WordPress v2.0.4 has been released with a number of security updates so it is well worth upgrading.

To simplfy the upgrade process I decided again to try generating a diff file between 2.0.3 and 2.0.4 and using that to patch my sites rather than uploading a full set of new files. The process for generating the diff file is actually simpler than the one I used last time!

Here is the process I took on my local machine to generate the diif file:

1. Generated the patch file with svn diff using the following command (all on one line):
   

   svn diff http://svn.automattic.com/wordpress/tags/2.0.3 http://svn.automattic.com/wordpress/tags/2.0.4 > ~/2.0.3-to-2.0.4.patch

I then uploaded the patch file to my server and placed it in my home directory and applied the patch as follows:
(Read on …)

WordPress v2.0.2 has been released with a number of security updates so it is well worth upgrading.

To simplfy the upgrade process I decided to try generating a diff file between 2.0.1 and 2.0.2 and using that to patch my sites rather than uploading a full set of new files.

Here is the process I took on my local machine to generate the diif file:

1. Exported both 2.0.1 and 2.0.2 from svn using the following commands:
   

   To get 2.0.2 - svn --force export http://svn.automattic.com/wordpress/branches/2.0
To get 2.0.1 - svn --force export http://svn.automattic.com/wordpress/tags/2.0.1


2. Generated a patch file using diff:
   

   diff -U3 -r 2.0.1 2.0 > 2.0.1.to.2.0.2.patch


I then uploaded the patch file to my server and placed it in my home directory and applied the patch as follows:
(Read on …)

WordPress v2.0.1 is now available with over 100 bugs fixed since v2.0 was released about a month ago. This is looking like a very stable release and should be a great improvement over v1.5.2 with all the new features added in v2.0.

If you want to help out development of future WordPress versions then you can head over to the codex to sign up under areas which you feel you can help out.

Wordpress Version Check v1.00 is now available.

The follow changes have been made in v1.00:

1. Added support for WordPress v2.0-RC1 (see below for a screen shot)
2. Added timeout to XML-RPC calls.
3. Updated version number to 1.00.

(Read on …)

Richard has been asking me for a while what WordPress plugins I use on this site. As Darren Rowse of has recently put up a list of his active plugins in a post called I’ll Show you Mine if You Show me Yours (WP Plugins). I thought it was time to share my list of “Must Have” WordPress plugins. So here is my list of must have WordPress plugins:

For their added functionality:

Spam Karma 2

No other comment spam blocking plugin works as successfully for me.

Gravatars

Easily integrate gravatars within your site.

InSeries

Provides navigation controls for next/previous within a connected series of posts.

WP-ContactForm

A drop in contact form.

WordPress Database Backup

An excellent backup plugin.

WP-CC

The original WordPress Creative Commons licensing plugin.

Subscribe To Comments

An excellent plugin which allows your readers to subscribe to the comments for a post.

CJD Notepad

Draft posts to your hearts content.

WordPress Version Check

Ensure you get visible notification of new WordPress releases within your dashboard.

These ones fix bugs/features of WordPress v1.5 and won’t be required once I upgrade to v2.0:

FixBack

Fixes trackback and pingback URLs when publishing draft posts.

Permalinks redirect

Ensure everyone is viewing my posts via their one true permalink.

These lists don’t include every single plugin that I am using but they represent the plugins that I would install on a new WordPress install before I even started posting

In preparation for the first WordPress Bug Hunt this weekend Mark Jaquith has written some excellent instructions on how he “does work” on WordPress on Linux / Mac OS X.

Skippy who is one of the hosts of the bug hunt was looking for a Windows version of Mark’s cheat sheet - So here or those of you using Windows the following instructions show you how to achieve the same things.

First of all you need to install an svn client, the svn client of choice on Windows has to be TortoiseSVN which is not only a subversion client but also includes patch application functionality and visual merge tools. Once you have installed TortoiseSVN you will now be set and ready. So here is the “Working on Windows” version on Mark’s instructions:
(Read on …)