X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

Good news, everyone!

It's been a long time since the latest X-Cart 4.1.x release. We have worked long and hard to improve the flagship product of our company and make it more stable. Taking into account that the changes have touched a large part of X-Cart code, we would like to make upgrading to the new version as painless as possible for our clients.

We know that our clients business depends on how stable our product is. The new version has undergone thorough testing by our quality assurance team. But we all know that upgrading live stores to a new product version can be connected with different problems, because many stores contain all kinds of modifications (from third party developers, your own modifications, etc), which can be non-compatible with the changes in the new product version.

Taking into account the amount of changes in the new version, we would be grateful if the most active members of X-Cart community helped us test the upgrade packages and the new version itself on their test stores before the official release of 4.1.10. We are sure that this will be to the benefit of all the X-Cart community and will make upgrading to 4.1.10 easier for the rest of X-Cart users.

If you are interested in such testing, please let us know. You can answer this post, send me a private message or post a message to X-Cart helpdesk. Please make sure you specify the version of X-Cart, for which you would like to receive the upgrade packages. We will gladly provide you with release candidate X-Cart 4.1.10 and upgrade packages and will be happy to hear from you if you experience any problems upgrading your test store to 4.1.10 or test-driving X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate.

We want to stress that we DO NOT recommend using the release candidate upgrade packages for upgrading live stores. They serve only the purpose of testing the new version on TEST X-Cart installations. Based on your experience using release candidate packages, we will soon release the official version of X-Cart 4.1.10 and upgrade packages for it.

Please, be aware that the number of the participants of this program has to be limited. We apologize in advance in case we are not able to satisfy all the requests sent to us. We will not be able to satisfy any requests sent after Apr 25 2008.

Thank you for your cooperation, and we wish you success in your business.

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

This is great news - I'll gladly test it out.

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

I would be glad to see what are the new features of v.4.1.10 !
Just spent 2 days to upgrade to 4.1.9, and I really need to see if these changes are so important for me, to spend another 2 days :-)

Thanks !

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

Hi Alex, whether in this thread or elsewhere, can you provide us with a preliminary changelog so that we can be aware of what all this upgrade will affect?

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

Hi Alex,
I will be more then happy to test the new version.

Thanks.

(Is the nightmare of duplicated images part of the new packages? :lol:)

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

Registered.

Thank you.

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

I am not sure whether or not the CHANGELOG will be published here as it is not complete to the moment and is going to be changed (this is RC, not the final version). I'll see what we can do about this here and once we decide to publish something I'll just do that or ask someone to do.

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

I'd be happy to test it as well on my development environment.

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

Registered.

Thank you.

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

Alex,

I have to strongly agree with the above sentiments. The duplicate images, and the image moving into the various sub-letter image folders (T,P,D, etc.), just does not work for many of us.

Many people are dealing with thousands of images and have their own image organizational structure. We like to group our images by Manufacturer, Category, Provider, etc. We also like to use our own image names, and not some abstract numeric identifier.

The way the 4.0.x series handled the images in the Files folder was preferred. It's not too difficult to point my 4.1.x cart to the old files/images folder, but when adding a new product, that link is lost and the image is copied to the Letter folder and given a numeric name by X-Cart.

I would not mind 4.1.10 being delayed until the image handling can be improved (if it has not already been). At least the option, to give store administrators the choice of what type of image handling they prefer. The old 4.0.x style or the new 4.1.x style.

Letting us keep our own organizational Image file folders, and descriptive Image file names is important to many X-Cart users who have already voiced their concerns over this issue in these forums.

Thanks for listening.

UPDATE: The 4.1.10 Change Log looks impressive... lots and lots of bug fixes! But since the image path handling was not addressed in this release, I enlisted the help of my programmer brother to figure it out. If interested, you may see the completed MOD here: http://forum.x-cart.com/showthread.php?t=39376

Robert

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

Thanks Rob from me and to all other people that share the same frustrations (nightmare)
.
I also suggested in another post the follow:

...one more thing. Xcart should never stop the importing processes of the csv files if it can't find one or more images. It should continued until at the end, write a log file, and listing witch products are missing the images so only those products that are missing the images can be reimported leather on.

Thanks.

Max

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

Amazing news.. sign us up..

4.1.9.

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

So what are going to be some change's in this version? Anything new? Does anyone have screenshots?

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

Please sign me up as well. thanks.

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

2technosave & sridhark: I've registered your requests.

All registered participants will be contacted by our responsible person via their HelpDesk accounts.



Here is the CHANGELOG between 4.1.9 and 4.1.10 rc (not final version yet!):
Attachment 905

4.1.10 is not going to have new features as it is a bug-fix release mostly. All new features are planned in next major release which we have been preparing carefully and thoroughly for many months already.

I cannot tell when the new major release is going to happen, unfortunately. Keep visiting "News & Announcements" forum here and watch for new announcements.

Also, I want to encourage the community to post their ideas for new features on these forums (WishList forum is the best place for that).

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

Hi Alex, looking at the upgrade pack provided, it bothers me to see that some files are going to be directly overwritten instead of patched via DIFF files, as I'm concerned for possible customizations that would be overwritten.

Is there a reason for this?

EDIT: additionally, are the changes to the Smarty compiler all Qualiteam changes, or are they changes by the Smarty team? if so, why is the compiler being patched in lieu of upgrading the entire version of Smarty to a current release?
and if not, is this the first time the Smarty compiler has been altered by Qualiteam? I ask, because multiple users in the forums have already mentioned that they've upgraded from 2.6.12 to 2.6.19, so I'm curious about how these missing changes will affect them...

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

EDIT: just a note, I've just read through the changelog, I'm excited about some of these fixes/improvements that have been included, nice ;-)

the following files were provided as file-replacements in the upgrade, but there are no code changes, only changes to copyright, etc (for the 4.1.9 to 4.1.10 upgrade)

• include/patch.php
• admin/patch_files.php
• admin/patch_sql.php

the following files should be updated via DIFF files to preserve existing modifications (imho):

• admin/patch.php
• admin/upgrade.php
• Smarty-2.6.12/Smarty_Compiler.class.php
• Smarty-2.6.12/modifier.regex_replace.php
• include/templater/templater.php
• check_requirements.php
• prepare.php

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

Just a request - if you could provide a 'jump patch' from 4.1.8 to 4.1.10 when it comes out that would be very handy, as I have held off on upgrading a lot of my clients due to the issues with 4.1.9 :)

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

Alex:
I am in the midst of deciding if I should publish my new website with x-cart 4.1.9, which would be ready with all major custom development in another 3 weeks or so. Now the big question is┘Should I wait for the 4.1.10 release? Looking at your change log, I would think it to be wise to wait, but at the same time I am not sure when you are planning to release the .10 version┘.Any thoughts?
Thanks

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

I'm in the same boat, Harry. I should be done with my 4.1.9 shop in 2 weeks, it's been a lot of work and I don't really want to make more for myself, but an improved version is a definite plus. Perhaps I will let a few other er.. brave souls.. upgrade/patch and run 4.1.10 before I try it myself :)

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

I guess you mixed up things (an installation package for pure installation and upgrade pack for your current X-Cart version) a little bit.

Installation package was uploaded in every participant's "File Area" and the installation package is supposed to be installed anew in a clean place so it doesn't have .DIFF files at all.

Participants who mentioned their current X-Cart versions got upgrade packs from their version to 4.1.10rc. Those who didn't mention their X-Cart version got 4.1.9->4.1.10rc upgrade packs in "File Area". The upgrade packs contain .DIFF files only. I want everyone to note that upgrade packs were created for upgrading unmodified X-Cart as it is impossible to create upgrade packs which will be able to upgrade smoothly open source software which can me modified in any way. I hope everyone understand this.

*NOTE:* Again I want to remind everyone that 4.1.10rc is not the final version yet so you shouldn't use it for production web sites.

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

At the moment I cannot tell something more or less particular about whether or Smarty is going to be upgraded to 2.6.19 in 4.1.10rc. We fixed some bugs in Smarty and this is the reason why you can see changes of Smarty related files in 4.1.10rc.

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

We are going to release such "jump" upgrade packs for every minor version within 4.1.x branch which will let you upgrade right to 4.1.10 from your current 4.1.x version.

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

I do not know details of your current project situation and etc.
I am not going to recommend waiting or not waiting. It is up to you.

Just take in account that 4.1.10 is in "Release Candidate" state now and you should expect final release quite soon I think.

If you are finished and ready to go live, then go live and start earning some $$. You can upgrade to 4.1.10 on a test server, test everything thoroughly, make sure everything is fine and then switch to 4.1.10 when you are 100% sure.

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

Alex, I didn't get anything "mixed up", I work with upgrade packs and new installs all the time, it's easy to tell the difference.

Please see the attached screenshot, it's taken of WinRar viewing the contents of Upgrade_from_4.1.9_to_4.1.10_rc1.tgz

Note that some of the X-Cart folder structure is reflected, along with an "upgrade" folder that is where the DIFF files would reside.

Now, if a *new* file is being distributed with the upgrade, then I of course expect that file to be packed in the upgrade, but if existing files are being modified, then that should solely be DIFF files only, which is not 100% the case here (note: in the screenshot, you can see check_requirements.php and prepare.php, 2 of the files I listed as needing DIFF files)

So again, is there a specific reason why certain files are being overwritten? Are these files that are too important to be patched? And why would files be included that have only had copyright date changes in the license at the top of the file?



While the upgrade packs are created from, and intended for, unmodified versions of X-Cart, the beauty of DIFF files is that they can still patch a highly modified file as long as the surrounding lines of code can be found around each patch section. This is one thing I've always liked about X-Cart, the fact that it essentially encourages customization and that Qualiteam provides patches for updates instead of entire files intended for overwriting.

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

:oops: Oops, my bad. I didn't look into your upgrade pack more carefully. I didn't expect the upgrade packs to contain PHP files.



I consulted with X-Cart development team. The files which are supposed to be overwritten rather than patched are so named "system" scripts (e.g. prepare.php) which define how the upgrade process goes in X-Cart. Patching them can lead to errors during upgrade and they are supposed to be overwritten.

Also, it is hardly to expect that someone customized them to get some new useful features in their X-Carts. But in case someone did so (i.e. modified those system files somehow) they can create DIFF patches using their backed up and new versions, then apply the DIFFs manually and continue with the upgrade (I guess those who customize X-Cart "system" files should be really good in PHP coding/development and X-Cart so such operation shouldn't cause them troubles).



4.1.9 was released in 2007. 4.1.10 is going to be released in 2008. We changed year in X-Cart files, but since this was the only change in lots of files and we have to include every single change in upgrade packs they contain DIFFs for files with the only aforementioned change as well.

That shouldn't be a big problem since such DIFFs are going to applied smoothly due to size of the change in such files.

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

Hi Alex, thanks for taking the time to look into that. I suspected that was the case, but wasn't sure ;-)

Cheers

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

Alex:our company bought both the pro and gold version, with a lot of mods from yours and other companies, SNS enterprise version for sites to be launch in 30 days.As we have a lot of activity, and we would like to get online with the last improvements, we would like to get this version now, to test and to let our people get familiar with it.besides that, we would like to know in advance if mods from magneticOne and Cartmods and I don't remember who else would work with these new version in the inmediate future.I would thank you our company to be considered to test this new release candidate.thanks again.Nelson

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

I am in strong agreement with this. One reason 4.1.x hasn't been upgraded on our end. This would wreak havoc on our setup.

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

I've got an extra dedicated server ready to go if you want to post us a RC1 client. We'll rip it up!

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

I am afraid, v4.1.10 is not going to have this issue solved as this is a minor bug-fix release which doesn't contain major and serious functionality improvements.

I want everyone to know that the issue you are talking about has been reported already to our development group and the solution is supposed to be included in the next major X-Cart update. I cannot tell when it is going to be released, but I recommend you to keep watching these forums for the announcements ;)

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

v4.1.10 has been released, folks.
see http://forum.x-cart.com/showthread.php?p=215165#post215165

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

Alex,

Can you please comment on any changes from rc1 to the 4.1.10 release? Thanks.

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

Unfortunately, there is no CHANGELOG for "rc vs 4.1.10 final", so I cannot be really specific.
You should see changes added to CHANGELOG after 4.1.10rc was announced here.
To make things shorter there are several bug-fixes + one more or less "major" change - Smarty updated to v2.6.19.

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

Changelog from RC to Final:


This item was removed, apparently due to the "Smarty updated..." bit.

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

That's Great News! I know many people will be happy to hear that X-Cart is listening to its users on what works best for those of us running live stores with lots of product images to manage.

Robert

Re: X-Cart 4.1.10 release candidate testing
 

Below is a Security Fix from the Smarty.net programmers...

If there are any 4.1.x users out there that are not planning to upgrade to X-Cart 4.1.10 anytime soon, make sure you at least add the following Smarty security fix...

Replace the modifier.regex_replace.php plugin with the new one (from Smarty 2.6.19) located here:
http://smarty-php.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/libs/plugins/modifier.regex_replace.php

File location: Smarty-2.6.12/modifier.regex_replace.php

Source: http://www.smarty.net/

Robert