MageBridge version 1.2 was released in November 2009, and since then, we have not only worked on the code of MageBridge but also on a decent roadmap. Some features that ended up on the roadmap for version 1.3, were actually already shipped in intermediate builds, available to all MageBridge^TM customers.

The very very cool Content Plugin

For instance, one of the great features of MageBridge 1.3 is the Content Plugin, which allows Joomla! content to be parsed by Magento. Through this feature, you can add any code to Joomla! content that could also be added to Magento^TM static blocks or CMS-pages, thus making the integration between Joomla!^TM and Magento complete.

But this Content Plugin has already been part of MageBridge 1.2 since half November. The concept of MageBridge 1.3 is therefor not so much a new version adding new features, but more a milestone with which we say: Hey everybody, now all the features we planned to put into MageBridge are done.

You can already use MageBridge 1.3

Now, half January 2010, most of the features of MageBridge 1.3 are actually already implemented. Therefor we can say that we are totally on schedule when it comes to this new feature. The Content Plugin is there, we have fixed various performance issues making MageBridge faster than ever. We have released seperate RocketTheme patches that allow you to easily build MageBridge webshops using RocketTheme templates. We have already added some JavaScript-tricks to ease the pain of the two conflicting JavaScript frameworks.

Support for Magento widgets

But still, more is awaiting: One of the major improvemens still to come is the support for Magento 1.4. To put it correctly: MageBridge already supports the beta-version of Magento 1.4, and everything works like a charm. But Magento 1.4 brings new features (widgets, TinyMCE-editor) that call for further integration as well.

MageBridge 1.3 will add support for Magento widgets to Joomla! but the next version (MageBridge 1.4) will even go further by adding a JCE-editor plugin. This will make managing your webshop even easier than before.

Anahita social engine

Another feature that is on the roadmap is integration with Anahita. Anahita is going to be one of the hottest extensions in 2010. It is a social engine that is flexible enough to setup any social website you can imagine. Think about Community Builder and JomSocial, and imagine those components to work without problems and design flaws - that's Anahita.

Integrating Anahita with MageBridge is actually a piece of cake, but we needed to give other things more priortity. Yireo^TM will soon become an Anahita partner and start with the integration. We have decided to make the Anahita integration part of MageBridge 1.4, not version 1.3.

Almost there

Looking at the story above, we can actually say that MageBridge 1.3 is already there. All of the major features that were planned are already shipped in the current builds of MageBridge, and the only topic that was not (widgets) was not even on the original roadmap to begin with. Still there are improvements to be made.

For instance, we have started working on the various issues that surround the conflict between Prototype and MooTools. Surely we can't solve the conflict itself, but what we can do is offer alternatives so you can make the right choice easier. That will be one of our primary goals coming months.