Midgard 8.09.0 beta1 released

Lodz, August 27th 2008 -- The Midgard Project has released first beta
release of 8.09 stable generation of the Midgard Open Source Content
Management System.

# About the release

Midgard 8.09.0beta1 "Ragnaroek" beta release is the first one released with
new releasing policy which focuses on scheduled Midgard releases. Also it's
the first one which changes versioning rules used for previous releases.

Midgard 8.09 "Ragnaroek" has been designed as a version easing the
transition from Midgard 1.x to Midgard 2. To aid developers, the release
includes both the classic Midgard APIs that are now deprecated, and the new
schema-based Midgard 2 APIs.  This means that the release can be used to
run both Midgard 1 applications like the version 2.8 of the MidCOM
component framework, and Midgard 2 applications like MidCOM 3.

Some new and experimental features of Midgard 2 series like D-Bus signaling
on I/O events is also available on Midgard 8.09.

[Read more about changes][1].

# Midgard

Midgard is a capable open source content management system for running
mid-to-high-end websites. In addition to the built-in content management
features, Midgard also provides a highly object-oriented component
architecture for building interactive web applications that integrate
seamlessly with the website.

Midgard provides unique technology so can be easily integrated with any
kind of environment. From web applications ( Midgard CMS with its component
framework - MidCOM ) to typical desktop ones ( Midgard Framework ).  From
personal blog to corporate portals and intranets.

Midgard is also language independent and due to its powerful architecture
is proved as stable, secure and flexible solution implemented in high range
of environmental targets:

    * PHP, Python or Java applications
    * PHP extension
    * Python module
    * Apache module
    * GTK desktop applications
	
Get started with Midgard 8.09 today!

Midgard CMS provides a powerful toolkit for web publishing and building
interactive web applications. The features include:

    * Comprehensive authoring tools
    * Website management
    * Multilingual support
    * User management and access control
    * Web development

[Read][1] more about features and [learn how to create content][5].

# Planned for next releases

* First stable release of 8.09 branch (Ragnaroek): September 2008
* First Midgard2 9.03 stable release : March 2009
* Automated database MgdSchema management and table initialization
* Deprecation of the classic functional Midgard API in favor of
  MgdSchema and Query Builder
* Integrated midgard-python and mono package
* PostgreSQL, SQLite and MS SQL support

# Midgard resources

* [Download page and changelog for latest release][1]
* [Documentation][6]
* [Bugs reporting][7]

# User and developers support:

* Mailing list
* [Users' forum][2]
* [Developers' forum][3]
* IRC: #midgard on irc.freenode.net

# About Midgard

The Midgard Content Management Framework was initially released in May
1999, and has since gathered a sizable user and developer
community. Midgard powers thousands of web sites ranging from simple
organizational websites to major portals like maemo.org, New Zealand
eGovernment site and Playbill.

Midgard is being developed by an international team of professionals.
Midgard's development team includes new media designers, system integrators
and content management consultants. Midgard development is being supported
by several commercial and governmental entities including the European
Union.

Piotr Pokora, Midgard release manager
piotrek.pokora(at)gmail.com

Henri Bergius, Midgard spokesman
henri.bergius(at)iki.fi

The Midgard Project
<http://www.midgard-project.org>

[1]: http://www.midgard-project.org/download/8-9.html
[2]: http://www.midgard-project.org/discussion/user-forum/
[3]: http://www.midgard-project.org/discussion/developer-forum/
[5]:
http://www.midgard-project.org/documentation/content-prod...
[6]: http://www.midgard-project.org/documentation/
[7]: http://trac.midgard-project.org