[4.0.x][DEV] [OFFICIAL] CODENAME: Chameleon

[Hanakin]

*** This is intended as a replacement for prosilver. As such it does not inherit from nor is it compatible in any way with any other themes. ***

It's time to look towards the future and begin development on the next version of the phpBB interface. By this, I am referring to a replacement for prosilver and then some. To facilitate this we are asking for your assistance through the design/development process through feedback, testing, or some coding if you so wish.

This will require so much change and overhaul to the platform that we will be releasing it in stages. The first release will be here as alpha/beta/RC releases. The next release will be as a supported theme on here. Finally, we will release a packaged version with phpBB 4.0.0 because of the number of changes there is no backward compatibility at all which means we will have to do a major version number change to phpBB in order to release it. We will also be overhauling the template system to accommodate some necessary changes for this as well.

Below you will find the planned improvements and milestones to get there. I will provide links to everything and updates to this post as we progress towards our goal.

Its also important that you understand that this is not just a change in the design and a simple code refactor. We are overhauling the entire way that themes will work in the next major version in order to streamline both the development of the software and make it easier on the theme designers and end-users to make simple customization. To do this one major change is the use of a build step for the theme. This will require a bit of overhead to setup, but it's fairly simple to do and we will have detailed guides. We realize that this is not something everyone will want to do, so we are also going to be releasing an interactive web tool to streamline this.

There is a lot that will need explaining in detail and to facilitate in relation to all of this, I will be releasing a series of posts on the blog to detail how everything will work. I will link to each article/video as they come out here as well.

Let's get the ball rolling...

Here is an early mockup and static demo

screencapture-s-codepen-io-hanakin-debug-jvvGLj-yYryLOVYaaQM-2018-09-16-16_00_19.png

STYLE FEATURES:

• Completely new folder structure
• Completely coded from scratch (html, css & js)
• Uses base-l front-end framework
• ITCSS
• SCSS
• modular components
• mobile-first adaptive vs responsive design
• flex layout
• endlessly extendable
• 100% scalable codebase
• effortlessly editable and themeable
• material design principles
• modern coding practices
• strict CSS/HTML/JS specific coding practices and contol via linting

DEVELOPMENT MILESTONES: (difficulty multiplier to complete)[/u]

1. front-end framework development
2. write css coding standards
3. mobile first Component html/css/js mock-ups (10) started
4. RTL refactor (1)
5. accessibility refactor (1)
6. theme design (1)
7. write js coding standards (2) started
8. Twig conversion (1 + concurrent with #3) started
9. Code refactoring of components (2 + some concurrently with #3) started
10. Page mock-ups/themeing tests (4 + concurrent with #3) started
11. JS module mock-ups (7 + concurrent with #3) started
12. build tool refinement for js (2)
13. code refactoring of pages (2)
14. code refactoring for js (5)
15. phpBB conversion of pages (1)
16. Alpha release phase (3)
17. Beta release phase (2)
18. RC release phase (1)
19. phpBB 4.0 packaged release (1)

Current working repo: https://github.com/phpbb/chameleon
Current Development progress & examples: https://codepen.io/collection/Drjrjx/
Current Themeing testing front page: https://codepen.io/hanakin/pen/gzqMwx?editors=1000
Backend TODO list: https://area51.phpbb.com/phpBB/viewtopi ... 81&t=61766

[jrolson]

I feel like it takes up to much space, everything seems large...

And the forum categories feel scattered with no sense of organization. Just my 2 cents...

Overall I think it's a good start in the right direction but still needs some work.

I look forward to leaving prosilver and moving on...

[DTMWC]

Agree about the categories, will there be a way to switch between list view and grid view? (similar to eBay search pages)

Really liking the look of the User Profile nice job.

[jrolson]

Will there be a way to switch between list view and grid view? (similar to eBay search pages)

Like this idea!

[Joyce&Luna]

Hello Hanakin

I hope you use other colors for the style than pink, purple and blue.
Another color combination would be nice.
The colors are similar to Prosilver too strong.
The style looks promising.

Best Reagrds

[Hanakin]

Not sure if it will be a toggle or not yet but it’s extremely easy to switch from grid and list for forums just remove the c-forum-deck class so easily doable. Keep in mind everything is configurable and scaleable as well via SCSS variables including the spacing. also this does not include a theme layer yet everything is barebones styled during development. But it’s very easy to achieve really great looks with minimal theme layers.

[Meis2M]

Yes... new theme is here.

Thank you Hanakin, i know you are working hard on it. we should complete it and i will one of them...

[Joyce&Luna]

I've looked at something. Already interesting as it is built on. Will there be a custom.scss where users can change colors and design?
Will there be a compiler in the ACP like Arty once did?

Have I also seen correctly, that the forums Icon then as Base64 code to be created?

Many questions
To really say something, you already need a test level

[david63]

There are already several topics on Area51 about the "new" style and questions/comments/suggestions would be more appropriate there at this time.

[3Di]

There are already several topics on Area51 about the "new" style and questions/comments/suggestions would be more appropriate there at this time.

This topic in spite of the date of its issue is the natural consequence of a blog post inserted just yesterday FYI.

https://blog.phpbb.com/2018/09/16/to-the-future/

[Joyce&Luna]

Hi David63

If in the Blog entry the whole thing is linked to here, there is also a Discussion about the New Style instead. That there are 3 Topics on Area51. It is known to me. I suggested that at the time.

https://area51.phpbb.com/phpBB/viewtopi ... 31&t=49241
https://area51.phpbb.com/phpBB/viewtopi ... 31&t=50336
https://area51.phpbb.com/phpBB/viewtopi ... 31&t=50356

If this is not wanted, then the link should lead to Area51.
To spread a censure here is completely out of place and does not promote a normal discussion.

[Hanakin]

This is the discussion topic to voice concerns for the masses. If you have a specific coding topic to discuss related to the development yes probably then you should post on area51 which is also linked in the blog post. This topic is more of a showcase of progress as all custom theme posts are. You can voice concerns here and discussion can be created around it on area51 if need be.

Keep in mind there is a lot changing and there are a lot of questions that I will need to provide answers to. So many in fact that It’s best to be broken up into a series of blog posts. It takes time however to make these and as such they will be released as I find time. It is my hope to try and get something out each month, but my schedule is vary busy until after the new year. We will try to answer as many questions as possible but a lot is found in the topics on area51 in the forum linked in the blog post. So in the mean time I would ask for some patience and recommend reading through any of those topics started by me. Thanks all

[Joyce&Luna]

That questions are asked here is completely normal.
Not everyone is on Area51 and hardly anyone reads there.
If the blog is just an indication of the upcoming new phpbb, then the topic closes here and leads the discussion to Area51.
But I would advise to move the topic here, here you get more feedback than on Area51.

[3Di]

In fact, it's easier for them to come to the mountain than the mountain to go to them.. poorly speaking.

The Audience is here.

[Hanakin]

That questions are asked here is completely normal.
Not everyone is on Area51 and hardly anyone reads there.
If the blog is just an indication of the upcoming new phpbb, then the topic closes here and leads the discussion to Area51.
But I would advise to move the topic here, here you get more feedback than on Area51.

That is the intent we want to develop this with the style development communities inputs. Keep in mind though area51 is the test/development board as well so there will be features implemented along the way related to backend changes for the new theme. Also we do not want all discussions in one thread that is very confusing and not the intent of this topic. It’s easy to get lost which is why specific discussions will be linked to in the first post that lead to area51.