OC Update Files

What do you think about an OC update development. I think the bug fixes and enhancements included in an update to be integrated and you just need to overwrite or automatically installed (like Joomla & Co). Is this possible? It is easier for all customers.

This certainly is a good idea but not so easily done.

First of all, we need a mechanism to safely extend the Opencart core with addon modules. At the moment, quite a few extension modules overwrite core files, such as the menu.php or others, including some of the *.tpl files. Qphoria started looking into it for Opencart0 but postponed it till Opencart 0.8.

Well I've been researching how SMF does their updates and packaged mods. They use a patching system that reads an xml file and appends the code in between tags into the existing core files at the target location based on the surrounding content. But even when they release a new version of SMF, it seems to also follow this and updates the files around the existing modded files (when possible).

I had thought about using a system that would udiff the core file and the modded file and generate a .patch file. Then create a library that would read those patch files and update the core. This way mods could coexist and be easily installed/uninstalled, and be as simple as auto-generated patch file.. I've got the hi-level structure on paper, but still has a lot of work to follow with that idea.

Another, more "right now" thing is as JN mentioned....to put the admin menu into the database so that it could be added to without replacing any other menu changes... this is already done as a contrib and still planned for 0.8

Combine that with a zip package mod system, and it will make adding new modules and stuff all automatic.

The problem is if you have an update system and some one has modified the code and the site breaks who is held responsible?

Or the update you release breaks a site that takes orders every second?

The updates can also only work if the files are not severely intervenes in the existing database. If files are only expected to be completed so it is not a serious problem. Important is also the timeliness of the voice packet.

Daniel wrote:The problem is if you have an update system and some one has modified the code and the site breaks who is held responsible?

Or the update you release breaks a site that takes orders every second?

Store owner has the responsibility to
A) Backup his store
B) Create a dev copy of his store for the trial run of the upgrade

It would be important for the update system to be tested as well and for the code to be able to autorestore perhaps by cataloging all replaced files or some method. smf does it.. .wordpress does it.. somewhere somebody's doing ok.