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  • sc0ttkclark 7:17 am on October 4, 2012 Permalink
    Tags: #Pods2, ,   

    Pods 2.0 has arrived! 

    Background

    The Pods Framework has been around since late 2008. Planning, design, development, and testing started in 2010 for Pods 2.0 leading to an Alpha release on January 2nd, 2012. Beta was released on August 12th, 2012. Now Pods 2.0 has finally arrived, as of September 21st, 2012!

    After our soft launch, we’ve been working on bug fixes for the past few weeks to ensure maximum stability and backwards compatibility before going full force with our 2.0 announcement. That point has been reached and we’re ready for the flood of new users that awaits, including our awesome Pods 1.x users who are anxious to upgrade.

    Have at it, and most of all — Enjoy the freedom of developing any type of content with any type of field that you can think of for WordPress!

    Bug Reports / Feature Requests

    Please report bugs and suggest features in our GitHub Issues area. We’ve got an awesome feature line up for Pods 2.1 that is already in progress, we’ll announce our 2.1 testing program in the next month. Pods 2.1 is scheduled to be released alongside WordPress 3.5 on December 5th, 2012.

    Big Thanks to our Sponsors!

    We have to really thank Automattic and Matt Mullenweg for all they’ve done to help us, we honestly could not have finished Pods 2.0 and taken it to the next level without their support.

    RD2 provided some awesome UI design work for our new 2.0 upgrade screens.

    MarkNet Group provided extra help when we needed it to keep the project going over the past two years, major kudos!

    What’s new?

    Below is a feature list that goes over what 2.0 offers, we hope you enjoy it as much as we have while we’ve used it on our own projects.

    • Slick new interface, fully revamped to make managing your Pods easy and stress-free
    • Large performance enhancements using transients and object caching (reducing queries per page load in both dashboard and site to the lowest possible number, sometimes that’s ZERO)
    • New Upgrade wizard screens designed by RD2 will help you upgrade from previous versions and report any potential known issues beforeit actually upgrades your site
      • We’ve partnered with Automattic to offer 1 free month of VaultPress service to users upgrading from Pods 1.x, you will see the offer in the upgrade screens.
      • We’ve also partnered with iThemes to offer 25% off of a BackupBuddy license to users upgrading from Pods 1.x, you will see the offer in the upgrade screens.
    • Add New Pod wizard guides you through creating or extending content types with custom fields
      • Create New Content Types
        • Custom Post Types
        • Custom Taxonomies
        • Advanced Content Types (each type lives in it’s own table, outside of the WP object architecture)
      • Extend Existing Content Types
        • Post Types (Posts, Pages, Existing Custom Post Types)
        • Taxonomies (Categories, Tags, Existing Custom Taxonomies)
        • Media
        • Users
        • Comments
    • Choose to store your data using meta-based storage (default) or custom table-based storage
    • New Field Editor and Field Types
      • New Field Type options built in (no more input helpers for most common input types!)
        • Date / Time – Date, Time, or both
        • Number – Plain Number or Currency
        • Text – Plain Text, Website, Phone, E-mail, or Password
        • Paragraph Text – Plain Paragraph, WYSIWYG (TinyMCE or CLEditor, or add your own), or Code (Syntax Highlighting)
        • Color Picker – Choose colors, because colors are great (Using the default WP color picker, Farbtastic in 3.4)
        • Yes / No – You can’t really go wrong with a checkbox, but we’ve added a few charms to make it stand out
        • File / Image / Video – Upload new media or select from existing ones with our Media Library integration, or use a simple uploader, your choice
        • Relationships – Relate any item, to any item of any WP object type or another Pod, now with improved Bidirectional relationship support
    • New grouping fields API on the Add/Edit forms for Post Types, Taxonomies, Media, Users, and Comments (We’re adding a management UI for this coming in 2.1)
    • New Shortcode popup integration with TinyMCE editor (now provide one-off templates within the shortcode itself)
    • New Widgets (and provide one-off templates within the widget itself)
    • New Form UI front and back
    • New Attachments option available for File Uploads allows you to click “Attach” and select media items from the normal built-in WP Media Library pop-up
    • New Componentsallow additional functionality to be enabled but not loaded if you don’t want/need them
      • Pod Templates
      • Pod Pages
      • Pod Helpers
      • Roles and Capabilities
        • Add / Edit Roles (Administrator, Editor, etc..)
        • Add / Edit Capabilities for each Role
      • Markdown Syntax for Paragraph Text fields
      • Migrate: Import from Custom Post Type UI
        • Import Custom Post Types and Taxonomies created by the Custom Post Type UI plugin
        • Import them all, or choose a few
        • Optionally cleanup the Custom Post Type UI options when done, removing the imported objects from it’s control
    • Basic WPML Integration and confirmed Polylang compatibility
    • Fully Localized interface and error messages! All of our text strings in the plugin now run through the i18n functions. We don’t have any translations yet, but we’re looking at getting GlotPress setup for translators to start getting in.
    • Requires at least WordPress 3.4 and is tested against WordPress 3.4 and 3.5 releases

    Not sure about Pods 2.0 yet? Screenshot time!

     

    • hsatterwhite 2:43 pm on October 6, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      Holy Cow in a plugin Scott! I’ve been looking at it since Thursday afternoon and it’s absolutely wonderful. The UI is great, intuitive, and very forgiving when you’re making mistakes. Love seeing how far you’ve come with Pods as it is by far one of the most powerful plugins/frameworks/extendomatic-in-a-box things to to ever happen to WordPress.

      I’m a big fan of how you re-vamped “Helpers”. Using it as a custom post type with the built-in WordPress revisions feature is spot on smart. This is honestly the first time I’ve ever looked at Pods 2.0 in any of its forms. The really cool thing to me is that you created “Helpers” in a way that provides flexibility and history. Using Code Mirror for syntax highlighting, storing it as a custom post type, and utilizing WordPress’ built-in revisions function takes “Helpers” light years beyond what it was in the 1.x.x releases. As a long time user of Pods I’m completely overjoyed with Pods 2.0!

      Again, thanks for all that you’ve contributed to the WordPress community.

      • sc0ttkclark 2:34 pm on October 8, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply

        It’s messages like these that make what I do worth it. That’s exactly what I set out to do for Pods 2.0, so I’m very glad that was successful!

  • sc0ttkclark 3:23 pm on August 9, 2012 Permalink
    Tags: , cost, ohloh   

    How much does Pods cost? 

    Pods is free and will remain free, but check out how much effort it’s taken to get it to where it is today!

    https://www.ohloh.net/p/pods-framework/estimated_cost

     

    • bjornet 8:23 pm on September 5, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      I really appreciate you for showing this, this example helps me as developer to set a decent pricetag on my work and of cause understand the tremendous amount of work you guys have put into Pods.

  • sc0ttkclark 11:22 pm on October 17, 2012 Permalink
    Tags: #Pods2, ,   

    New Comparisons added to our Documentation 

    We’ve spent a great deal of time documenting the differences between Content Types and based on our user feedback — we’ve compiled some very helpful comparisons for you to reference.

    If you think of anything else you’d like compared, just let us know!

     

  • sc0ttkclark 2:06 am on September 11, 2012 Permalink
    Tags: #Pods2, , , ,   

    Enhanced Field Types 

    We spent some time tonight and landed on an enhancement we hope you will enjoy… We’ve broken out the Text, Paragraph Text, Number, and Date / Time fields into groups of field types!

    Check them out in the beta now, or look below for a quick view of how it looks. You might even realize you missed a field capability you hadn’t noticed before :)

    You can click the image above to enlarge.

     

  • sc0ttkclark 2:25 pm on August 30, 2012 Permalink
    Tags: #Pods2, ,   

    Differences between 1.x and 2.0 

    We’re going to use this post to keep track of the deprecated functions and methods for you to reference at a glance. Pods 2.0 is backwards compatible, but we recommend you update your usage as you’re able to so you avoid any headaches down the road.

    Pod() class

    The Pod() class has had a makeover! Below are some new things you can do, we hope you enjoy the changes.

    Calling the Pod() class

    The Pod() class has been renamed to Pods(), your old code should point at the new class and methods though, but you should take advantage of the new usage which is much easier to use and understand.

    Old

    // Get data for a pod
$mypod = new Pod( 'mypod' );

// Get data for an item
$mypod = new Pod( 'mypod', $id_or_slug );

// Maps to findRecords
$mypod = new Pod( 'mypod', $params );

    New

    // Get the pod object
$mypod = pods( 'mypod' );

// Get data for an item
$mypod = pods( 'mypod', $id_or_slug' );

// Maps to the new find method
$mypod = pods( 'mypod', $params );

// NEW! Get the pod object, find data, output each item using the template
echo pods( 'mypod' )->find( $params )->template( 'template/name' );

    get_field

    Old

    // Get a field's value
$value = $mypod->get_field( 'my_field' );

// Get the value of 'name' from the related field's item(s)
$name = $mypod->get_field( 'my_related_field.name' );

// Order the return of the related field values
$value = $mypod->get_field( 'my_related_field', 'name DESC' );

    New

    // Get a field's value
$value = $mypod->field( 'my_field' );

// Get the value of 'name' from the related field's item(s)
$name = $mypod->field( 'my_related_field.name' );

// Order the return of the related field values
$params = array( 'name' => 'my_related_field', 'orderby' => 'name DESC' );
$value = $mypod->field( $params );

// NEW: Get the first value of the related items, just like get_post_meta( $id, $key, $single ) works
$params = array( 'name' => 'my_related_field', 'single' => true );
$value = $mypod->field( $params );

// NEW: Get the first value of the related items, just like get_post_meta( $id, $key, $single ) works
$value = $mypod->field( 'my_related_field', true );

    findRecords

    Old

    // Get 15 records, ordered by name descending, where the name isn't Buster
$mypod->findRecords( 'name DESC', 15, 'name != "Buster"' );

// Get 15 records, ordered by name descending, where the name isn't Buster
$params = array( 'orderby' => 'name DESC', 'limit' => 15, 'where' => 'name != "Buster"' );
$mypod->findRecords( $params );

// Get 15 records, ordered by name descending, where the name isn't Buster
$params = array( 'orderby' => 'name DESC', 'limit' => 15, 'where' => 'name != "Buster"' );
$mypod = new Pod( 'mypod', $params );

    New

    // Get 15 records, ordered by name descending, where the name isn't Buster
$params = array( 'orderby' => 'name DESC', 'limit' => 15, 'where' => 'name != "Buster"' );
$mypod->find( $params );

// Get 15 records, ordered by name descending, where the name isn't Buster
$params = array( 'orderby' => 'name DESC', 'limit' => 15, 'where' => 'name != "Buster"' );
$mypod = pods( 'mypod', $params );

// Get 15 records, ordered by name descending, where the name isn't Buster
$params = array( 'orderby' => 'name DESC', 'limit' => 15, 'where' => 'name != "Buster"' );
$mypod = pods( 'mypod' )->find( $params );

    NEW: Call API methods right from the Pods object!

    // Add an item
// It maps to PodsAPI::save_pod_item, does not pass the current ID
$mypod->add( $params );

// Save an item
// It maps to PodsAPI::save_pod_item, automatically passes the current ID for you
$mypod->save( $params );

// Delete an item
// It maps to PodsAPI::delete_pod_item, automatically passes the current ID for you, or you can set another $id to be deleted
$mypod->delete( $id );

// Duplicate an item
// It maps to PodsAPI::duplicate_pod_item, automatically passes the current ID for you, or you can set another $id to be deleted
$mypod->duplicate( $id );
     

  • sc0ttkclark 3:18 pm on August 21, 2012 Permalink
    Tags: #Pods2, , ,   

    New Component: Import Post Types and Taxonomies created by the Custom Post Type UI plugin 

    Check out this new component we created yesterday. It can be enabled under Pods Admin > Components. It will walk you through the simple process of migrating your Custom Post Types and Taxonomies directly from Custom Post Type UI into Pods 2.0 — It will import all of your labels and settings, so you can now save all of that time instead of doing it manually.

     

  • sc0ttkclark 10:50 am on August 12, 2012 Permalink
    Tags: #Pods2,   

    Pods 2.0 – Full Feature List 

    Below is a full list of features for Pods 2.0, mostly highlighting new features / changes.

    • Slick new interface, fully revamped to make managing your Pods easy and stress-free
    • Large performance enhancements using transients and object caching (reducing queries per page load in both dashboard and site)
    • New Upgrade wizard screens designed by RD2 will help you upgrade from previous versions and report any potential known issues before it actually upgrades your site
      • We’ve partnered with Automattic to offer 1 free month of VaultPress service to users upgrading from Pods 1.x, you will see the offer in the upgrade screens.
      • We’ve also partnered with iThemes to offer 25% off of a BackupBuddy license to users upgrading from Pods 1.x, you will see the offer in the upgrade screens.
    • Add New Pod wizard guides you through creating or extending content types with custom fields
      • Create New Content Types
        • WP Objects
          • Custom Post Types
          • Custom Taxonomies
        • Custom Content Types (each type lives in it’s own table, outside of the WP object architecture)
      • Extend Existing Content Types
        • Post Types (Posts, Pages, Existing Custom Post Types)
        • Taxonomies (Categories, Tags, Existing Custom Taxonomies)
        • Media
        • Users
        • Comments
    • Choose to store your data using meta-based storage (default) or custom table based storage
    • New Field Editor and Field Types
      • New Field Type options built in (no more input helpers for most common input types!)
        • Date / Time
          • Date
            • Date Format (m/d/Y etc)
            • Toggle on/off HTML5 Input
          • Time
            • Time Format Type (12 hour / 24 hour)
            • Time Format
            • Toggle on/off HTML5 Input
          • Time + Date
            • Both noted above combined
        • Number
          • Plain Number
            • Format (localized ie: 20,000)
            • Choose # of Decimals
          • Currency
            • Currency Sign
            • Currency Placement
            • Format (localized ie: 3.000,00 vs 3,000.00)
            • Choose # of Decimals
        • Yes / No
          • Checkbox
          • Radio Buttons
          • Dropdown
        • Text
          • Plain Text
            • Allow Shortcode
            • Allow HTML
            • Allow Markdown Syntax (with included Component)
          • E-mail
            • Maximum Length
            • Toggle on/off HTML5 Input (type=”email”)
          • Phone Number
            • Format / International (ie: +1 123-123-1234)
            • Enable / Disable Extensions
            • Toggle on/off HTML5 Input (type=”tel”)
          • Website
            • Format (ie: with or without the www, include http:// etc)
            • Maximum Length
            • Toggle on/off HTML5 Input (type=”url”)
          • Password
            • Minimum Length
            • Maximum Length
        • Paragraph Text
          • Plain Text
            • Allow Shortcode
            • Allow HTML
          • WYSIWYG
            • TinyMCE
            • CLEditor
          • Allowed HTML Tags
          • Allow Markdown Syntax (with included Component)
        • Permalink (url-friendly)
        • Color Picker (Using the default WP color picker, Farbtastic)
        • File Upload
          • Single Select
            • Plupload
            • Attachments (WP native UI)
          • Multiselect
            • Plupload
            • Attachments (WP native UI)
          • Limit # of Files
          • Restrict File Size
          • Restrict File Type (image files, video files, or custom list of extensions)
          • Excluded Image Sizes (for images, excluded from auto-resizing)
        • Relationship
          • Related To
            • Custom List (line separated)
            • Other Pods
            • Post Types
            • Taxonomies
            • Users
            • Comments
          • Single Select
            • Dropdown
            • Radio
            • Autocomplete
          • Multiselect
            • Multiselect
            • Checkboxes
            • Autocomplete
      • Advanced Options
        • CSS Class Name
        • Default value
        • Choose to dynamically populate value from query
        • Access level permissions (only let admins or editors edit a field)
        • Custom RegEx validation rules and messages
        • Set Maximum Length for field (for strings and numbers)
    • New grouping fields API on the Add/Edit forms for Post Types, Taxonomies, Media, Users, Comments, and Custom Content Types (UI coming in 2.1)
    • New Shortcode popup integration with TinyMCE editor (and provide one-off templates within the shortcode itself!
      • List items
      • Show detail of an item
      • Show a field from an item
    • New Widgets (and provide one-off templates within the widget itself!)
      • List items
      • Show detail of an item
      • Show a field from an item
    • New Form UI
    • New Attachments option available for File Uploads allows you to click “Attach” and select media items from the normal built-in WP Media Library pop-up
    • New Components allow additional functionality to be enabled but not loaded if you don’t want/need them
      • Gravity Forms Integration
        • Map a Gravity Form’s fields over into a Pod of any type (so many combinations!) to save automatically when the form is processed
        • (Disclosure: The above link is an affiliate link that pays the Pods Foundation if you make a purchase, any funds will go towards additional development of our Gravity Forms integration, please use it!)
      • Roles and Capabilities
        • Add / Edit Roles (Administrator, Editor, etc..)
        • Add / Edit Capabilities for each Role
      • Markdown Syntax for Paragraph Text fields
      • Migrate: Import from Custom Post Type UI
        • Import Custom Post Types and Taxonomies created by the Custom Post Type UI plugin
        • Import them all, or choose a few
        • Optionally cleanup the Custom Post Type UI options when done, removing the imported objects from it’s control
    • Basic WPML Integration (Disclosure: This link is an affiliate link that pays the Pods Foundation if you make a purchase, any funds will go towards additional development of our WPML integration, please use it!)
    • Requires at least WordPress 3.4 and is tested against WordPress 3.4 and 3.5 releases
     

    • Kurt M 10:17 am on August 13, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      Which template engine have you decided to go with?

      I’m seeing Pods as an alternative to ExpressionEngine, so I’m hoping it’s something similar to theirs. Smarty is as close as I could find. I’m a front-end only designer, hence why I prefer EE’s templating to WP’s, so I’m hoping it doesn’t end up being another language in itself.

      That would be a deal breaker for me.

      Heroframework.com uses it and that’s the closest CMS to EE out there.

      • sc0ttkclark 6:09 pm on August 13, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply

        We are sticking to our core template engine which uses {@field_name} syntax for outputting fields. It is definitely possible to filter before it hits our engine so you can override with any template engine you’d like. Good plugin idea for you :)

  • sc0ttkclark 4:39 pm on August 16, 2011 Permalink
    Tags: #Pods2, , , Upgrade Assurance Review, Upgrade Service   

    When Pods 2.0 comes out, we’ve got you covered with our Upgrade Assurance Review and Upgrade Service 

    Exact pricing is coming soon, but we’re preparing to offer upgrade assurance reviews to donors who have donated $X+ (per site) to the Pods Foundation. This is retroactive, so past donations count towards it!

    To schedule your Upgrade Assurance Review or Upgrade Service, we’ll be posting a new form on our site after Pods 2.0 beta has been released. You can fill out the form and get an instant quote based on your site details. Until then, feel free to also donate now to secure your review spot in our priority list.

    Upgrade Assurance Review Pricing

    NOTE: Pricing subject to change as Pods 2.0 approaches and we nail down what does / doesn’t constitutes a Basic site

    • Small / Basic Sites – ~$15 each
    • We also will offer custom priced reviews for those who are large / complex or have custom plugins utilizing Pods

    An Upgrade Assurance Review Includes

    • Review of API usage and recommended remapping of functions (to avoid future issues with deprecated functions / methods)
    • Review of Field Output usage and recommended remapping of functions (to avoid future issues with deprecated functions / methods)
    • Review of Form usage and recommended remapping of functions (to avoid future issues with deprecated functions / methods)
    • Review of Helper usage and recommended fixes for Pods 2.0 compatibility
    • Review of Pod Page usage and recommended fixes for Pods 2.0 compatibility
    • Review of Template usage and recommended fixes for Pods 2.0 compatibility
    • Review to detect possible issues with your data during the upgrade process

    Upgrade Service (optional)

    We are also planning on offering the actual upgrade at an additional cost (to be determined). It doesn’t matter what version of Pods you’re running – whether it’s 1.6.2 or 1.11+ – We’ll ensure your site is safely upgraded to the latest version of Pods and WordPress.

    • 1 free month of VaultPress backup service (you set it up, you click backup, we do our thing)
    • We’ll perform the Pods 2.0 Upgrade (along with a WordPress upgrade if you’d like)
    • We’ll ensure the upgrade was completed successfully and work through any minor issues that come up and provide a Database Restoration in the event of a failure

    Of course, once we complete our Upgrade Assurance Review, you are free to follow the upgrade screens in Pods 2.0 on your own. We’re just here to help if you’d like us to handle / facilitate it.

     

  • sc0ttkclark 3:08 pm on June 16, 2011 Permalink
    Tags: #Pods2, , , rapid release cycle   

    Pods 2.0 and How You Can Help 

    Where is Pods 2.0? Why isn’t it out yet?

    The Pods project is funded by donations, developers contributing their time towards support and coding, and users who provide bug reports to help us know what isn’t working. The Pods 2.0 release is the biggest release we’ve had yet. Maybe we took too much on at once and maybe we should have stuck to a quicker release cycle. Either way, 2.0 contains a large amount of bug fixes, rewrites / refactoring, completely new admin / management UI, and tons of new features. It’s been a long road, but we’re getting very close to being done now that the bulk of the hard “stuff” is out of the way.

    How you can help us get 2.0 out the door quickly and efficiently

    1. We could use more donations, but so could most non-profits out there :)
    2. We could use your help in coding, if you’re a developer and are very experienced with HTML, CSS, Javascript, AJAX / jQuery, PHP, and/or MySQL, then contact us to see where you can fit in. We’re at the point in the 2.0 development cycle where we can really use some help specifically on UI elements like forms
    3. We need better documentation, if you’re a content writer or have a knack for writing how-to articles, we’re ready for you to help us begin completely rewriting our User Guide for our new site. Contact us to get access to the new site and begin.
    4. Once we begin the public testing phase (Alpha / Beta / Release Candidates), we’ll be depending on our users and developers to help us find any bugs so we can squash them for a speedy final release. Your help will greatly appreciated!

    Everyone gets credit for their participation

    If you’ve donated (and opted-in to being acknowledged), contributed code, helped provide support, submitted bug reports, or any others from a large list things – you’ll be called out and given credit on our new site Contributors area. The more you do in the community, the more points you get. It’s not a contest or a game, points just show the level of your contributions and will help document your abilities to anyone who would doubt it!

    When will Pods 2.0 be out?

    It all depends on our contributors. I’m just one cog in a large wheel, and I have a personal life with a new baby that I’d like to spend my time enjoying. That doesn’t mean that I don’t have time for Pods, it’s just that I can’t do this all on my own :) I’m asking that you help where you can so that we all can enjoy Pods 2.0 to it’s fullest.

    Your contribution can help make a difference, so any of the above mentioned ways you can contribute can really help our release cycle for 2.0

    In the future we’ll focus on a Google Chrome / Firefox-like rapid release cycle to get out cool features to you quickly and efficiently. 2.0′s changes and rewrites were necessary for it’s growth, but it’s taken a long time to finish. If we didn’t do it this way, I have no doubt that we’d be alienating an entire community with too many UI changes from release to release.

    So…. Rapid Release Cycle like Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox? Yay, quicker releases!

    Going forward, smaller releases, shorter waits, and more cool features. There will be no more BIG releases for Pods which result in a longer development cycle that would mean longer for you to wait. If you have any questions regarding the new Rapid Release Cycle for Pods after 2.0 is out, check out the Rapid Release page in the Mozilla Wiki. Contribute where you can.. otherwise just sit back and wait for the storm to hit.

     

    • mbrinson 4:29 pm on June 16, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      Thanks for all of your hard work on PODS 2.0 Scott. The project wouldn’t be a shadow of what it is without all of your incredible contributions. I’ve donated the modest amount I can in $, and wish I could donate something in coding.

      I might possibly be able to contribute via documentation but not until I’ve cleared some other projects I’m tied up with right now.

      Enjoy that baby! That’s the priority… PODS can wait. It will still be here when you come back. :)

      • sc0ttkclark 4:47 pm on June 16, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply

        Thanks for the donation! That does help, even modest amounts help :)

        Let us know when you get some time, we’d love your help with documentation.

        And yep, baby is being enjoyed :)

    • mungo 4:10 pm on October 24, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      Scott, A whole bunch of us donated to you ages ago and you promised a release within two weeks… it’s well over this now and nothing seems to be happening :( I understand sometimes things take longer to produce than one might initially think, but this is getting a little worrisome! From your appeal you made it sound as though Pods2 was almost done and just needed a final push… What’s going on?

      • sc0ttkclark 1:00 am on October 25, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply

        Hey, I don’t know if you donated to the Kickstarter itself or separately, but I’ve been leaving public updates on the Kickstarter with progress reports and screenshots:

        http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sc0ttkclark/pods-development-framework-20/posts

        Basically, I was able to work on Pods for the amount of time I initially needed. The only problem was that I didn’t count on some big schedule conflicts with Jonathan who was handling a lot of the UI at that point. In the end, I had to contract a few developers to do the work, along the way hitting other delays with them as well. Unfortunately, the more time I spend on the frontend and getting it perfected with the other developers, the less time I have to spend on the remaining backend components.

        The donation drive was able to cover my costs to take a few weeks out of my schedule to devote entirely to Pods, but unfortunately since then I’ve been catching up on projects that were put on the side burner in order for that to happen. Things didn’t sync up as well as I had hoped, and I don’t really blame Jonathan or any of the developers who I contracted, it’s just part of the risks I was taking when I set out to knock out Pods 2.0 in the short period of time that I had. It’s very tough to find developers who are both very experienced AND available to start at a moments notice, so I’ve had to deal with what I’ve got to avoid letting in anything that would be sub-par.

        We’re getting very close though, recently @chriscarvache joined the efforts and is making a ton of progress. While I’m still catching up on my project backlog, I have time on Wednesdays and on the weekends to work on things, so I’m coordinating with Chris during the week to keep things going forward on his side. I’ve given him a blank check, so even if it ends up costing more than the Kickstarter, I think it’s totally worth it.

        As anyone who has dealt with running an open source project, it’s very tough to find and keep contributors long-term AND with high availability. That’s basically what I’ve been up against the past year and a half. I’ll be posting screenshots and a major update this Wednesday, so look for it on the Kickstarter if you’re interested in seeing what’s new. I’ll also be posting it to the @podscms Twitter account, so don’t be a stranger.

        I know you’re very anxious, and most likely quite turned off by the delay. I appreciate your patience as we move forward and hope to earn back your interest and excitement as we prepare for the Pods 2.0 Alpha testing cycle.

        • mungo 5:16 am on October 25, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply

          Thanks for the reply and your honesty Scott. I completely understand the problems you describe, from one perspective at least… good luck with it and please rest assured my interest hasn’t waned, I literally can’t wait… got a few projects that I’m itching to get started on that Pods2 would be perfect for – all the best!

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