v4 is a complete rebuild of the Concrete Framework for Shopify theme development. The framework is currently dependant on Slate v1 (beta), though is being developed with a view to less reliance on the Shopify development team.
If you are looking for the Slate v0 version, please see this branch.
Framework or boilerplate
Components will be liberated from the main framework where possible to offer a quickstart out-of-the-box, while still allowing developers to use their preferred libraries and own code instead.
Default libraries
The following libraries are included by default. They can easily be replaced with your own preferences. The framework and these libraries will be consistently updated with the intention of creating the most flexible and modular starting point possible.
Additional tools to help theme developers with problems that are unique to Shopify Themes. Includes an Ajax cart, cookie tools, geolocation tools, quantity input tools, and more.
Normalize.css makes browsers render all elements more consistently and in line with modern standards. It precisely targets only the styles that need normalizing.
Slate, Starter Theme, & Concrete v4
There are some key differences to Starter Theme that should be noted:
jQuery is out, but you can add it if you want it
US English is currently the only language shipped, but others can be easily added
The product page works out-of-the-box with a single variant product