Getting ready for Django 1.7

Django 1.7 is shaping up to be the biggest Django release since 1.0. It has a new app loading framework, a new checks framework, many improvements to query construction, and most importantly - Migrations.

Since it's going to be such a big release, we need your help! If we're going to publish a high quality, bug free release, and do it on schedule, we need everyone in the community to pitch in. Django releases are only as good as the testing they receive, and we can only fix the bugs that people report. So - if you're wondering how you can get involved with Django development, now is the perfect time. Download the Django 1.7 beta, and run your existing projects and test suites against it. If you spot any problems, let us know by opening a ticket.

But it's not all hard work. Since this is such a big release, we thought it might be nice to celebrate - with a shirt!

Starting today, we're running a TeeSpring campaign to sell a 1.7 release shirt. We've commissioned some artwork especially for this campaign; this artwork is available on:

a Men's American Apparel "New silver" T-shirt ($20),

a Women's Bella "Athletic heather" T-shirt ($19.50), or

a Gildan 8oz "Ash Grey" hoodie ($30.50).

$10 from every item sold goes to the Django Software Foundation, to help fund activities like sprints, and travel grants to DjangoCon.

TeeSpring is a crowd funding site - so we need to hit a minimum of 200 sales to confirm the print run. If we don't hit that target, there won't be any shirts! It also means that there's a time limit - you need to place your order by April 24. If you don't place an order before then, you'll miss out!

So - get testing, place your orders, and spread the word!