MediaWiki 1.7.0 released

Version 1.7.0 of the popular MediaWiki, the software base for the Wikipedia encyclopedia, has been released. The new version of the Open Source editing and knowledge-management system has remedied several flaws in the preceding version 1.6.

The developers have thrown out support for PHP 4, MySQL 3.23.x, and experimental support for Oracle databases. In return, there is now experimental support for PostgreSQL. Another new option is that not only deleted web sites, but also files and images can be temporarily stored in a directory not reachable from the Web, so that they can be restored using Undelete. In the standard settings, the inclusion of external images is now disabled in order to make Wiki projects more secure.

MediaWiki has also changed its development model according to the change log. The developers call this new process "continuous integration". Now, snapshots of developments are to be released each quarter. At the same time, the latest developer code will remain in working order and be used on the Wikipedia servers. Older development branches will be supported with security updates for one year. By then, if not sooner, users should switch to the quarterly snapshots.

Also see:

• Upgrading to 1.7, instructions for upgraders
• Download of the new version of the Sourceforge project site

(ehe)