OpenCart Community

Hi,

I'm evaluating different e-commerce platforms at the moment. I like the look of opencart but it concerns me that there has been no release (not even bug or security fix) for almost a year. I'm sure the project is not dead but it's a concern vs the other options.

Whats the best practice to install the latest bugfixes / security patches? If I download 3.0.2.0 today from the download page is this everything or is there a manual procedure to get hotfixes before they make it into release? Will I be presented with lots of hotfixes in the admin upon first install? Or is it that there are no known issues?

AF-Rob

It's extremely unusual for OpenCart to go this long between releases, and I'm not really sure why it was done. 3.0.2.0 does indeed still have a few bugs, and while the fixes are documented in the forum and github issues history, there's no single place to get all the fixes for it. You have to add them manually yourself. I think it was more an oversight not to release a 3.0.2.1 version afterwards, and then it got forgotten (or ignored) by the development team.

Hopefully this was a one-off situation and the release cycle will go back to a few months between releases, with some bugfix releases happening shortly after the bugs are found. But the owner of OpenCart (Daniel) is the only one who can decide for sure whether that's the plan.

For now, I'd recommend installing 2.3.0.2 instead. There are few features in 3.0.2.0 that make it necessary to install, and 2.3.0.2 is mostly stable as well. (I think there may be a bug or two, but none of them are major.)

Couple weeks ago I thought that I will start new project but first for me on new platform - opencart. I installed and checked options and everything looks very clear and easy but after that I saw that since a year there is no updates, no new feature or even security patches it's mean for me that opencart project dying, sorry but it looks that developer left this project.

Well, it would have been an easy Job, to implement all the fixes, found by
Coders, like Straightlight, into a 3.0.2.x Version, and then add it to the
Extension Section, similar to older Versions, wich have been enhanced,
and then offered for free, like the 1.5.x European Model, or Peku's
1.5.6.5 Edge, a while ago. But, in contrary, people where even urged, to
move up, for not one single good reason, as we all know today already.
But this was sure not OC's fault either, just to mention this!

Still, it could have saved Masses of Users/Upgraders from screwing up, again
and again, to then come here, to repeat the same, again and again

But very little HAM-Spirit (Radio Amateur Slang) still exists, since most Wisdom,
shared in Places like here, is afterwards offered by others for Cash, in one or
the other way. And most Dev's have to compete with each other, to stay alive,
it's therefore not easy, to keep such a Project alive and well, over an extended
period of time.

This, in addition to more and more People, short on Cash, and looking for free
Ride, to improve their financial situation, but mostly fully unaware of anything,
related to HTML, Code, DB's, and/or Servers, to start with. It the Smartphone
Generation, expecting something like OC to work on a simple Click.

So, it's also a logical Fact, that OC will have to concentrate on Cloud Solutions,
to so keep on generating income, in order to survive, since not only the Market
has changed, during the past decade, but also the technique, the users, as well
as the Dev's.

And under this aspect, free OC Users will have to accept, to mainly play their role,
as Testers, it's the price they pay, to get an expensive Piece of Software for free.
And one is also free, to accept it. And, if not, OC couldn't care less about it, since
their Goal has never been, to be a 'common' social Project, but to create Income,
to survive, on it's own.

At least from my distant point of view.
So, better don't argue about it, it's nobody's fault, exept for those, coming here,
to get knowledge, but never even think about, to give something back in return.
Ernie
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