Database questions
 

I am wondering two things, actually a lot more but let’s start here.

First is there any similar data table layout documentation for version 5.3.3? I found this one (https://help.x-cart.com/index.php?title=X-Cart:Database_layout)

The second question: We are much better mySQL/Nodejs programmers than PHP programmers. What are the implications of just doing direct data inserts and updates into the data tables for adding/updating products, categories, and orders?

Re: Database questions
 

The site for X-Cart 5 developers is here:
http://devs.x-cart.com/

There is no database chart for X-Cart 5 because the layout depends on installed modules.
There are many modules that alter the database, so any ready-made chart won't work for most of X-Cart users.


By sending direct queries you risk to break the database consistency. It is highly recommended to avoid this in X-Cart 5.

X-Cart 5 uses an ORM library (Doctrine 2). You can start reading about working with the database from there:
http://devs.x-cart.com/en/basics/understanding_models.html