It’s been a while since my last post here. Recently, DotNetNuke has begun releasing release candidates of DNN 6 and all of us extension makers need to keep a close eye on this development. If you aren’t already you definitely need to take a look at this prereleases and test any stuff you have to make sure you’ll be ready when it is released. I know they do all they can to avoid breaking changes, but (as they probably say in the Langley office) it is hard to make an omelet without breaking a few modules.
DNN Newsfeeds is no different to other modules in this respect and all module leads have been encouraged to implement a number of changes as we gear up for DNN 6. Some of these are basic modernization changes to limit the risk of dependencies on really old functionality. That is why the new release has a dependency on DNN 05.04.04, has a brand new DNN 5 manifest, and has its solution file upgraded to VS 2010.
The other change that is noteworthy is the ability to syndicate the module’s aggregated feed. This means you can now use the module to “wire” RSS throughout your site. I.e. you put it on one page and have it aggregate a number of feeds and use that feed again in another Newsfeeds module somewhere else to aggregate with other parts of the site. It brings one goal I had in mind closer: to be able to build a site like for instance the BBC news site where at every level you can grab a feed and where news bubbles up through the site right to the front page if so desired.
Find the module here on Codeplex:
http://dnnnewsfeeds.codeplex.com/releases/view/63201
The full list of changes for version 04.02.00:
- Enhancement: Dependency to DotNetNuke 05.04.04 (20320)
- Enhancement: Solution file in VS 2010 (20320)
- Enhancement: .Net dependency to 3.5 (20320)
- Enhancement: DNN 5 module manifest with license and release notes (20320)
- Fix: Fixed saving of referenced XSL files for preprocessing (19826)
- Enhancement: Selectable link target (18288)
- Fix: Fixed bug where feeds were not initially displayed (17998)
- Enhancement: Syndicate module's aggregated feed (20321)
- Fix: Fixed the aggregator changing pubDate on retrieved feeds (20322)
- Enhancement: Only users with edit permission can now clear the feed cache for a module (20323)
- Enhancement: Prettyfied the default transform
- Enhancement: Hid datagrid headers in edit screen if no feeds are defined yet