buddypress-logoWe generally do not post about WordPress, BuddyPress and other software releases here. But BuddyPress 1.8 has a connection which makes this release valuable.

Saurabh Shukla (yapapaya on Github), project manager and lead-developer on rtMedia (formerly BuddyPress-Media) submitted a patch to BuddyPress 1.8 which is live now. A proud moment for team rtCamp 🙂

BP has refined its packaged styles, allowing elements such as buttons, text, and forms to inherit styling more seamlessly from your active theme. The top-tier BP templates now offer a comprehensive template hierarchy, enabling theme developers to use standardized naming conventions to provide custom templates for specific contexts, such as groups/single/index-id-35.php for group #35.

The development version of BuddyPress now syncs with WordPress’s automated testing suite and includes a growing number of unit tests. The query functions for Activity and Groups now support meta_query parameters, and Groups also accepts ‘order’ and ‘orderby’, allowing for more complex directory filters.

The BP_Group_Extension has undergone a significant rewrite for enhanced usability and a more robust feature set for developers. The new BP_Group_Member_Query class offers a flexible and powerful foundation for bp_group_has_members(), including new role filters and improved sorting tools. The Groups Administration Dashboard panels now have improved group member management, making it easier to manage groups with a large member base.

Link: BuddyPress 1.8 Release Post