file but +thanks to a "hidden" feature you can work on two different files +loaded in the split view. If you open a file while in split window +mode, it's loaded in the inactive pane. You can then switch between +the split view of the same file or the different files via the file +tabs (under the menu bar) as normal. Note that it's not possible to +change the file shown in the right-hand pane when Split Window is +active. + +Feature Focus +^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +Colour Schemes +################ + +Introduction +++++++++++++ + +Geany supports colour schemes which allow you to change the colours +applied to various code elements. Two colour schemes are provided +with Geany: Default and Alternate but many more are available (see +below). To change the colour scheme, select from the menu View > +Editor > Colour Schemes > PREFERRED_COLOUR_SCHEME. The colour scheme +change is immediate but the list of available schemes is only loaded +when Geany starts. + + +Adding Colour Schemes ++++++++++++++++++++++ + +More colour schemes are listed on the Geany Add-ons web page. For +the individual schemes, follow the instructions given by their +authors. One of the biggest set of schemes was created by codebrainz. +The collection is listed on the add-ons page but is hosted at +https://github.com/codebrainz/geany-themes +Follow the installation instructions given on the page, then restart +Geany and all schemes will then be listed in the Colour Schemes menu. + + +How Colour Schemes Work ++++++++++++++++++++++++ + +Geany's colour schemes' format has changed over time, so there's a +"legacy" format and the current, preferred format. Schemes in the +different formats can be mixed but the current format is easier to +maintain and modify. In this issue the focus is on the new format +but if readers want it, the legacy format could also be +featured in a future newsletter. + + +Current colour scheme format +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + +The current colour scheme format works by first defining the colours +to be applied to a file type's elements. This is an extract from a +colour scheme named "Oblivion2": + + default=0xffffff;0x2e3436;false;false + tag=0x729fcf;0x2e3436;true;false + tag_unknown=0xffffff;0x8C0101;true;false + +File types and their elements are defined in a file named +filetypes.: e.g. filetypes.xml, filetypes.html. All +filetype files are stored in the 'filedef' directory in Geany's +personal data directory. This is an extract from the file type file +for HTML: + + [styling] + # Edit these in the colorscheme .conf file instead + html_default=default + html_tag=tag + html_tagunknown=tag_unknown + +When Geany applies syntax highlighting to a file which matches a filetype, +it matches the element (defined in the filetype's file) with the +matching colour (defined in the colour scheme's file). The advantage of +this scheme over the legacy version is that modifying a colour scheme +for all filetypes requires changes to just one file. + + +People behind Geany -- Interview +================================= + +This is the second in a series of interviews with Geany's +contributors: core developers, plugin developers, translators, wiki +maintainers and any other job we can think of. The purpose of the +interviews is to get to know each of these people a little better: +their hopes, dreams, plans and favourite Geany plugin. + + +Enrico Tröger +^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +As is mentioned above, Enrico Tröger recently stepped down as leader +of the Geany project. In this interview he talks about his history +with the project. + +*What motivates you to develop or contribute to FLOSS projects?* + + There are different reasons. + Most often it is that I want to improve existing software by fixing + bugs, adding features I'd like to use and so on. So this is a rather + pragmatic reason. + Nevertheless, I believe in Free Software and this is another reason + why I contribute to Free Software. Free Software allows people to + read and modify the source code to their needs, so in theory everyone + can make the software or change it to his/her needs. Based on my + experience, most people push back their changes and so the developers + can include them if appropriate. + This is only one of the advantages of Free Software. I doubt this would + be possible with paid software projects, at least not as long as they + are not free. + + +*How did you become Geany's project leader?* + + This was much simpler than you might imagine: I created the project :). + + +*What is involved in being Geany's project leader?* + + Many different things. It all starts with knowing the project, knowing + the people involved and ideally knowing the code base :). + I think the project leader should coordinate the development and + communicate with the community, making the project a project and not + just a bunch of lines of code. + Also, at least in the Geany case in the past, the project leader makes + the releases though this is not necessarily a project leader task. + + Users, package maintainers and other external people often contact + the project leader directly via mail or on IRC to say 'thank you', + ask questions about Geany or to discuss project related topics. So + this is another task for the project leader. + + And certainly there are many other aspects which I forgot to list. + + +*What goals did you have when you started as project leader? Did you +achieve those goals?* + + As I didn't explicitly start as project leader but instead just started + the project, I didn't have any specific goals to achieve as project + leader however I did have goals to achieve with Geany as project. + These goals mostly were to create an editor which fits my needs so + that I can use it to write code and other text documents without + thinking about the editor, how it behaves, why it is so slow or doesn't + do what I want. As you see, these were quite personal goals. In the + meantime, as those goals basically were achieved with Geany 0.1, + the goals changed to be more general: + a light and fast editor with basic features of an IDE, without + unnecessary dependencies to other libraries yet with useful features. + Oh, and we achieved these goals as well though that doesn't mean Geany + can't get better anymore. There is always room for improvements and + new useful features. + + +*What were some of the highlights of your time as project leader?* + + Hard to name particular highlights. + One great thing which kept from the beginning to now is to receive mails + from users who just say 'thank you, Geany is great program'. This is + always great to read and always increases motivation to continue working + on Geany (in whatever way). I didn't experience anything like this + before and would have never expected it. But it's really nice. + Maybe another highlight worth mentioning is the many things I learned + during time working on Geany. This includes learning how other people + use Geany or certain features of Geany, to work with the community + and to read other people's code and learn from it. + + +*Are there particular improvements/change/features of which you're proud?* + + The community. Ok, the community is not an improvement, change + or feature :). But this is what Geany makes Geany. Without the many + users and contributors, Geany would not be as cool and as stable + and as feature-rich as it is now. + Thank you all for using and improving Geany, keep up! + + +*How does a FLOSS project balance welcoming contributions with keeping within the project's original goals and scope? In other words, avoid scope creep?* + + In Geany's case, luckily there were not much conflicts in accepting + new features and the overall goal to keep fast and lightweight. However, + I think a few times we had to deny a feature request for such reasons or + because it the requested feature didn't fit into Geany. + This went much better since Nick introduced the plugin interface so that + features which don't fit into Geany's core, can be easily implemented as + a plugin. + Nevertheless, denying a feature request, especially when it was obvious + that it would actually help the user who requested it but still doesn't + fit into Geany, was hard for me. It's like + "I decide that you will not get this functionality". Not a nice job. + As said, luckily this didn't happen so often. + + +*Do you have any hopes or dreams for Geany's future?* + + Of course: + Geany should stay on its road it has been all the time. This is, keeping + fast and lightweight while offering many useful features to the user. + Moreover, I really hope and wish, the current fast and intense + development in the community keeps going so that Geany will evolve + further and get even better than it is already :). + + + +About this newsletter +===================== + +This newsletter has been created in cooperation by people from +Geany's international community. Contributors to this newsletter and +the infrastructure behind it, ordered by alphabet: + +* Colomban Wendling +* Enrico Tröger +* Frank Lanitz +* Lex Trotman +* Russell Dickenson