webgen users - Jun 2009 - Incompatible API changes in 0.5.9

Hey everybody,

just wanted to let you know that there will be some
backwards-incompatible API changes in the next 0.5.9 release, next to
some other changes with deprecation.

The changes are in the source handler classes, so you are only affected
if you have written a source handler extension or if you dynamically
create nodes:

* Webgen::SourceHandler::Base#create_node now takes two arguments:
  - path: The path object as before
  - options: An options hash with which the parent node (key :parent)
    can be provided and/or the output path (key :output_path).

* Webgen::SourceHandler::Base#node_exists? also drops the parent
  parameter

* Message :before_node_created now only has one parameter, namely the
  path, instead of parent and path.

* Service :create_nodes now only takes a path and a source handler
  object.

So everybody who uses one of the above will have errors when using the
next version of webgen.

I will sync my devel repository to rubyforge/github in the next days
sothat everybody can view the changes.

Best regards,
  Thomas

> I will sync my devel repository to rubyforge/github in the next days
> sothat everybody can view the changes.
I have pushed the changes to the github and rubyforge repositories.

The changes now also include the new support for passive sources: when
the resolution of a path via Node#resolve fails, the passive sources
are checked if they contain a path that would match and, if so, a node
will be created. If such a passive node is not referenced anymore, it
is automatically deleted.

This feature comes in handy when using defaults for certain source
handler classes, e.g. the feed handler or the soon-to-be-coming
gallery handler because if the user does not provide the needed
templates in the website sources, the passive sources are asked and
therefore the default templates are used transparently.

The feed handler will be changed in the near future and the dependency
on the rather large and not really needed feed-tools library
will be droped. 

-- Thomas