GNOME.org
 

[release-notes] Initial 41 draft

commit 0f98fe02301807ea17a0225d9086e8b982c42973
Author: Allan Day <allanpday gmail com>
Date:   Wed Aug 25 10:24:55 2021 +0100

    Initial 41 draft
    
    Rough draft, just formatted in Markdown for now.

 help/C/developers.page | 130 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++----------
 help/C/index.page      | 131 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++---------------------
 2 files changed, 179 insertions(+), 82 deletions(-)
---
diff --git a/help/C/developers.page b/help/C/developers.page
index 2ef80f30..fc3fa924 100644
--- a/help/C/developers.page
+++ b/help/C/developers.page
@@ -21,32 +21,108 @@
     </license>
   </info>
 
-  <title>What’s New for Developers and System Administrators</title>
-
-  <p>GNOME &gnomeversion; includes many new features and improvements for those
-  working with GNOME technologies. Read on for more details!</p>
-
-  <section id="lorem-ipsum">
-    <title>Lorem Ipsum, aptent taciti</title>
-    <media type="image" src="figures/placeholder.png">Placeholder</media>
-    <p>Aliquam erat volutpat. Duis sit amet ante ligula. Vivamus convallis urna
-    ante, eu accumsan ligula consequat et. Vivamus fringilla mi ex, at efficitur
-    lacus volutpat in. Fusce at accumsan sem. Nunc a nibh in arcu gravida
-    gravida. Duis metus purus, tempus non congue ac, sollicitudin id mi. Lorem
-    ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.</p>
-    <list>
-      <item><p><gui>Vestibulum</gui> eget volutpat urna. Nulla
-      <key>finibus</key> eros id tincidunt maximus.</p></item>
-    </list>
-  </section>
-
-  <section id="more">
-    <title>Other Improvements</title>
-    <p>Other improvements in GNOME &gnomeversion; include:</p>
-    <list>
-      <item><p><app>Donec</app> suscipit lectus a mauris maximus venenatis.
-      Etiam gravida mauris magna, sed lacinia sapien accumsan et.</p></item>
-    </list>
-  </section>
+  <title>What’s New for Developers</title>
+
+GNOME 41 includes some significant improvements for developers and those using with the GNOME platform.
+
+### Docs, docs, docs
+
+GNOME 41 is accompanied by an extravaganza of documentation improvements!
+
+#### Revamped documentation websites
+
+Since GNOME 40, GNOME main developer website has been replaced, [with a new, streamlined 
portal](https://developer.gnome.org/documentation/), which provides access to the main sources of 
documentation for those using the GNOME platform.
+
+This is coupled with a [new developer docs site](https://developer.gnome.org/documentation/), which includes 
the most up to date and relevant general developer documentation. This includes 
[guidelines](https://developer.gnome.org/documentation/guidelines.html) on general programming conventions, 
accessibility, and localization, as well as shorter 
[tutorials](https://developer.gnome.org/documentation/tutorials.html) on common developer tasks
+
+The new docs site also includes a new [introduction to the GNOME 
platform](https://developer.gnome.org/documentation/introduction.html), with an overview of included 
components and services, information on the various programming languages that can be used, and introductions 
to Builder and Flatpak.
+
+#### Better API documentation
+
+GTK's documentation is now generated using the new gi-docgen tool, resulting in more accurate and consistent 
documentation, and improved websites. GTK documentation now uses gi-docgen; all its docs can be found at 
[docs.gtk.org](https://docs.gtk.org/), which includes documentation for:
+
+ - [GTK](https://docs.gtk.org/gtk4/), [GDK](https://docs.gtk.org/gdk4/), [GSK](https://docs.gtk.org/gsk4/)
+ - [Pango](https://docs.gtk.org/Pango/)
+ - [GdkPixbuf](https://docs.gtk.org/gdk-pixbuf/)
+ - [GLib](https://docs.gtk.org/glib/), [GObject](https://docs.gtk.org/gobject/), 
[GIO](https://docs.gtk.org/gio/)
+
+#### Rewritten Human Interface Guidelines
+
+Developer docs aren't the only documentation to have been revamped during the GNOME 41 cycle: [GNOME's 
design documentation](https://developer.gnome.org/hig/) has also been overhauled.
+
+Existing content has been updated to match contemporary design practice, as well as to make the guidelines 
easier to use. The HIG has also been expanded with additional material on accessibility, adaptive UI, UI 
styling, navigation structures, and more.
+
+### Better Builder
+
+Builder, the GNOME IDE, has a large collection of enhancements for GNOME 41.
+
+#### Find in Files
+
+Builder's "find in files" feature, which allows finding and replacing strings across an entire project, has 
been redesigned for GNOME 41. It is now located in a persistent section in the bottom panel, which makes it 
easier to find and access, and has a new search UI, which makes it easy to specify queries and browse results 
across a project.
+
+#### CMake and Make support
+
+In GNOME 41, Builder can now build and run CMake projects. TODO: more details needed here. You can just 
click the run button and off it will go? Do you need a Flatpak manifest, or can you specify the build 
configuration in a more generic CMake-y way?
+
+Builder can now also build projects that use a pure Make build setup, in a Flatpak environment, thanks to 
now being able to hardle `make-args` and `make-install-args`.
+
+#### Connected devices
+
+Builder has had the ability to detect connected devices, and build and deploy Flatpak bundles to them. Now, 
with GNOME 41, this all works much more automatically: just press the run button, and Builder will build and 
deploy to the device for you.
+
+#### Markdown previews
+
+Builder has a new markdown renderer for GNOME 41, which produces much better-formatted Markdown previews.
+
+### GTK 4
+
+There have been three minor updates to GTK 4 since the GNOME 40 release: 4.2, 4.3, and 4.4. These have 
included various various enhancements and bug fixes:
+
+ - NGL renderer has continued to see improvements. This includes speedups, fixes for transformed rendering, 
avoiding huge intermediate textures, and correct handling of partial color fonts.
+ - GTK Inspector is now enabled by default, to make debugging easier.
+ - There have been various improvements to GTK 4 on Windows:
+   - GL is now used for media playback
+   - The `WinPointer` API for tablets and other input devices now, replacing the outdated `wintab` API
+   - Improved DND support, including the dropping of the local DND protocol
+
+### libadwaita
+
+libadwaita is the new GTK 4 companion library for GNOME. It provides the default GNOME stylesheet, 
additional widgets, and convenience functionality for those creating apps for the GNOME platform.
+
+libadwaita has made steady progress during the GNOME 41 development cycle, with an initial 1.0 planned.
+
+A new base class for apps – `AdwApplication` – reduces repetitive code and handles library initialization. 
Unread badges have been added to view switchers, window shadows have been improved, and additional style 
options have been included, such as the `.flat` style for header bars, the `.numeric` style for tabular 
figures, and the `.pill` button style.
+
+Documentation on how to use each of the options provided by libadwaita will be included in the Human 
Interface Guidelines, to coincide with libadwaita 1.0.
+
+### GJS
+
+GJS, which provides JavaScript bindings for the GNOME platform, has a number of improvements for GNOME 41:
+
+ - The memory usage has been reduced by 40 bytes per GObject.
+ - The `TextEncoder`and `TextDecoder` global objects have been added, which should be used instead of 
importing the old `imports.ByteArray` module.
+ - An `ignoreCaughtExceptions` option has been added to the GJS debugger, to not break on exceptions if they 
are already going to be caught elsewhere in the code.
+ - Documentation for new contributors has been updated.
+
+GJS 41 also includes a good collection of bug fixes.
+
+### gtk-rs
+
+Rust support for the GNOME platform has made significant progress since GNOME 40:
+
+ - Bindings are now provided for GTK 4 and associated libraries.
+ - It's now easy to get started with Rust and GTK 4, thanks to the new [GUI development with Rust and GTK 
4](https://gtk-rs.org/gtk4-rs/stable/latest/book/) book. Additionally, the [GTK Rust 
template](https://gitlab.gnome.org/bilelmoussaoui/gtk-rust-template) can also be used as the basis for new 
GTK 4 Rust projects.
+ - GTK composite templates are now supported, allowing more efficient creation of custom widgets. [An 
example](https://github.com/gtk-rs/gtk4-rs/tree/0.1/examples/composite_template) shows how this can be used 
in practice.
+ - Aside from these other major changes, there have been many other smaller improvements, including better 
documentation, additional glib macros, simpler subclassing, and more.
+
+The [gtk-rs blog contains more information](https://gtk-rs.org/blog/2021/06/22/new-release.html) about many 
of these improvements.
+
+### And that's not all
+
+Other improvements for developers include:
+
+ - Tracker is now available for Mac, [via Homebrew](https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew-core/pull/80281).
+ - Devhelp now supports API references generated with gi-docgen (GTK4, gdk-pixbuf, Pango).
+ - Apps can request the high-performance power profile.
 
 </page>
diff --git a/help/C/index.page b/help/C/index.page
index f8c16c8a..c863946e 100644
--- a/help/C/index.page
+++ b/help/C/index.page
@@ -23,63 +23,84 @@ xmlns:e="http://projectmallard.org/experimental/"; type="guide" id="index">
 
   <title>Introducing GNOME &gnomeversion;</title>
 
-  <p>GNOME &gnomeversion; is the latest version of GNOME, and is the result of 6
-  months’ hard work by the GNOME community. It contains major new features, as
-  well as many smaller improvements and bug fixes. In total, the release
-  incorporates &gitcommits; changes, made by approximately &gitauthors;
-  contributors.</p>
-
-  <p>This release is dedicated to ...</p>
-
-  <section id="power-profiles">
-    <title>More Power To You</title>
-    <media type="image" src="figures/placeholder.png"/>
-    <p>The new power profiles introduced in GNOME &lastversion; are integrated
-    into the desktop in GNOME &gnomeversion;. Low power mode is automatically
-    enabled when the battery level is low. Not only that, but the screen will
-    dim sooner to reduce power consumption even more.</p>
-    <p>Applications can request certain power profiles in certain situations.
-    For example, a game can request the performance profile. The active requests
-    are listed in the <app>Settings</app> <gui>Power</gui> section.</p>
-    <p>Power profiles can be changed easily right from the system status menu,
-    making it easy than ever to manage power consumption.</p>
-  </section>
+GNOME 41 is the product of 6 months' work by the GNOME project. It includes a number of significant 
improvements and new features, as well as a large collection of smaller enhancements.
 
-  <section id="multitasking">
-    <title>Multitasking</title>
-    <media type="image" src="figures/placeholder.png"/>
-    <p>The new <gui>Multitasking</gui> section in <app>Settings</app> enables
-    users to customize common multitasking options:</p>
-    <list>
-      <item><p>Enable or disable the <gui>Activities</gui> hot
-      corner.</p></item>
-      <item><p>Enable or disable the <gui>Active Screen Edges</gui>.</p></item>
-      <item><p>Configure <gui>Workspaces</gui> to be either dynamic or a fixed
-      number.</p></item>
-      <item><p>Show workspaces on all displays or on the primary display
-      only.</p></item>
-      <item><p>When switching applications, whether to include applications from
-      all workspaces or only the current workspace.</p></item>
-    </list>
-  </section>
-  
-  <section id="and-thats-not-all">
-    <title>And That’s Not All</title>
-    <p>GNOME &gnomeversion; includes many other smaller improvements,
-    including:</p>
-    <list>
-      <item><p><app>Lorem ipsum</app> dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing
-      elit. Aliquam nisi enim, aliquet eget urna eget, commodo dapibus elit. Ut
-      condimentum turpis non condimentum commodo.</p></item>
-  </list>
-  </section>
+The most notable changes this release include the revamped Software app, new multitasking settings, and 
enhanced power management features. With these changes, GNOME is smarter, more flexible, and offers a richer 
and more engaging experience than ever before.
 
-  <section id="more">
-    <title>More Information</title>
-    <p>GNOME &gnomeversion; also has lots to offer developers, and is translated
-    into many languages.</p>
-    <links type="topic" groups="first second third"/>
-  </section>
+GNOME 41 also comes with significant improvements for developers, including a new developer documentation 
website, a major new version of the Human Interface Guidelines, new features in the Builder IDE, GTK 4 
enhancements, and much more.
+
+GNOME 41 is the second release to use GNOME's new version numbering schema, which has replaced the old 
odd/even point release approach with a simpler, single integer. The next release, version 42, is planned for 
March 2022.
+
+## What's new for users
+
+### Overhauled Software install experience
+
+GNOME's Software app has been given an overhaul for GNOME 41. It's now easier to browse available apps, 
thanks to the inclusion of descriptions in app tiles, as well as a new, smaller set of application 
categories. Application pages also have a new design, with bigger screenshots and new information tiles with 
information about each app.
+
+Almost every part of the application has been polished or improved in some way. This includes redesigned 
settings, more attractive layouts in the installed and updates view, enhanced OS upgrade banners, and much 
much more.
+
+The changes aren't skin deep, either: there have been many fixes and improvements under the hood, to make 
the experience faster and more reliable. 
+
+### New multitasking settings
+
+GNOME 41 includes a new Multitasking settings panel, which includes common settings related to window 
switching, workspaces and displays. The settings make it possible to:
+
+ - disable the activities hot corner
+ - disable "active screen edges" (resizing a window by dragging it against the screen edge)
+ - switch from a dynamic to a static number of workspaces
+ - include workspaces on all displays and not just the primary display
+ - when switching between apps using Super+Tab, only switch between apps on the current workspace
+
+These settings make it possible to adjust GNOME to your preferred way of working, as well as to particular 
hardware setups.
+
+### Enhanced power management features
+
+Power profiles were originally introduced in GNOME last release, version 40. They provide three modes which 
can be used to control device performance and power consumption:
+
+ - Balanced, which is the default mode. This provides a standard performance and power consumption.
+ - Performance, in which CPU performance is increased, so that many apps and activities will run faster, 
with greater power consumption.
+ - Power saver, which both makes the device run a little slower, and saves power.
+
+From GNOME 40 it has been possible to switch between these power profiles from the power settings.
+
+With GNOME 41, power modes have been improved. It is now possible to view and change the power mode from the 
system status menu in the top bar. Low power mode has also been enhanced: when it is active, the screen will 
now dim after short periods of inactivity and, when the screen fades prior to suspend, it does so more 
quickly.
+
+Power saver mode is now also automatically enabled when running on low battery (this behavior can be 
controlled from the power settings).
+
+Initial support has been added to allow apps to request a power profile. This is most relevant for allowing 
performance sensitive apps to request performance mode, to ensure fast operation.
+
+
+### New Connections app
+
+Connections is GNOME's new remote desktop client. It provides a modern, easy to use experience for 
connecting to other desktops, and automatically handles as much of the complexity for you as possible. VNC 
and RDP connections are both supported.
+
+### New Cellular settings panel
+
+TODO.
+
+### Smoother, faster
+
+GNOME is continually working to improve performance, responsiveness and smoothness, and GNOME 41 includes a 
collection of improvements in this area.
+
+ - Efficiency improvements in GNOME 41 mean that the screen will update faster in response to keyboard and 
pointer input. This change only applies to those using the Wayland display server, and the effects will be 
more noticeable with some displays rather than others (the improvement is more significant on displays with 
lower refresh rates).
+ - System-level multitouch gestures now behave more reliably and consistenty.
+ - The transition when switching between workspaces is now more seamless, thanks to ensuring that there is a 
focused window on the workspaces that are being moved between.
+ - Rendering has been improved GTK 4, with better performance as well as bug fixes.
+ - Finally, a major code cleanup has happened in Mutter, GNOME's window manager, which will improve 
long-term maintainability and efficiency.
+
+### A prettier Music app
+
+GNOME's Music app has had a round of UI polish for GNOME 41. Artwork is now larger and has rounded corners, 
the artist list includes images, a new album view includes a handy play button, and the redesigned player bar 
is more spacious.
+
+Music also has new welcome artwork.
+
+### That's not all
+
+GNOME 41 also includes lots of other, smaller improvements, including:
+
+ - Files now allows creating encrypted .zip files, which require a password to be opened.
+ - Calendar can now import events from .ics files.
+ - Web has better support for dark mode, faster pinch to zoom (on some websites), and has better handling 
for unresponsive websites.
 
   <section id="getting-gnome">
     <title>Getting GNOME &gnomeversion;</title>
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