squirrelmail/ReleaseNotes

/*****************************************************************
 * Release Notes: SquirrelMail 1.5.2                             *
 * The "" Release                                                *
 * 2006-xx-xx                                                    *
*****************************************************************/

WARNING. If you can read this, then you are reading file from cvs and not
final release notes.


In this edition of SquirrelMail Release Notes:
   * All About This Release!
   * Major Updates
   * Security Updates
   * Plugin Updates
   * Possible Issues
   * Backwards Incompatible Changes
   * Data Directory Changes
   * Reporting Your Favorite SquirrelMail Bug


All About This Release!
=======================
This is the second release of our new 1.5.x-series, which is a
DEVELOPMENT release.

See the Major Updates section of this file for more information.


Major Updates
==============
Rewritten IMAP functions and optimized IMAP data caching code. Internal
sorting functions should be faster than code used in SquirrelMail <= 1.5.0. 
Together with the optimized caching code, all the logic concerning sorting has
been rewritten so that Squirrelmail can display more columns with sort support 
in the messages list. I.e. the From and To column in the same view sorted on
size.  Also, the number of IMAP calls is reduced by smarter caching in the IMAP
mailbox area and by the optimized header and sort cache code.  Reducing the
amount of IMAP calls will lower the load on your IMAP server and  increase 
SquirrelMail performance.

In-house gettext implementation replaced with PHP Gettext classes. Update adds
ngettext and dgettext support.

Begin work on separating the SquirrelMail internal logic from user interface
related logic.  This has resulted in the first (very) rough CSS-based PHP 
templates.  In future releases we will finish the mentioned separation and work
on simpler templates.

Added JavaScript-based message row highlighting code (disabled by default) for
faster selection of messages in the messages list.

Usage of a centralized error handler.  Development will continue in 1.5.2.

SquirrelMail has started using internal cookie functions in order to have more
control over cookie format. Cookies set with sqsetcookie() function now use an
extra parameter (HttpOnly) to secure cookie information by making the cookie
not accessible to scripts (particularly, JavaScript).  This feature is only 
supported in browsers that follow the MSDN cookie specifications (see
http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/author/dhtml/httponly_cookies.asp).  
Currently this is limited to IE6 >= SP1.

SquirrelMail IMAP and SMTP libraries now support use of STARTTLS extension.  
The code is experimental and requires PHP 5.1.0 or newer with
stream_socket_enable_crypto() function support enabled.

Updated wrapping functions in compose. New wrapping code improves quoting
of text chapters. Thanks to Justus Pendleton.

Added code for advanced searching in messages. Now it's possible to switch
between normal search and advanced search.

Main SquirrelMail code implements view_as_html and folder_settings plugin 
features. These plugins should not be used in SquirrelMail 1.5.1.


Security Updates
================
This release contains security fixes applied to development branch after 1.5.0
release:
 CVE-2004-0521 - SQL injection vulnerability in address book.
 CVE-2004-1036 - XSS exploit in decodeHeader function.
 CVE-2005-0075 - Potential file inclusion in preference backend selection code.
 CVE-2005-0103 - Possible file/offsite inclusion in src/webmail.php.
 CVE-2005-0104 - Possible XSS issues in src/webmail.php.
 CVE-2005-1769 - Several cross site scripting (XSS) attacks.
 CVE-2005-2095 - Extraction of all POST variables in advanced identity code.
 CVE-2006-0188 - Possible XSS through right_frame parameter in webmail.php.
 CVE-2006-0195 - Possible XSS in MagicHTML, IE only.
 CVE-2006-0377 - IMAP injection in sqimap_mailbox_select mailbox parameter.

If you use SquirrelMail 1.5.0, you should upgrade to 1.5.1 or downgrade to latest
stable SquirrelMail version.


Plugin Updates
==============
Added site configuration options for filters, fortune, translate, newmail,
bug_report plugins. Improved newmail and change_password plugins. Fixed data
corruption issues in calendar plugin.

SquirrelSpell plugin was updated to use generic SquirrelMail preference functions.
User preferences and personal dictionaries that were stored in .words files are
moved to .pref files or other configured user data storage backend.


Possible Issues
===============
Internal SquirrelMail cookie implementation is experimental. If you have cookie
expiration or corruption issues and can reproduce them only in 1.5.1 version,
contact one of the SquirrelMail developers and to help them debug the issue.

SquirrelMail 1.5.1 changed some functions and hooks. login_form hook requires
different coding style.  html_top, html_bottom, internal_link hooks have been
removed.  src/move_messages.php code has been moved to the main mailbox listing
script. Some hooks may be broken after implementation of templates, especially
in mailbox listing pages.  soupNazi() function has been replaced with the 
checkForJavascript() function.  sqimap_messages_delete(), 
sqimap_messages_copy(), sqimap_messages_flag() and sqimap_get_small_header()
functions are now obsolete.  Some IMAP functions return data in different
format.  If plugins depend on changed or removed functions, they will break in
this version of SquirrelMail.

This SquirrelMail version added http headers that prevent caching of pages by
proxies. Headers are added in SquirrelMail displayHtmlHeader() function. Changes
require that html output is not started before displayHtmlHeader() is called. If 
some code starts output, PHP errors will be displayed. If plugins display 
notices in options_save hook and don't stop script execution on error, page 
display will be broken.

SquirrelMail 1.5.1 implemented code that unregisters globals in PHP
register_globals=on setups.  Plugins that load main SquirrelMail functions and
depend on PHP register_globals=on will be broken.

IMAP sorting/threading
By default, SquirrelMail will make use of the capabilities provided by the IMAP
server. This means that if the IMAP server supports SORT and THREAD sorting then
SquirrelMail makes use of it. Some broken IMAP servers advertise the SORT and
THREAD capabilities although they do not support it. For those IMAP servers
there is a config option to disable the use of SORT and THREAD sort.

Backward Incompatible Changes
=============================
Index order options are modified in 1.5.1 version. If older options are
detected, interface upgrades to newer option format and deletes old options.

In version 1.5.1, SquirrelSpell user dictionaries are saved with generic
SquirrelMail data functions.  SquirrelSpell should copy older dictionaries
if dictionary version information is not present in user preferences. Once
the dictionary is copied, <username>.words files are obsolete and no longer
updated.

If the same data directory is used with other backwards incompatible versions,
the older SquirrelMail version may lose some user preferences or work with
outdated data.  Admins are advised to use a separate data directory for the 
1.5.1 release.  The data directory can be configured by running configure.

Data Directory
==============
The directory data/ is no longer included in our tarball. Since placing this
directory under a web-accessible directory is not very wise, we've decided to
not pack it anymore.  Admins will need to create it. Please choose a location
that's safe (not web accessible), e.g. /var/squirrelmail/data.

Reporting Your Favorite SquirrelMail Bug
========================================
We constantly aim to make SquirrelMail even better, so we need you to submit
any bugs you come across! Also, please mention that the bug is in this release
(version 1.5.1), and list your IMAP server and web server details.  Bugs can be
submitted at:

   http://squirrelmail.org/bugs

Thanks for your cooperation with this. This helps ensure that nothing slips
through the cracks.  Also, please search the bug database for existing items
before submitting a new bug.  This will help to eliminate duplicate reports and
increase the time we can spend FIXING existing bugs by DECREASING the time we
spend sorting through bug reports.  Remember to check for CLOSED bug reports
also, not just OPEN bug reports, in case a bug you want to report may have been
recently fixed in our source code repository.

If you want to join us in coding SquirrelMail, or have other things to share
with the developers, join the development mailing list:

   squirrelmail-devel@lists.sourceforge.net


About Our Release Alias
=======================
This release is labeled the "Fire in the Hole" release. "Fire in the Hole" is
a phrase used to warn of the detonation of an explosive device. The phrase may
have been originated by miners, who made extensive use of explosives while
working underground.

This release has been created to get a fixed package after more than two years
of development in the CVS HEAD branch.  This package contains many experimental
changes.  These changes add new features that can/will be unstable and/or 
create an inconsistent UI.  If you want to use stable code, you should stick to
the 1.4.x series of SquirrelMail.  If you find issues in this package, make
sure that they are still present in the latest development code snapshots.  To
obtain thelatest development snapshot, see 
	
	http://squirrelmail.org/download.php#snapshot

                  Happy SquirrelMailing!
                    - The SquirrelMail Project Team