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Django 1.2 RC 1 release notes

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May 5, 2010

Welcome to the first Django 1.2 release candidate!

This is the third -- and likely last -- in a series of

preview/development releases leading up to the eventual release of

Django 1.2. This release is targeted primarily at developers who are

interested in trying out new features and testing the Django codebase

to help identify and resolve any critical bugs prior to the final 1.2

release.

As such, this release is not yet intended for production use, and any

such use is discouraged.

Django has been feature frozen since the 1.2 beta release, so this

release candidate contains no new features, only bugfixes; for a

summary of features new to Django 1.2, consult the :doc:`1.2 alpha

</releases/1.2-alpha-1>` and :doc:`1.2 beta </releases/1.2-beta-1>`

release notes.

Python compatibility

====================

While not a new feature, it's important to note that Django 1.2

introduces the first shift in our Python compatibility policy since

Django's initial public debut. Previous Django releases were tested

and supported on 2.x Python versions from 2.3 up; Django 1.2, however,

drops official support for Python 2.3. As such, the minimum Python

version required for Django is now 2.4, and Django is tested and

supported on Python 2.4, 2.5 and 2.6, and will be supported on the

as-yet-unreleased Python 2.7.

This change should affect only a small number of Django users, as most

operating-system vendors today are shipping Python 2.4 or newer as

their default version. If you're still using Python 2.3, however,

you'll need to stick to Django 1.1 until you can upgrade; per

:doc:`our support policy </internals/release-process>`, Django 1.1 will

continue to receive security support until the release of Django 1.3.

A roadmap for Django's overall 2.x Python support, and eventual

transition to Python 3.x, is currently being developed, and will be

announced prior to the release of Django 1.3.

The Django 1.2 roadmap

======================

As of this release candidate, Django 1.2 is in both feature freeze and

"string freeze" -- all strings marked for translation in the Django

codebase will retain their current form in the final Django 1.2

release. Only critical release-blocking bugs, documentation and

updated translation files will receive attention between now and the

final 1.2 release. Note that Django's localization infrastructure has

been expanded for 1.2, and translation packages should now include a

``formats.py`` file containing data for localized formatting of

numbers and dates.

If no critical bugs are discovered, Django 1.2 will be released

approximately one week after this release candidate, on or about May

12, 2010.

What you can do to help

=======================

In order to provide a high-quality 1.2 release, we need your

help. Although this release candidate is, again, *not* intended for

production use, you can help the Django team by trying out this

release candidate in a safe testing environment and reporting any bugs

or issues you encounter. The Django ticket tracker is the central

place to search for open issues:

    * http://code.djangoproject.com/timeline

Please open a new ticket only if no existing ticket corresponds to a

problem you're running into.

Additionally, discussion of Django development, including progress

toward the 1.2 release, takes place daily on the django-developers

mailing list:

    * http://groups.google.com/group/django-developers

... and in the ``#django-dev`` IRC channel on ``irc.freenode.net``. If you're

interested in helping out with Django's development, feel free to join the

discussions there.

Django's online documentation also includes pointers on how to contribute to

Django: 

    * :doc:`How to contribute to Django </internals/contributing>`

Contributions on any level -- developing code, writing documentation or simply

triaging tickets and helping to test proposed bugfixes -- are always welcome and

appreciated.