Updated with working link for the manual
We've announced 4Suite XML 1.0b2 We're a big step towards a 1.0 release, even bigger than most of our releases because what we've done with this is trim the overall 4Suite package to a sensible size and scope. This release contains only the XML processing core and some support libraries. It does not contain the RDF libraries and the repository. This does not mean those components are stranded (see, for example, the rdflib/4RDF merger effort for a sense of the new juice being fed into 4Suite/RDF). It's just that the core XML libraries are so much more mature than the other components, and so much more widely used, that it made no sense not to set it free and let it quickly march to 1.0 on its own. This release features some serious performance improvements, some simplified APIs for a gentler user learning curve, and a lot of fixes and other improvements (see the announcement for the full, long list).
In fact, the code we released is just about 1.0 in itself, as far as the XML component goes. A code freeze is in place, and we'll focus on fixing bugs and wrapping up the user manual effort. (BTW, if you'd like to help chip into the manual, please say so on the 4Suite-dev mailing list; there is a lot of material in place, and what we need is mostly in the way of editing and improving details). Our plan is to get the XML core to 1.0 more quickly than we would have been able before breaking 4Suite into components, and then we can focus on RDF and the repository. 4Suite/RDF will probably disappear into the new rdflib, and the repository will probably go through heavy refactoring and simplification.
Today, after some day-job tasks, my priority will be getting Amara 1.1.5 out. It's been largely ready and waiting for the 4Suite release. Some really sweet improvements and additions in this Amara release (though I do say so myself). More on that later.