Friday, March 12, 2010

Using YAML syntax to write your tests.

Writing tests for OpenERP modules is not only about XML anymore!

Today, we are announcing the support of YAML syntax to write your tests. In a nutshell, YAML has a clean declarative syntax but more concise and readable than XML, with some bells and whistles. YAML support will be part of the next stable release of OpenERP, but you can try it now in the latest development release (trunk).

YAML should provide at least the same benefits as XML for loading data and writing tests (views remain written in XML). There are some sample test files in the account module (in the trunk) where you will see that, for example, you can write pure Python code (not only assertions/expressions) in a YAML block. We will soon update the documentation with the additional features YAML provides above those of XML.

The YAML support for tests is still a work in progress. I you find a bug or have suggestions, please report it with Launchpad. You can also contribute to the code as usual.


Recently, Camptocamp introduced OERPScenario, a tool to write business cases in a high level language based on Ruby and Cucumber.

YAML and OERPScenario are two distinct and independent tools to write tests for OpenERP modules.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Suggestions to be discussed by Community

We have received an interesting document with detailed reasoning about navigation functionalities and interface for OpenERP. I created a blueprint for this, and here is a direct link to the PDF.

Please have a look at the document and share your thoughts, either on this forum topic (if you are interested in OpenERP and ergonomics) or via OpenERP's Ergonomy Experts mailing list (if you feel like an expert on OpenERP ergonomics).

We take the opportunity to remind you that we welcome and support this kind of material, whether about ergonomics or any other subject. For such documents, we would proceed like for this one: create a blueprint for tracking in Launchpad, link to a specification or draft in the wiki (since Launchpad whiteboard is not well suited for this) and discuss about it in the experts mailing lists and the forum.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Bazaar upgrade

All of our main branches (trunk and 5.0) have been upgraded to Bazaar's last and more efficient format.

You will need Bazaar version 2.0 or more recent to be able to fully interact with those upgraded branches. You can check your Bazaar version by issuing bzr --version in a shell.

Here is how to upgrade if you need to:
  • You will find the instructions to install Bazaar 2 for your platform on Bazaar download page.
  • Make a backup of the branches you need to upgrade.
  • Upgrade the relevant branches with this command: bzr upgrade --2a

Friday, February 12, 2010

New release process ongoing

As discussed in a previous post, we have been rethinking our release process.

We are laying the stress on active reviews and follow-ups of merge proposals in the stable and development branches. Our Quality Team will ensure that this process goes smoothly.

Everybody can still propose patches and develop in his own branches (it is going to be even easier than before thanks to the repository format upgrade). And to help the Drivers Team, the Quality Team will create the needed milestones and releases on a more regular basis.

By the way, the next minor stable release of OpenERP 5.0 is planned for the 1st March 2010. This version will bring some fixes to the server, the client and the addons.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Repository upgrade

We are going to upgrade the repositories format to the 2a version. This will hopefully reduce the size of the checkout, speed up some operations and make it possible to use stacked branches reliably.

From now on, Bazaar 2.0+ will be required to contribute to OpenERP.

Friday, January 29, 2010

Community Team

Hello everybody,

My name is Julien Thewys and I have just been working on the new communication process here at Tiny. Olivier Dony and I set up a new team that will focus on the community and its ever evolving challenges. The responsibility of this team is to be the link between Tiny and the community. We are very excited to share with you what has been keeping us busy!
  • We are defining clearer points of contact for the community. We already agreed on the following ones:
    • The Quality Team is responsible of merging contributions and managing releases. This team will be ready starting from 8 February; we will let you know how to contact them.
    • The Community Team is in charge of mediating in the community and enhancing processes. We are talking to you right now! Please join us on the community mailing list.
  • The overhaul of the communication process is ongoing. We just opened two dedicated Twitter accounts: one for OpenERP, one for OpenObject. Also, our website will experience an appropriate redesign to accommodate the community needs.
  • We are planning community meetings more frequently. Just to remind you, the next on-site community meeting is held on 23 and 24 March, while the next IRC meeting is planned for the 12th February. The list of topics to be discussed has already been added to the wiki (this list is still open).
  • Bugs and wishlists have been followed with a particular attention recently: we are addressing more than 85% of them and we are determined to do even better very soon.
  • We have been concentrating on enhancing the documentation: we are currently tuning the Technical Memo (here is a draft, your suggestions are welcome) and there is an e-learning resource site in preparation.
Of course, we are always open to suggestions. Feel free to let us know what is on your mind and how you envision an even brighter OpenERP community. Many thanks to Raphaƫl Valyi for his great article in this regard.

Stay tuned, we have lots of cool stuffs for the forthcoming weeks.

Note: We would appreciate if you could help us making a survey about the communication. Can you provide some concise and relevant questions? (for example: what are the preferred channels of communication: mailing list, blog, twitter, irc,...?) Thanks to all!

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

IRC meeting

OpenERP just started an overhaul of its communication process.
We are cleaning things up, consolidating communication channels and looking to publish more appropriate content in order to enlarge the community and make it even more efficient and responsive.

We have just planned an IRC Meeting on Friday 12 February 2010.
The meeting will be held on irc://freenode.net/openobject .
The agenda is ongoing; you can contribute with your suggestions on http://openobject.com/wiki/index.php/Feb_2010_IRC_Meeting .