Is this going to be a regular thing that as soon as we finish a shop a new version pops up? Okay we don't have to upgrade, but the images out of the directory thing has been a key concern of many on these forums. It would make me think twice about doing any serious modifications other than the odd bit of tpl editing.

yeh, new versions do come out but thats not a problem.

You only need to update if you need the new features. Its up to you

Re: :(
 

I feel somewhat the same, though I've been modding this cart long enough now that I've learned to wait for several new releases before upgrading. Having a cart that gets updated by the developers at such a rapid pace is a double-edged sword, but I find it beats the hell out of the competition's release and update schedules. Often you can just grab particular files from the latest update to patch just the important features that need patching on your version (if you know PHP). My cart is running parts of 3.3.1-3.3.4 and I'm quite happy to see all the new features in the latest version. Still not looking forward to rehacking it, but it gets easier with each new version. I hope the ultimate goal for the x-cart programmers is to completely modularize the modules so they can simply be installed/removed in a manner such as PostNUKE's module system. That's my only real gripe at this point. We need single-directory installs for the module architecture. Preferably the system would register standardized modules and then use an engine that didn't rely on modifying dozens of files for integration, but would function more like the plug-in architecture from programs such as Dreamweaver or Photoshop. I've seen other PHP-based CMS that have pulled it off and I'm certain the x-cart team could do it. It would probably be a non-upgradeable change to the code-base though....eveyone would have to do fresh installs and relearn how to mod the cart. Anyway, I'll shut up now and start playing with the new code!

Re: :(
 

I agree. This model, in my opinion, would translate to more new customers (and cross-overs from open source apps.) - it would def. benefit X-Cart and customers.

I also go with the idea of drawing a line and working on a version that address's all the issues and is more modular in its construction.

I suppose when they went fron f-cart to x-cart this sort of happened

Actually, we are already working on providing our customers with a much more "modular" structure of X-Cart.

Testing on a second database?
 

Ok i have requested a second database from my host provider. Now i need to know how to install the latest version of x-cart for testing before upgrading my live site.

Can someone post exactly the best way to do this?

Thanks!

the same as you did your current version but do it in a new folder and add the details of your new database instaed of your old one

RRF there seems to be alot of core changes in x-cart that makes upgrading tricky after customising the system even a little.

I think the core of x-cart is actually of a level where it coulld possibly be locked down and all future enhancements become "added" modules? This way say from 3.5 you have the "core shop system" and the extra upgrades would be modules we can add/upgrade as needed. This would save alot of headaches and also enable 3rd party support modules to be written more easily. You could simply have a "module" section on the site where we could pick and choose what we need to add to the system. There seems alot of patches/upgrades etc that can be offputting. I'd feel safer in the knowledge that an upgrade doesn't need to replace everything everytime if you understand what i mean.

A changelog, with the actual list of files altered from the previous release version would be very nice.

Rather than making a manual upgrade on a modified store difficult and guesswork, this would target the files that need immediate replacement or integration.

Can this become a standard?

:)