Hello,

We are pleased to announce the availability of the phpBB3 Beta3 package. With this third beta release we are again a great step forward. With this beta no update path is provided due to a number of extensive database schema changes and us having decided to implement full UTF-8 capability. But what we did is implementing the first steps to provide you with an automatic update tool which should lay the ground for providing updates later. Everyone having a previous beta installed need to re-install the software. If you do a new installation, please be sure to also remove any remaining files, especially those within the cache directory.

Changes since Beta2

Thanks to our community 299 bugs were spotted and fixed since the 12th August. We not only received reports about bugs but also opinions about existing features as well as reports for "strange environments". We also replaced the provided visual confirmation image and added full UTF-8 functionality.


* Bug statistics from 12th August 2006 to now
* List of fixed bugs since the 12th August 2006



Below are some guidelines regarding the beta as well as the download locations.

UTF-8 Support

The decision to support UTF-8 (prior to a long period of discussing and evaluating) was made due to other problems we encountered and which would have taken longer to properly fix than introducing UTF-8. We know that this is not normal during beta phases and represents a drastic change, therefore this Beta release; to test the new functionality because it basically affects every single area of the software.

We encourage you to test with User names like ťĕsťůsĕř or ťĕsťůs'ĕř (note the single quote) to spot problems better. People already using UTF-8 encoding for their language packs should report every single problem they encounter.

Obtaining Support

During the beta phase a minimal level of support will be given. We will provide answers to general setup questions, configuration problems and support for determining common problems mostly related to bugs. We will not support modifications, custom code/style additions or any users using the beta packages within a live environment.

For some support questions or bug reports we may ask you to re-install the beta, clean tables in the database, purge data or other actions which are not advised to do in a live environment. So please be aware that you are still on your own if you run the beta in such an environment.

Beginning with the release candidates full support will be given.

Updating Beta to RC/Final releases

As with the previous betas, we may provide update paths for going from the beta releases to the RC and final release, but we may also not provide them. This highly depends on how the beta phase evolves. So please be aware that your test installation will need to be replaced/removed if a new beta is announced.

A full update path will be provided beginning with the Release Candidates.

Missing elements

Within the beta packages we did not include the conversion tool for converting phpBB 2.0.x (and other packages) to phpBB 3.0.x. It is most likely included within the first Release Candidate.

Minimum Requirements

phpBB3 has a few requirements which must be met before you are able to install and use it.


* A webserver or web hosting account running on any major Operating System with support for PHP
* A SQL database system, one of:

o MySQL 3.23 or above (MySQLi supported)
o PostgreSQL 7.3+
o SQLite 2.8.2+
o Firebird 2.0+
o MS SQL Server 2000 or above (directly or via ODBC)
o Oracle

* PHP 4.3.3 or above with support for the database you intend to use.
* These optional presence of the following modules within PHP will provide access to additional features, but they are not required.

o zlib Compression support
o Remote FTP support
o XML support
o Imagemagick support
o GD Support



The presence of each of these optional modules will be checked during the installation process.

Security

If security issues arise we won't release a new beta immediately. They will be fixed within the CVS tree and incorporated into the next beta packages. So please be aware that you may be at risk if you run the beta in a live environment while security issues arise. Security issues found should be reported to our security tracker in the usual way.

Translations

We still encourage potential translators to get used to the new language system. The new language pack management system, contrary to the previous announcement, will most likely be released in conjunction with the deployment of phpBB3 to this site.

If you are translating in a team of people, for example on an international support site, beginning with the translation now might not hurt. You may spot things we are able to easily fix during the beta phase. But also be aware that you might need to keep track of language pack changes on your own. All current active language pack authors will be automatically invited to provide the language pack for their language for 3.0.x if they are willing to do so.

Documentation

An initial quick start guide is available for use with the betas from the link at the end of this message. This documentation will be evolving over the course of the Beta and Release Candidate phases. If you encounter an error in this documentation, please report it to the documentation section of the bug tracker. If something in the documentation is unclear, please use the 3.0 support forum to seek assistance. We will be monitoring this and may make changes to clarify if necessary.

BETA Download/Documentation


* phpBB3 development section
* phpBB3 Documentation
* phpBB3 support forum
* phpBB3 bug tracker
* Documentation bug tracker
* Non-exhaustive phpBB3 Beta3 Feature List



Every section above is accessible from the phpBB3 development section.

We wish you all happy testing,
the phpBB Teams.