Hello Everyone,

Komodo 4.0 Beta 3 is now available. This release includes over 100 bug
fixes to Beta 2 and some new features. Our current plans are to have a
final release in early 2007, with one or two more Beta releases as we
further refine the user experience, fine tune the Code Intelligence
features, improve performance and squash more bugs.

You can download Komodo 4.0 Beta 3 at:
      http://www.activestate.com/products/komodo/beta.plex

Note that this build is of beta quality and hence not recommended for
full daily use.


Changes in Komodo 4.0 Beta 3:


* JavaScript API catalog selection in preferences. Completion is now
provided for several popular JavaScript libraries.
* Basic Rails completion. Completion is now provided on the default
Rails API's. Completion on custom application code is not yet implemented.
* Extension support for Code Intelligence API catalogs.


Notable Bug Fixes in Komodo 4.0 Beta 3:

* Codeintel (autocomplete/calltips) fixes and improvements:
       o JavaScript
       o XML/HTML
       o PHP
       o Ruby
* Samba support for Live Folders
* Project debugging support/preferences/dialogs fixed
* changing include/exclude preferences for folders fixed
* some errors loading templates have been fixed
* HTTP Inspector UI cleanup
* fix reading remote files under 4K in size
* fixes for opening remote files
* paste fixes in Vi emulation mode
* better support for HTML fragements in DOM Viewer
* search improvements in DOM Viewer
* fixed running Komodo on Windows Vista


Known Issues:

- The Object Browser has been removed in this release and will not
   reappear for the 4.0 release.  A new feature will appear in a point
   release for the 4.x series to replace the Object Browser.
- Some capabilities in autocomplete are not available in this release.
    They will be reintroduced and/or expanded in future beta releases.


Major New Features in Komodo 4.0:

There are so many new and exciting features, we hardly know how to list
them all!  In no important order at all, here's a preview of the new
features and improvements in Komodo 4.0.

- Vi Emulation: Modal keybindings which emulate the navigation, text
    insertion and command behavior of Vi. Custom commands can be
    implemented by adding Komodo macros to a Vi Commands Toolbox folder.

- HTTP Inspector: An interface for examining HTTP requests and responses
    as they happen. It runs a local proxy which intercepts HTTP traffic
    and records each transaction, which can then be viewed. The Inspector
    can break on a request or response, which can then be edited and
    submitted or re-submitted in its modified form.

- SFTP and SCP: Komodo now supports access to remote files via SFTP and
    SCP.  Saved password information for all remote servers is stored
    securely in Mozilla's native password manager, or you can use a key
    agent to manage your secure authentications.

- JavaScript Debugging: Komodo now offers JavaScript debugging using the
    Firefox web browser and the JavaScript DBGP extension. With the
    extension enabled, loading JavaScript or triggering JavaScript
    controls in the browser window opens a debugging session in Komodo,
    which loads the relevant JavaScript code.

- Redesigned Code Intelligence backend: reimplementation of PHP, Python,
    Perl, Ruby, JavaScript, XML and CSS Code Intelligence support.  The
    Code Intelligence system is the backend for many of Komodo's features,
    such as autocomplete, calltips and the code browser.

- PHP "Zero Configuration": It has no User Interface, and you will never
    see it do anything, but it will make debugging PHP with Komodo easier
    than ever before!

- Live Folders: Komodo projects now offer Live Folders which display
    current filesystem contents.  Live folders also provide some basic
    file management, including the ability to show the current file or
    folder in your regular file manager.  The previous folder behavior is
    still available; these folders are now referred to as "Virtual
    Folders" in the documentation.

- Schema-based XML/HTML autocomplete and calltips: Komodo now supports
    autocomplete and calltips support for XML and HTML based on DTD or
    RelaxNG schemas. SGML and XML Catalogs are supported.

- DOM Viewer: A new pane shows the DOM structure of XML and HTML
    documents in a tree view. Double-clicking on a node in the DOM Viewer
    moves the cursor to the corresponding node in the document.

- User-Defined Languages: Komodo 4 introduces a system for adding custom
    language support called UDL (User-Defined Languages) which allows
    Komodo to properly syntax-color multi-language files and templated
    files common in many web programming frameworks.  We use UDL to
    provide better support for RHTML, Template-Toolkit, HTML-Mason,
    Smarty, Django and Luddite (the language used to develop new UDL).

- Project Templates: Projects templates can be created and used when
    creating a new project. They are a great way to add new functionality
    for project-specific needs, such as rsync, Rails and more.

- SCC History: A new option has been added to the Source Control menu
    which displays the revision history of a file. You can compare (diff)
    two selected revisions from the list, or select one and compare it to
    the local copy.

- XPI Extension Support:  Komodo supports the installation of extensions
    using the same technologies that Firefox uses.  A short FAQ that
    describes the creation of a simple "Hello World" extension is
    available at support.activestate.com.


Licensing

- Komodo 4.0 Beta 3 has a built-in license that will expire in six
    weeks. We'll have a new build for you to play with before then.

- This build can be installed alongside Komodo 3.x installations,
    however previous Komodo 4.0 Alpha/Beta installations should be removed.


Happy Holidays!
Shane Caraveo
Komodo Tech Lead