= MediaWiki release notes = Security reminder: MediaWiki does not require PHP's register_globals setting since version 1.2.0. If you have it on, turn it *off* if you can. == MediaWiki 1.7 == THIS IS NOT A RELEASE YET. MediaWiki is now using a "continuous integration" development model with quarterly snapshot releases. The latest development code is always kept "ready to run", and in fact runs our own sites on Wikipedia. Release branches will continue to receive security updates for about a year from first release, but nonessential bugfixes and feature development happen will be made on the development trunk and appear in the next quarterly release. Those wishing to use the latest code instead of a branch release can obtain it from source control: http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Download_from_SVN == Changes since 1.6 == * (bug 5458) Fix double-URL encoding in block log link in contribs and contribs link in block log * (bug 5462) Bogus missing patch warning in updater * (bug 5461) Use of deprecated "showhideminor" in Special:Recentchangeslinked * PHP warning when allow_call_time_pass_reference is off * Update to Finnish localization * (bug 5467) Link to page histories in watchlist edit mode * Further additions to Hebrew localisation * (bug 5476) Invalid xhtml in German localization * (bug 5479) Id translation for preferences tabs caption * (bug 5493) Id translation for special pages * Added skinname and style path parameters to CBT version of MonoBook * Include subversion revision number in Special:Version if available * (bug 5344) Fix regression that broke slashes in extension tag parameters * Improve Special:Log performance on big log sets * (bug 5507) Changed mediawiki:logouttext from plain to wikitext * (bug 4760) Prevent creation of entries in protection log when protection levels haven't changed * (bug 861) Show page protection/unprotection events in histories * (bug 5499) Don't clear the tag strip state when asked not to clear state. Fixes regression with use of in a template breaking etc. == Compatibility == Older PHP 4.2 and 4.1 releases are no longer supported; PHP 4 users must upgrade to 4.3 or later. MediaWiki 1.6 is the last major version to support PHP 4; future versions will require PHP 5. MySQL 3.23.x is longer supported; some older hosts may need to upgrade. At this time we still recommend 4.0, but 4.1/5.0 will work fine in most cases. == Upgrading == Several changes to the database have been made from 1.5; these are relatively minor but do require that the update process be run before the new code will work properly: * A new "templatelinks" table tracks template inclusions. * A new "externallinks" table tracks URL links; this can be used by a mass spam-cleanup tool in the SpamBlacklist extension. * A new "jobs" table stores a queue of pages to update in the background; this is used to update links in including pages when templates are edited. To ensure that these tables are filled with data, run refreshLinks.php after the upgrade. If you are upgrading from MediaWiki 1.4.x or earlier, some major database changes are made, and there is a slightly higher chance that things could break. Don't forget to always back up your database before upgrading! See the file UPGRADE for more detailed upgrade instructions. === Caveats === Some output, particularly involving user-supplied inline HTML, may not produce 100% valid or well-formed XHTML output. Testers are welcome to set $wgMimeType = "application/xhtml+xml"; to test for remaining problem cases, but this is not recommended on live sites. (This must be set for MathML to display properly in Mozilla.) For notes on 1.5.x and older releases, see HISTORY. === Online documentation === Documentation for both end-users and site administrators is currently being built up on Meta-Wikipedia, and is covered under the GNU Free Documentation License: http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Documentation === Mailing list === A MediaWiki-l mailing list has been set up distinct from the Wikipedia wikitech-l list: http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/mediawiki-l A low-traffic announcements-only list is also available: http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/mediawiki-announce It's highly recommended that you sign up for one of these lists if you're going to run a public MediaWiki, so you can be notified of security fixes. === IRC help === There's usually someone online in #mediawiki on irc.freenode.net