August is traditionally a month when many in the northern hemisphere go on a much needed holiday from the heat and enjoy a well-deserved break from work.
However, this will not stop our Pitch-burgh contest winners, who were incredibly excited about starting the work and demonstrating how an open source competition like this can deliver cost-effective benefits for the Drupal project.
For the boring part, most or all of the agreements are in place (with some still being signed this second week of August), and the initial grants are starting to arrive in the awardee’s bank accounts. As previously mentioned, this is a first for the Drupal Association, and it has taken some time to figure out important things regarding contracts and how money is moved. In the end, we want to make sure none of us get in trouble with the tax collector.
In the meantime, for those keeping tabs on our Slack channels, you're likely aware of the substantial progress that's been made across the projects. It's remarkable that none of them were compelled to take action until the ink on the contracts had dried. This is the beauty of open source – a commitment driven by shared belief and trust among all contributors that transcends mere agreements and financial transactions. It's a challenge that proprietary software can hardly match.
I reached out to each project, asking for an update on their initial step. Here's what they had to say:
Mentor the mentor
The first iteration of the DrupalCon First Time Contributor workshop has been templated and made more accessible for folks who can't access the slides visually. The slide deck for local and regional camps is also primarily complete; awaiting feedback from other mentors. The next phase involves scripting the decks and incorporating documentation into Drupal.org's Contributor Guide.
Unsurprisingly, the issue queue etiquette deck is still in flux and changing as some contributors find new and unique ways to game the contribution system. AmyJune has contacted core and contrib maintainers, seeking insights into their most pressing pain points within the issue queue. The issue queue etiquette documentation is being shared as needed, but some of the community feels some points are antiquated or can be reworded into more productive dialog. The presentation depends on that etiquette. As most of the slides are complete, she will hold off on saying it's finished until the issue queue etiquette documentation discussion is in a healthy place.
Stay updated on the progress of this project by following the discussion in the #pitchburgh-mentoring-the-mentor channel in Drupal Slack.
Policy based access
Access policies in core now have a green patch for just the new API and a green patch for the API + integration in core. All I need to do now is add documentation and keep following up on the patch to get it into core.
To stay informed about the most recent developments, please keep an eye on the #pitchburgh-policy-based-access channel.
Drupal client
The Drupal API Client is currently in the process of finalizing our project planning phase and gearing up for implementation. Our intent is to begin by focusing on a limited-scope POC that will allow us to test our assumptions early and gather feedback. As part of this effort, we are in the final stages of addressing a related meta issue and eagerly welcome any insights you may have in the comments section.
Recently, we also conducted an initial async kickoff meeting in the #api-client channel in Drupal Slack. We're planning on establishing a bi-weekly Slack meeting on Thursdays at 15:00 UTC, and actively working on scheduling a one-off Zoom kickoff. Join #api-client for more info on these meetings, or just to say 'hi' and catch up on the backscroll.
The Slack channel is bustling with activity, encompassing daily discussions and regular catchup meetings. We invite you to participate and connect with our project leader, Brian Perry, in the #api-client channel within the Drupal Slack community.
Decoupled Layout Builder
Discovery is complete, we’re all set up on Drupal.org with meta issues and sub tasks for the project. We’re planning to start development in September.
To stay informed about the latest developments, please track updates in the #pitchburgh-decoupled-layout-builder channel.
Gutenberg
The Gutenberg project is starting in September, with an ideal kickoff that includes a workshop in collaboration with Automattic, a company that, if you remember, its founder, Matt Mullenweg generously offered to sponsor this endeavor and proposed a workshop between our two teams to aid in the discovery and initial phases.
If you'd like to be part of the conversation or contribute your insights, please don't hesitate to join us in the #pitchburgh-gutenberg channel.
JSON Schemas and data storage in Core
Development on this initiative starts in earnest this month. The project schedule has a completion date of 31 December, which is ambitious but consistent with the strong community interest in these priorities. Even before contracting was completed, important discussions occurred in policy issues regarding minimum database driver versions with an eye toward ensuring these improvements can land in the D11 release cycle - and perhaps even in D10 minor releases. Development work has begun on refining existing merge requests for the JSON data type in the database schema API, and follow-on issues are being scaffolded per the project roadmap.
If you're keen to contribute to this significant effort, we encourage you to participate in the discussion within the #pitchburg-json-ftw channel or the #contribute channel on Drupal Slack. - Brad Jones