OsCommerce v 2.3 - when?

[scandic_outlet 3]

HI all

anyone have news about the release of v 2.3?

http://www.shinyredapples.com/

 

Says its should be here now :)

 

Anyone have any updated info?

 

Regards

[Mark Evans 39]

Soon..... Real soon!

[♥FIMBLE 82]

Are we there yet?

[Harald Ponce de Leon 741]

Hi All..

 

We're just about there and are now working on the marketing materials. The upgrade guide is based on:

 

http://github.com/osCommerce/oscommerce2/compare/upgrade23

 

There still might be some late code changes though.

 

Kind regards,

[scandic_outlet 3]

Hi All..

 

We're just about there and are now working on the marketing materials. The upgrade guide is based on:

 

http://github.com/osCommerce/oscommerce2/compare/upgrade23

 

There still might be some late code changes though.

 

Kind regards,

Wauw, thats great.. looking forward to it then :)

[web-project 12]

Hi All..

 

We're just about there and are now working on the marketing materials. The upgrade guide is based on:

 

http://github.com/os...mpare/upgrade23

 

There still might be some late code changes though.

 

Kind regards,

 

very interesting.

[MrPhil 648]

Talk of 2.3 being the "final" 2.x series release is nonsense. I expect to see lots of bugs in 2.3, as they're doing a massive amount of code change without putting it through the normal alpha - beta - release candidate steps. 2.2 (Final) should have been put out years ago, and 2.3 (alpha) started immediately thereafter. When (and if) 2.3 sees the light of day, we can only hope that there will be a steady stream of official patches and/or the start of 2.4 (alpha) releases. Please please PLEASE don't leave us hanging like with 2.2, with code distributed for YEARS with glaring known bugs! Part of responsible product management is having a method in place for getting patches for known bugs out to the customers. Even if there's no way to push out patches, there should be a central repository listing known bugs and a place to download official patches.

[♥DunWeb 921]

I have been using MY version of 2.3 for several months to install for my clients. I have compiled the information from GITHUB on V2.3 and have made changes as they become available. So far, MY 2.3 is table and working without any bugs but I will compare it to the final release of 2.3 when it becomes available to see if there is anything I missed in GITHUB.

 

 

As for any thoughts of v2.4, I would shutter to think that ANY more resources would be wasted on the 2.x series and that ALL available resources should be focused on V3.x to get a STABLE release out before the end of this year. Any further delays of V3.x past that point will only harm the OSC community and its popularity as compared to other carts as they progress in leaps and bounds and become more modular to suit users needs.

 

If you currently look at the French Cart (presta****) you will see they are doing everything the FORUM MEMBERS here have been requesting for the past year to make their cart more powerful and customizable, including the sale of templates for less than $50.00. They have improved their cart so much, that I am not offering it again on my site because it has progressed into a powerful, secure, customizable force to recon with.

 

The above, are just my opinions of course, but the OSC development team needs to rethink how OSC is distributed, marketed and supported if it wants OSC to remain competitive in today's e-commerce market.

 

 

Chris

[Harald Ponce de Leon 741]

Hi Phil..

 

Talk of 2.3 being the "final" 2.x series release is nonsense. I expect to see lots of bugs in 2.3, as they're doing a massive amount of code change without putting it through the normal alpha - beta - release candidate steps.

 

Please take this opportunity and download the current state of v2.3 from our Github repository:

 

http://github.com/osCommerce/oscommerce2

 

I will be happy to send you a ZIP file if you do not have git installed to download the source files.

 

As I understand you correctly, I ask you to install the current state of v2.3 and to submit the "lots" of bug reports you come across so they can be fixed in time for the release. You are so sure that there are so many bugs so it shouldn't take you long to find 5 or 10 or so.

 

Thank you. In fact, the whole community will thank you as well.

[Harald Ponce de Leon 741]

Hi Chris..

 

If you currently look at the French Cart (presta****) you will see they are doing everything the FORUM MEMBERS here have been requesting for the past year ...

 

We did that too in our younger years. It works marvelous until the community grows so much that implementing each idea would have created a horribly slow and insanely large generalized solution that would be unusable for anyone. Can you imagine all 6,000 Add-Ons being included in v2.3?

 

We stopped gathering community feedback. We gather ideas in a controllable fashion. We decided to work on what's best for osCommerce -> a flexible core solution that can be extended on via Add-Ons.

 

Ultimately PrestaShop will stop gathering feedback from their community too.

 

You are free to choose. Be sure to check out v3.0 though otherwise you'd be missing out on something fantastic! :-)

[♥DunWeb 921]

Harald,

 

Can you imagine all 6,000 Add-Ons being included in v2.3?

 

By no means I am requesting that ALL contributions be included with releases, however I think that the way contributions are assembled and installed should be MODULAR as they are with Presta****. I believe that each contribution should be self contained in that there are no edits to OSC base code to enable a module and that OSC should set the basic requirements for each one of those modules so they (modules) integrate into OSC from the Admin side with just an install button.

 

 

We stopped gathering community feedback. We gather ideas in a controllable fashion. We decided to work on what's best for osCommerce -> a flexible core solution that can be extended on via Add-Ons.

 

That statement is alarming because if you don't gather community feedback then you won't progress in the direction that the community is seeking. That will lead to an e-commerce solution that the community will not find useful.

 

 

Be sure to checkout out v3.0 though otherwise you'd be missing out on something fantastic! :-)

 

 

I have downloaded, installed and worked with the V3.0 Alpha 5 release as found on the download board, it is an unstable e-commerce solution that should never have been posted for download as it leads NEW members to believe they can download it and use it out-of-the-box when in fact it is useless as it is.

 

Anyone that downloads the Alpha 5 release, unless they are VERY proficient with PHP and can apply all of the GITHUB repository patches and continually update it as v3.x progresses to a working solution, is just wasting their time. I even went as far as to post a new thread directed at you requesting that you remove the link or place a firm warning on the download, but I received no reply and the download still remains in place. Again, community feedback is important !

 

 

Chris

[Harald Ponce de Leon 741]

Hi Chris..

 

I believe that each contribution should be self contained in that there are no edits to OSC base code to enable a module and that OSC should set the basic requirements for each one of those modules so they (modules) integrate into OSC from the Admin side with just an install button.

 

I agree. That's not possible with v2.x though. In the process of developing this, v2.2MS3 went into many framework changes (actually, alterations) that has led us to v3.0. And v3.0 is basically a re-write. A big no-no in software development - we did it, it cost us, and we're still strongly marching on.

 

Oh, some say osCommerce is dead, v3.0 is already outdated. Thank you for your opinion. I just threw it out the window :-)

 

That statement is alarming because if you don't gather community feedback then you won't progress in the direction that the community is seeking. That will lead to an e-commerce solution that the community will not find useful.

 

Let's see what I wrote, "we stopped gathering community feedback" and (let me better phrase) "we gather ideas in a controllable fashion". We don't have the resources to follow up on each and every community feedback posted because there are that many. In our younger years I was active in the forum, and today? If I'm in the forum I'm told I should be developing. If I'm not in the forum, I'm told I should be.

 

Do I want the resources to follow up on each and every community feedback? No, I don't. Gathering feedback in a controlled manner is just as beneficial. That doesn't mean we're ignoring the community feedback - we are in fact listening. And for a change right now, I'm replying to posts I would regularly only take into account for.

 

I have downloaded, installed and worked with the V3.0 Alpha 5 release as found on the download board, it is an unstable e-commerce solution that should never have been posted for download as it leads NEW members to believe they can download it and use it out-of-the-box when in fact it is useless as it is.

 

I am of another opinion. It's a pretty good alpha release used successfully in live shops. Did you know it has also spawned project forks?

 

v3.0Alpha5 is nothing compared to the current state of v3.0. We decided to take the PHP 5.3 route and get over that hurdle. Others will follow.

 

Kind regards,

[♥DunWeb 921]

Harald,

 

I am not suggesting you do everything yourself, in fact it would be better to enlist the assistance of other qualified developers to help the current development team and to be the 'ears' of the community.

 

Oh, some say osCommerce is dead, v3.0 is already outdated. Thank you for your opinion. I just threw it out the window :-)

 

I never said V3.0 was dead. I simply said that the current download, as unstable as it is should be removed from the download page. I look forward to the day that a stable release of V3.x is available and hope that it has improved in the areas of security, templates and has become more modular as these are the things the members of this forum are looking for. Having said that, the development team should consider those requests in producing the next release of V3.x

 

 

 

 

Chris

[Harald Ponce de Leon 741]

Hi Chris..

 

I am not suggesting you do everything yourself, in fact it would be better to enlist the assistance of other qualified developers to help the current development team and to be the 'ears' of the community.

 

I did not mean to sound that I was doing everything myself - I'm not. What I wrote is coming from me personally. I agree that we need more people and resources in the team, more of the dedication that currently exists and has existed. Adding X number of people is not an "overnight" solution as some may think - it's a process that takes time. We will definitely grow otherwise we'll sink when the mexican wave of success of v3.0 arrives.

 

I look forward to the day that a stable release of V3.x is available and hope that it has improved in the areas of security, templates and has become more modular as these are the things the members of this forum are looking for. Having said that, the development team should consider those requests in producing the next release of V3.x

 

It's already met those requirements, and more :-)

 

P.S., we're anxious too!

 

Kind regards,

[scandic_outlet 3]

well.. as the thread starter, its nice to see the ongoing debate :)

 

i understand and somewhat also appreciate the concept of on-the-fly modular installation of modules/contributions - but at the same time i also see this as the downside of many current "hyped" carts and new-commers, such as presta, magento etc etc.

Another very very important and interesting aspect to consider when discussing the roadmap/Direction OsCommerce is going, is that i still find the OsCommerce forum to be the most interesting forum in regards to feedback on issues, a huge mass of shopping cart core insight, and all in all - the OsCommerce community in my opinion is still the only original open source community... if you try some of the other shops, its from start launched with the monetary target for developers, which have resulted in a quite poor performing "community" forums in my opinion.

Im not saying that what other shopping carts are currently doing is wrong... but the above is what i have experienced after researching the last 3 months, testings different new cart solutions and testing the forums.

I honestly was only 1 step away from choosing any other cart, now i am back home - currently favouring OsCommerce due to the fact that i actually CAN do bascially anthing in this cart, becuase of the core being what it is.

 

If i must give 1 - only 1 suggestion to you Harald - from a marketing perspecitve (which is my background), it would make the "sell" of OsCommerce improve 100 times, if you guys udpated the standard shop design - beause i guarantee you that so many starters in the e-business choose alternatives, because they dont have insights into how they could change the look.. and when looking at OsCommerce, said mildly, the standard shop design looks really really poor design wise - being in 2010.

I really hope for the sake of OsCommerce, that your guys will consider changing the standard design.

 

Looking so much forward to 2.3 - its like christmas time, haha.

Michael

[bobsi18 2]

eek, I had finally just made the decision to move my MS2 shop over to a RC2a installation next week... Looks like I'll hold out a bit longer now, I didn't even realise a v2.3 was in the works (I thought everything was being focussed on v3). Are current contributions likely to work on v2.3? (Am planning on doing a new installation and then adding on contributions rather than try and upgrade my extremely modded site).

 

Looking forward to seeing it Harald :)

[npn2531 37]

It is not just 'starters', but anyone. The stock shop design is so outdated, I mean ugly. I'm sure there are many talented people on the forum that could produce a generic, but nice looking design in their sleep that would reflect better on the quality of OSCommerce. If you aren't familiar with OSCommerce you look at that demo on the OSCommerce site and wonder, geez, how good could it really be.

 

For jeebus sake at least update the demo products. Get something that you can showcase a nice design with. Put some texture or depth in the infobox headers or something. Give the admin a new look. I have downloaded and installed v3.0 and unless I did something wrong, it looks the same as 2.2. With the same 15 year old movies!! Who buys dvd's when you have netflix? If you release 3.0 with the same look as 2.2, it's toast, no matter how great it functions. What a shop looks like is really important.

[matrix2223 1]

What a shop looks like is really important.

Not to mention that it would be nice to have a w3c valid shop from the boot, and a bit better seo url like some of the others have for instance ...com/dvd/my movie

 

Just a thought, never the less I still love osCommerce

[Dali45 0]

Well, the knowledge base info for it is already up:

 

http://www.oscommerce.info/confluence/display/OSCOM23/Upgrade+Guide

 

but the upgrade guide looks horrendous! Makes you break out in a sweat just contemplating making all those revisions. Have I missed something here.... :blink:

[Dali45 0]

Quick question - will upgrading by any chance negate the need to install the security add ons suggested here: http://forums.oscommerce.com/topic/313323-how-to-secure-your-site/ ? Would be great if that is the case :)

[Mark Evans 39]

Quick question - will upgrading by any chance negate the need to install the security add ons suggested here: http://forums.oscomm...cure-your-site/ ? Would be great if that is the case :)

 

We have put a lot of effort into fixing all reported security issues with the 2.3 release which should make the need to install any mods to secure your site unnecessary.

[Dali45 0]

We have put a lot of effort into fixing all reported security issues with the 2.3 release which should make the need to install any mods to secure your site unnecessary.

 

Thanks Mark, fantasic news:)

[Dali45 0]

I have another question (sorry, don't mean to hog the thread..) - has it been upgraded in terms of CSS? I mean, has the layout been replaced by use of DIVs etc. rather than tables and other html styling so that it's more customizable and easy to do so?

[npn2531 37]

I'd like to know that as well. It was mentioned that there will be a 'template-top' and and 'template-bottom'. But I second Dali45's question: divs or tables?

[burt 5,431]

There is no change in the underlying code that produces the layout, other than to move common components into template_top.php and template_bottom.php

 

Once 2.3 is released, I will be implementing a properly coded xhtml based layout as and when time permits.

 

Note that a properly coded xhtml based layout does not mean no tables.