INAP 3.0 is now truly modular with a main Javascript/PHP core that other features hook into to function. This core is easily extensible and the new structure of a main project with many smaller projects will make bugfixes and upgrades less painful, and will allow the user to upgrade the plugin section by section as most changes in the modules won’t effect the core.

For the users:

1. INAP 3.0 will make upgrades far less painful. With each section managing its own options there won’t be the constant changes to the way little things work.
2. Features will flow more freely, and individual sections will reach maturity faster.
   Individual modules can be deleted without effecting the rest of the plugin. his will help speed up your WP.
3. Most bugs and irritants in the current version of INAP have been removed including the entire reload of the comments section when a comment is posted, the extra text added to links has been minimized, the built in effects have been improved, and the entire plugin is faster and easy to use.

For the developers:

1. INAP 3.0 core now works off of advanced PHP/Javascript/XML and can easily be extended with custom modules.
2. The new license is less restrictive that the previous versions.
3. INAP 3.0 provides a framework that other plugins can hook into to harness its maturity and the hundreds of hours that have gone in to its development.
4. Global variables have been almost entirely eliminated from both the Javascript and PHP—INAP 3.0 will play nice.
5. The Javascript core is entirely independent of the AJAX library used which means that any AJAX library (jQuery, Prototype, Mootools, etc) can be used and and INAP 3.0 will function just as well. Adding new libraries is no harder than adding a couple lines of code.
6. A few well placed actions and template files can make any theme compatible.

Then I started to do the same to Javascript, so the plugin could clarify its variables and functions and still “play nice,” and I swear the all the Javascript was specifically coded to make it difficult. Getting all the variables alone to be readable where and when they needed to be was bad by itself, throw on top of it some of the bad coding style that has just perpetuated itself over the past year in the scripts and the fact that Javascript doesn’t have real classes.

Oh well, I think switching over to Javascript design patterns will be worth it in the long run. I just wish that Javascript had real classes like PHP, so you didn’t have to fake it so much.

In other news, INAP is in the process of a major overhaul including a complete rewrite of most of its antiquated structure. When this process is complete it will be rebranded to demonstrate the totality of its features (it won’t be called INAP anymore because the name is too restrictive), but will be released as version 3.0

I almost cried. That description fits only the 1.0 version of INAP that was released over a year ago–now it does so much more than that that it is almost like saying Google is just a search engine. Oh well, the traffic generated was good quality.

In other news, version 2.4.25 was released a couple days ago to fix a bug that occurs when submitting a comment using the jQuery library under IE6. I think bugfixes this specific really showcase how mature the plugin has become, so if you have used it in the past, but stopped because of bugs, why not try it again?

If you are upgrading or have ever installed INAP before follow the upgrade instructions here.

Please report bugs as soon as you find them, as I will be making bug-fixing releases as they are fixed.

I am also specifically asking for feature ideas for the next version, so drop a note on the main page if you have any.

If you would like to help me test or would like a sneak peak, the current developmental release is available here please read the INAP readme for installation instructions.

Please report any bugs found to this post or the main INAP thread, and ensure you mention that you are using the developmental release.

I think you agree that it is quite impressive even with the special effect bug. INAP is finally maturing and all of its features that were slowly created over time are finally coming together.

You may go to the main INAP page for more information.

Special thanks goes out to Truden for all of his help hunting down them wascily wabbits…er…bugs.

Pun intended.