ExpressionEngine 2.0 Accepting Developer Preview Applications

Ellislab have just announced that they are now accepting developer preview applications for ExpressionEngine 2.0.

It’s been a long time coming – ExpressionEngine 2.0 was originally anticipated for the Summer 2008. But, as all good developers do, that line has changed to: “When it’s ready”.

For many of us, we first saw ExpressionEngine 2.0 in action when it was shown at SXSW last year. Since then, we’ve heard bits and pieces, but very little in the way of major milestones being achieved (with the exception of feature lockdown).

Alright, that’s enough links for now!

Imagine my suprise when I opened my RSS reader and discovered that ExpressionEngine 2.0 is now in a state to accept developer preview applications? Well, I almost jumped out of my seat!

Ah, momentous occasions! We’ve hit another milestone and are therefore opening up the application process for the Developer Preview of ExpressionEngine 2.0. The developer preview release version is code named “Kaylee”, so you’ll see us make references to Kaylee regularly during the coming weeks.

We’re excited about the progress being made, and we know you’re excited as well to have another visible mark of our forward momentum

- Derek Jones, Chief Technology Officer, EllisLab, Inc.

I’m not sure what the code name is all about, maybe someone can shed some light on it?

But – Now to the important stuff.

For quite a while I’ve been convinced that the release of ExpressionEngine 2.0 will also mean the release of a new version of CodeIgniter. Despite no definite word from Ellislab, I’ve just got this feeling in my gut, as have many other members of the CodeIgniter community.

We’ve recently seen a Cart Class enter the CodeIgniter SVN, and ExpressionEngine 2.0 probably has many other libraries that will find their way back into the CodeIgniter source. It seems like the perfect time to release a major CodeIgniter version.

The important thing, is that now we’re getting much closer to having a great CMS built in CodeIgniter. It’s something that we’ve always lacked, and I’ve even experimented with building.

Ellislab are about to open EE’s doors to thousands of CodeIgniter developers, which will see their CMS grow with addons, plugins, widgets, etc… faster than they could imagine.

If you’re a CodeIgniter developer, ExpressionEngine is worth watching right now. After all, if a client needs a site building with a CMS, sure you could use one of thousands of open source applications that are available. But, if you roll out with ExpressionEngine, you’ll already know how to build addons, themes, and all the other goodness that comes from your CodeIgniter experience.

I do have some concerns though.

• Firstly, the pricing for ExpressionEngine 2.0 has not been published yet, and Ellislab have not closed the door on a price-change.
• Secondly, with the pricing issue, wordpress is still looking like a fantastic system for its price ($0). So if Ellislab really want to take a bigger chunk of the market, they could do with improving their free/non-commercial offering.

I’m personally looking forward to ditching my wordpress blog in favor of ExpressionEngine if 2.0 is as good as it’s already looking.

What are your thoughts?