As the Zend Developer Zone points out, the preview release for the next stable version of the Zend Framework has been posted - ZF 1.5.0 Preview.

This release showcases features that will be introduced in the final 1.5 release. The intent of this release is to give our users access to the latest features in Zend Framework and to improve the overall quality of the production release through the feedback we receive.

Some of the new feature in this upcoming release include:

• New Zend_Form component with support for AJAX-enabled form elements
• Infocard, OpenID, and LDAP authentication adapters
• Partial, Placeholder, Action, and Header view helpers for advanced view composition and rendering
• New Zend_Layout component for automating and facilitating site layouts

It also adds functionality to currently existing features and fixes several bugs in the process.