Slash 2.0 Released

After far to much time in development, Slash 2.0.0, previously known as Bender is now released unto the cruel dark world. This code is of course the source that runs Slashdot, however 2.0 is far more advanced then the code you see here, to say nothing of utterly embarassing any other weblog software available for free, and written by us, and codenamed after a cartoon. Plans are already well underway to move Slashdot to the new code base soon enough. The features and fixes are to numerous to mention here but besides scouring the codebase of the evils that I originally devised, it installs easier, is more flexible and customizable, and has a variety of improvements for users and administrators alike. Props have to go out to CaptTofu, Pudge, Krow, Cliff, Jamie and CowboyNeal who all contributed to this code, and also to OSDN who let us all do it.

Update

In response to several comments mentioned so far:

Yes, the abstraction layer is in place for supporting any DB. Only the MySQL has been really tested properly by us, but others say the Postgres version is good, and an Oracle version has been floating around for awhile. Adding other databases is relatively easy. Nobody has any idea which will be fastest.

No there is no built in spell check. It also does not automatically correct my habit of switching to/too then/than around (yes, I know the rules. I just don't care enough to backspace and fix it. Get spell checked news from CNN)

Codenames exist because they're fun. What fun is saying "I'm working on 1.2.7 when you can say "Bite my Shiny Metal Ass".

System requirements are still going to be reasonably high since this is a system designed for a million page views, not the 7 page views that most weblogs get. But if properly configured, it will run on very minimal hardware. Back in the day remember that this code served 800,000 page views a day on a single dual p2 w/ 500 megs of RAM. Today thats practically entry level for a real server.

Some minor moderation changes exist, but most of those will be going into Fry (2.2, the codename for the next release, the version that Slashdot itself will run). The 2.0 release was about giving us a stable platform upon which to build new features, not about significantly altering anything functionally. There are changes, but they aren't huge.

If someone wants a Slashdot Redesign, submit one. If I like it, I'll switch. But believe me, I'm picky. Slash itself is very flexible and can look like pretty much anything you want as many other slash sites on the net have demonstrated.

Slash will have more support for various XML DTDs as they come along, and depending on if we find them interesting or not.

Slash will do just fine on virtual hosts now thanks to clever work by Krow.