TYPO3 Camp Mitteldeutschland 2024
Recap
TYPO3 Camp Mitteldeutschland 2024
The TYPO3 Camp Mitteldeutschland, the family gathering of the community in the region, takes place every year in our hometown of Dresden. As a TYPO3 agency, we naturally cannot miss it. This time, we not only listened to the, as always, exciting and insightful presentations, but we also participated as an official snack sponsor this year. Find out how our snack stand was received and which topics from development and editorial work webits took back to the office as inspiration in this recap.
First the TYPO3 certification, then the pleasure.
On the day before the actual event, the certifications always take place. Those who are successful here can then call themselves TYPO3 CMS Certified. In addition, they can add either Editor, Integrator, Developer, or Consultant. Our colleague Matthias successfully completed the certification at TYPO3 Camp Mitteldeutschland and is now officially TYPO3 CMS Certified Integrator.
The Friday: AI in TYPO3, Content Blocks, and Visual Testing
Our kickoff on Friday started with two parallel presentations at noon, for which our team split up. André Kraus presented his Extension AI Suite, which makes it possible to use AI for creating website content without having to leave the familiar TYPO3 backend environment. With AI Suite, entire TYPO3 pages including images can be created via Prompt, which should make the extension particularly interesting for editors, as it can save a lot of time and effort. Currently, the extension is still in a beta stage, and we will follow its further development with great interest.
At the same time, Thomas Grießbach talked about the extension nnrestapi. This provides a fast foundation for interfaces that, for example, serve to play out content created once simultaneously and optimized on different end devices. In web projects with such a requirement, the extension takes a lot of work off developers from the outset and thus speeds up the development process.
After a strengthening lunch, our webits continued with Nikita Hovratov's session on the current development status of the System extension Content Blocks. This feature originated from the Structured Content Initiative and is now being further developed by the TYPO3 Content Types Team. With Content Blocks, one of the main tasks of a TYPO3 integrator will become much easier: creating new content elements. Content Blocks can be configured using a file and provide all their required assets at once, improving their maintenance and reusability. The next milestone will be the integration of Content Blocks into the TYPO3 Core.
Following this, a presentation on Visual Regression Tests by Axel Böswetter took place. A Visual Regression Test is used to identify undesired changes in the appearance of a website, such as shifted elements, incorrect colors, or faulty layouts, for example after a TYPO3 upgrade. Visual Regression Tests ensure that a website remains visually consistent during upgrades and changes, making them an important part of quality assurance.
Saturday: TYPO3 v13 and structured data
Our Saturday morning started with a session by Wolfgang Wagner on functions for editors in TYPO3 v12 and v13. As announced in the roadmap for the upcoming version, there will be a focus on simplifying editorial work in many areas. Improving the user experience in the TYPO3 backend and streamlining or eliminating repetitive actions are the main goals.
In the afternoon, we attended the lecture by Chris Müller on his Schema Extension. It simplifies the integration of structured data into TYPO3 via API. It relies on guidelines and vocabulary from schema.org, a principle that deals with the standardization of structured data. Structured data allows information about a page or page content to be classified in a standardized way, which increases relevance for search engines, among other benefits.
Conclusion
It is exciting to see how the TYPO3 Camp Mitteldeutschland grows and evolves year after year. With nearly 250 participants this year, a level has been reached that can certainly compete with the TYPO3 Developer Days. As the camp grows, the variety of topics also expands: in addition to TYPO3 development, aspects from areas such as editorial work, hosting, and project management have been highlighted for some time. This also leads to a more diverse audience, which we very much welcome.
We were not only happy to meet old acquaintances again and to get to know new faces. As a nerve food partner, it was a special pleasure for us to provide visitors with sweet and savory snacks. In this role, we were represented for the first time at TYPO3 Camp Mitteldeutschland, and our plundered snack stand and the many radiant faces speak volumes: we have to do this again!
As for the topics, the field of AI, which was strongly represented last year, made room for other content at this year's TYPO3 Camp Mitteldeutschland. Accessibility was the subject of presentations and discussions among the participants. It is no wonder, as the Accessibility Strengthening Act (BFSG) will come into force in just over a year, obliging private sector companies to improve their digital offerings accordingly.
In addition to all the interesting input for professionals that always attracts us to the camp, it is especially nice to see how quickly our newbies find connections and get excited about exchanging ideas.
Therefore, in conclusion, we will let Leoni speak, who attended their first TYPO3 Camp Mitteldeutschland this year:
"My first visit to the TYPO3 Camp was very interesting. In addition to exciting presentations, I was able to meet interesting people. It was fascinating to see and get to know the people working behind the scenes. I particularly liked how diverse this community is. I was able to talk not only with people from Germany, but also with visitors from France and England. The presentations were very interesting and informative. I liked that at the beginning of the camp, it was evaluated which presentations generated the most interest. The presentations with the most listeners were recorded in the main hall, which gave me the opportunity to watch them even after the camp and fill my time on site with presentations in smaller rooms. The exchange afterwards was a nice addition to the whole experience. All in all, I really enjoyed my time and will be there again next year."
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