Commentics v3 has been in development for some time and now we can finally take a look at what to expect. Have a question or want something included? Just add your comment below.
What's new?
MVC
Commentics v3 is being completely re-written to use the MVC (Model-View-Controller) pattern. The MVC pattern is common with popular projects and professional developers and essentially relates to how the code is split up and determines which parts are responsible for what. What does this mean? It means that the code is more organised, faster to execute, more reusable, better separated from the templates and easier for developers to work with. The project will use a custom-built MVC framework resulting in there being no dependency on a third-party.
Responsive
The frontend, the backend and even the installer will be responsive, meaning that it will look good on all types of devices ranging from mobile phones, tablets and desktop computers. This is particularly important since Google has recently made this a factor in their ranking algorithm. Instead of using a framework such as Bootstrap, responsiveness is achieved with the use of custom media queries.
Ajax
An often requested feature ever since Commentics first started, Commentics v3 will use ajax for many of the frontend features. Users will be able to post, browse the pages and change the sorting of the comments without having to wait for the page to reload.
HTML Email
Both admins and users will be able to receive HTML emails, as well as text. This will allow admins to customise the emails according to the rest of their website, adding things like their own logo.
Modules
The backend will have a modules section displaying which modules are available and providing the admin with the ability to install and configure them. Additional modules will be downloadable from the Commentics website.
What else?
Other important changes will include the ability for users to search the comments so that they can find the exact content they're looking for, and the ability for users to subscribe to new comments by email without having to post a comment.
When is the release date?
As this is a major version release with many large changes the current release date is expected to be towards the end of this year. So far the installer is 100% complete, the backend is about 75% complete, with the frontend still to do.
Will it be easy to upgrade?
Yes upgrading to Commentics v3 will be relatively simple and full instructions will be provided at the time. Only Commentics v2.5 (the current version) will be upgradable so make sure that you plan to use this version prior to the release date.