Openbravo developments for next weeks

A few people has been asking us different questions about which our actual direction is in terms of product, roadmap, database model, so. Let me summarize some areas that we at Openbravo are focusing in the next couple of weeks:

• Next version of Openbravo is going to be Openbravo R2.34. It is currently scheduled for end of September. We will be publishing upgrade scripts and we will recommend this version for production environments. This version will be focus on providing bug fixes for know issues. If you are working with Openbravo R2.33 and are you are experiencing a bug, check if has been already ready reported, and if not read our bug reporting guidelines and report it to us. We need your collaboration to make the next version rock solid!
• Roadmap update. Paolo Juvara has already started a process to collect feedback from our community in terms of which areas of the product will you like to see enhancements and which areas we you like us to focus. We will use this feedback to set our roadmap for the next couple of months. Please, if you have ideas or comments for Openbravo ERP, let us know.
• Documentation. As you probably have seen we have updated Openbravo User Manual to version 2.3, we are working on a Developer's Manual, the E/R data model and other related documents. Our most important goal in terms of documentation is to keep updating our current documentation and work to enhance it and publish a complete configuration manual (there is a tentative index available). We are aware that documenting Openbravo configuration will lower the entry barrier for newcomers.
• We are currently working on moving from a single binary database dump file to a system that will allow to define our data model in different separate files. This is very important because will make possible to isolate changes in the data model and will permit to leverage bug fixes more easily between different versions of Openbravo. Adrián Romero has already started a public discussion about the best of way of addressing this issue. If you have comments or ideas, please let us know.
• Many people asks when it will be possible to build Openbravo ERP from sources using PostgreSQL (right now can only be done using Oracle). This is closely related to the previous point of moving away from a single database dump. This is a priority for us and we hope to have it ready soon.
• Openbravo Green. We are very excited about it and we have received some great comments on the initial designs. We will be updating our roadmap for it for the next couple of months but currently we are devoting our senior development staff to the Openbravo R2.3x branch, to make sure that we are delivering matches people's expectations in terms of functionality and quality.
• We are defining our release policy for Openbravo. Our objective is to have more regular builds to involve the community better and also to make more clear which versions we recommend for production and which ones for testing. We will be sharing a proposal with everyone very soon. Also, we will be publish the scripts for our installers to make people build their installers.
  

We are working hard to make all of these points a reality, however our resources are limited. If you can commit resources in terms of helping in these areas your help is very welcome.

If you have any other specific question, please do not hesitate to ask us posting in this forum thread.

Openbravo community highlights 3rd of August 2007

Hello everybody,

Openbravo R2.33 has just been released. You can already download it or try the on-line demo. We have been working very hard to make this version rock solid. R2.33 contains many new features and bug fixes, including a complete review of the English and Spanish terminology and language used in the application (see this post and English_Language_Changes_OBR23.zip).

We also have defined the criteria for releasing Openbravo builds, that is, the list of tests performed by Openbravo every time that a release is packaged from the SVN tree.

There are also more news that happened during the past weeks:

• There is a new document at Openbravo Wiki that explains how to create new looks and feel for Openbravo.
• We have created the Openbravo technical specifications that explain the technologies used and requiered by Openbravo ERP.
• Daniel Hukkelhoven from Dalox has published a draft version of the char of accounts for Netherlands. Any feedback is welcome.
  

One of the important areas that we are still working is moving from our current database dump file system to a new approach where we have the data model separated in different files. This is will greatly improve our version control capabilities and will make more easy for people to leverage patches between different versions. There is a forum thread where we are discussing the best approach.

That's all for now. If you have any news regarding Openbravo success or efforts, please let me know (jmas at openbravo.com)