X-Cart forums

[Danimal]

I am going to give 4.5.5 ONE more day. If the 2 modules that won't work don't install properly tomorrow (after UNINSTALLING them), I am going to just step back to 4.5.4 and get this new site built.

I too wanted the better iFrame integration with XP but it is not worth this headache.

Maybe I will do a fresh 4.5.4 on another dev directory and see how that works with this stuff before doing everything else.

[eppik]

I could already smell the stink of all these bandaids keeping this framework together years ago. I'm actually really disappointed that it really hasn't changed that much. It's just more layers of bandaids on the old ones, each imploding one site after another. The only reason my version of 4.5.5 works is because I had to scrap all the custom work.

Coming from drupal land, this is an embarrassingly low level of version control. The whole thing looks like it was put together on a Friday afternoon. X-Cart - time to rebuild your app from the ground up and join this decade. Cut the bull, clean house, and get with it. I'm calling you on it.

[cflsystems]

You have to be f**** kidding me... Pardon my French

Up to 4.5.4 Quantum Gateway hosted page and iframe are listed under payment gateways (not talking about the onsite one at all as it is part of XPayments connection). Both are PCI-DSS compliant and you can choose which one to use - although they work in a similar load-new-page way.

Playing with the 4.5.5 settings and everything - well guess what - QG iframe is nowhere to be found. The hosted page still exists. Why this matters - you can style the iframe page to match site but you cannot style the gateway hosted page.

Even more - the onsite QG transparent page is gone as well - not listed under XPayments gateways in XC

WHY THESE 2 GATEWAY PAGES WHERE TAKEN OUT? It is not because of compliance.

Am I correct to assume that the QG iframe exists in XPayments only and was taken out from the store so you can make XPayments iframe to integrate on checkout page, which from what I read here still doesn't work correctly? If that is the case this is complete bull....

Or is QG not supported by XC anymore? Which is just very strange since it does exist in 4.5.4

Please tell me I am wrong about this and I missed something somewhere.... Otherwise it looks like you just broke something that worked so you can try to code something else that still doesn't work....

On a separate security note - after this upgrade takes so much on security and a recent security patch released XC login and register forms still allow for autocomplete previous entries. This should be forbidden within the <form> tag, it is so simple, and it is like the first thing to do and yet this upgrade that emphasize on security improvements does not have it....

[carpeperdiem]

Originally Posted by cflsystems

Playing with the 4.5.5 settings and everything - well guess what - QG iframe is nowhere to be found. The hosted page still exists.

Steve,

It's there, but due to sloppy programming, the "country" pulldown on the payment methods page hides the available gateways.

For the pulldown, "Your country" select All Countries and the QG iframe is listed. Select "United States" and most gateways disappear, INCLUDING x-payments.

See:
http://forum.x-cart.com/showthread.php?p=354677#post354677

This is a minor bug that is representative of the complete failure by QT to adequately test a release.

ON a short-list of "things that you test" should include assigning a payment method. It is incredibly clear that the list of payment gateways for United States is very short.

QT engineering should PULL THIS RELEASE, test and fix it, and re-release 4.5.6, without the new features. Just fix the freaking bugs.

New features should be on 4.6.0

WHAT IF... QT did this to frustrate people and encourage a migration to XCN? No, they aren't that stupid, since if they show total lack of ability to make a product that is tested before release, why should we think of buying anything from them going forward? Sorry, just trying to imagine why any company would release buggy products. I've discussed my challenges as a manufacturer -- we have to make products that pass international regulatory (we make cosmetics) and we have one-shot to pass regulatory. That means we use multiple labs to test and verify. A mistake can cost us $50k. So we don't make mistakes. It's not complicated. QT needs a new VP level QA manager. This person should have the authority to pull a product or feature if it fails testing.

I can GUARANTEE that 99% of the issues here could be avoided with better testing. QT engineers are capable of fixing things. Someone has to oversee the testing. Right now, it appears that the same team that makes the code is supervising (um, not doing any) testing, That must change.

[Danimal]

XC 4.5.5 is F**KED UP! End of story.

First off, it should not have been called 4.5.5 it should have been 4.6.1

The structure is obviously different. Modules that function in 4.5.4 do not function in 4.5.5

I have 2 modules that won't work. They are both admin modules for modifying products.

Attached is the Variant Modifier add-on from BCS. See attached screen shots. I guess they now have to be bothered with a support ticket or I go back to 4.5.4

The other is an add-on to CDSEO Pro which allows the editing of the meta data IN the product listing without having to go to the CDSEO Pro admin area. Saves time if it comes up to be done. A ticket has gone into them already.

I have tested this on FRESH installs of both 4.5.4 and 4.5.5 to see if it is a bad mod coding or bad XC coding. It is bad XC coding and these 2 versions should not be in the same branch.

Someone needs to get their heads out of the snow and get it together. Fix one thing to break another. Not cool. Stop pushing the extra stuff and fix the core first.

And as I started over here to post this I get an email from XC about all the great new features in 4.5.5 and how everyone should upgrade. Upgrade at your own risk.

[carpeperdiem]

Originally Posted by Danimal

The structure is obviously different. Modules that function in 4.5.4 do not function in 4.5.5

Dani,
In defense of QT, if a 3rd party module is broken, that's not QT's responsibility.

ON THE OTHER HAND

This minor "dot" release SHOULD NOT have introduced fundamental changes to the core.

We're looking at a few issues here, and piss-poor project management is to blame.

1. X-Cart rolled out significant changes to the core in a "dot" (what was supposed to be bug-fix) release;
2. X-Cart did not seed the release to its most important 3rd parties (dare we call them "development partners?" ;
3. X-Cart did not adequately test;

X-Cart MUST assume that a portion of their customers also use 3rd party mods. A fundamental change to the core must provide the 3rd parties an opportunity to roll out the changes simultaneously with the product.

This is "simply" a failure to test and communicate.

As I've now said 15 or 16 times: I think QT should pull the 4.5.5 release and try again.

[ADDISON]

As I see 4.5.5 is only a change in XC security, not a bug fixing version + features. I estimate a new 4.5.6 will come soon to patch all the issues we reported.

When new XC versions are coming it is not a guarantee that 3rd Party Modules/Customizations you installed in past will work properly. Once a new XC version is out, all 3rd Party Developers should check it and adapt their code to this version. In my opinion if 2 of your 3rd party modules are not working it is not a reason to pull your hair out. Just think when Photoshop releases a new version all plugins are working properly? Maybe, or maybe not.


I made you all a proposal to make this upgrade process for future versions more easy to control. But as I can see nobody took it seriously.

Once again, I reported you a top priority situation for Gold Plus users. What happens with issues found in modules like X-MultiCurrency, X-Notification, X-HotProducts? Those who bought these as stand-alone modules will get updates immediately in their Helpdesk area, but those with Gold Plus joining all these modules will have to wait a new release, again a new nightmare of upgrading process.

Let's be fair to each others. Most of you are interested to solve your own issues. OK, go for it, but do not complain. If we could improve these 2 issues above we can live a fairly tail, not a hell.

[ADDISON]

My personal opinion if it counts, QT should fix all issues and add the features they wanted in 4.5 version. Then releasing a new version with all this stuff for security, but call it 4.6.

[Danimal]

I do understand it is not XC's fault about a 3rd party module breaking. But never before have I seen this kind of poor release. Been using XC since the 3x branch.

Every time a new release comes out, even 'stable' ones, it is one thing after another. After a while, you yourself know, it gets old. I have been on this FRESH install for 3 weeks (part time) now trying to work out kinks here and there. Things that I have not said anything about but gotten used to with XC. I have not done a ton of design modification, mostly just color and size changes in CSS.

But with all the problems I have run into, I have to wonder if this thing has any stability or if it is just highly volatile.

Originally Posted by carpeperdiem
As I've now said 15 or 16 times: I think QT should pull the 4.5.5 release and try again.

I do agree with that. The releases come way too fast. They come with glitches and bugs.

We the people should not be beta testers and have to submit bugs via the bug tracker. They should find (and pay) a group of people to test this thing. It is like we all just lab rats in a laboratory.

I retired from web design to pursue my own adventures in e-commerce. I had customers leave one hosted cart for another regularly because the one cart wanted to do live beta testing. They have a good cart, but the owner of it just likes live beta testing. You never know if your store is broken or working. When updates come. With XC, we do have the ability to know when updates come, but we still end up live beta testing for all the bugs. Or spend a lot of our own man hours to find all their bugs and decide upgrading is not the thing and we should live with the bugs in the version we are currently on. Either way, we live with bugs. I just feel it is a bit ridiculous to have this many problems and send it out.

I know, don't jump on the latest version. But um... lost orders are not what I am looking for. Looking for that stable iframe integration with XP.

If I should just go sit down and shut up, do let me know.

*ends her book*

[carpeperdiem]

Originally Posted by Danimal

Looking for that stable iframe integration with XP

You and me!

I don't agree that the releases are too close -- 4.5.4 was October 2012. I think approximately 4 months for a round of bug-fixes was appropriate.

But here's the kicker:
Some X-Cart modules have active developers. Advanced Customer Review has been through a series of fixes by its developer, Karina, who has made this module spectacular. Same can be said for CloudSearch. Nikita has improved the module and solved some issues. Can't say that about fCommerce Go, where the developer took a brick wall with me when I pointed out integration issues. I didn't buy the product after the demo expired (and it is very interesting to see many of the changes I proposed, but was shot down over, are in the 4.5.5 code - whatever).

In my other life (I run two businesses) I am an audio producer. My studio has the best of the best in audio production tools. If the mothership (Avid) ever thought of releasing a version of their core software that broke the 3rd party plugins, they would be castrated. Actually, it happened once or twice -- and the stock price reflected their poor choices. They eventually embraced the developer community, and hired people to manage the developer program. When Avid rolls new releases now, the 3rd party community is truly a "partner", not scrambling to play catchup (unless they want to).

The point I'm trying to make:
X-Cart *could* manage the bug-fixes in a more modular/patch as needed basis, and NEVER have to roll a dot release unless the core has bugs.

But this is their business model.