SilverStripe CMS 3.0 alpha 1 spotted in the wild

SilverStripe CMS 3.0 Alpha 1 has been spotted in the wild and if you are looking to see what the next generation of this popular open source CMS / framework has to offer, now is the time.

Check out this screenshot of the new interface in development:

The most notable change from previous versions is the separation of the Framework from the CMS, which is now a standalone tool. The release boasts an entirely revamped user-interface, making it more intuitive and visually appealing for the user, with the addition of a customisable UI based on themes. The ‘preview’ function has seen a major improvement, enabling users to switch between the CMS and previewed content much more easily than previous versions, which SilverStripe believes will greatly speed up the work of CMS authors.

As with any major version release, expectations are set high on new “under the hood” features and upgrades. Developers can expect a rewritten ORM and template engine, and a move to using jQuery for CMS user interface. SilverStripe has also built GridField, a replacement for ComplexTableField based on the new ORM.

Alpha also sees a new deprecation API, which will be used to build more sophisticated upgrading tools prior to the stable release.

The road to 3.0 stable will involve improving and polishing the core UI, the addition of a YAML-based configuration system, Dependency Injection, further performance improvements, in particular speed, introducing jQuery to form validation, and further enhancements to ORM and GridField.

More info can be found on the SilverStripe blog