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osCommerce

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New management and osCommerce v4


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Hi Tim! 

54 minutes ago, clustersolutions said:

Cool, does new management also mean total ownership of the brand/codes/sites and everything? Nice!

Yes, it does.

osCommerce is turning into a modern Ecommerce platform, a business that will work for all of its users.

54 minutes ago, clustersolutions said:

Will Harold play any part in the new management?

No, not at all.

Of course we welcome everyone, and members of the historical osCommerce development team, to use new osCommerce v4 when it becomes available.

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Congratulation on the new version of oscommerce. I have few questions please:

  1. Are you going to implement template engines like TWIG or TPL similar to Opencart ? or pure PHP like he previous OSC, Wordpress and Magento ?? Preferably no.
  2. Does v4 use the same programming logic as OSC2.3 ? or completely different structure ?

Thanks

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1 hour ago, Psytanium said:

Congratulation on the new version of oscommerce. I have few questions please:

  1. Are you going to implement template engines like TWIG or TPL similar to Opencart ? or pure PHP like he previous OSC, Wordpress and Magento ?? Preferably no.
  2. Does v4 use the same programming logic as OSC2.3 ? or completely different structure ?

Thanks

Hello, and thanks for your comments! 

We are working on a series of developer manuals, and will publish those once they are ready. 

The template system will be fully described as we want to ensure osCommerce designers can create new amazing functional osCommerce Templates. Template is not PHP as such. Please kindly allow us to have some time to properly describe it for your convenience. 

osCommerce v4 is not using the same programming logic as osCommerce 2.x or its forks. There are a number of fundamental differences, and we will make sure they are properly described in a very detailed Developer's Manual, so that osCommerce Developers could create new apps and work with the core where needed. 

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12 hours ago, osCommerce-Official said:

Hello, and thanks for your comments! 

We are working on a series of developer manuals, and will publish those once they are ready. 

The template system will be fully described as we want to ensure osCommerce designers can create new amazing functional osCommerce Templates. Template is not PHP as such. Please kindly allow us to have some time to properly describe it for your convenience. 

osCommerce v4 is not using the same programming logic as osCommerce 2.x or its forks. There are a number of fundamental differences, and we will make sure they are properly described in a very detailed Developer's Manual, so that osCommerce Developers could create new apps and work with the core where needed. 

I think there is some confusion between Templates and Themes. In the old days we used to call them Templates, like the templates that came from Template Monster. Now it's probably more conventional to refer to them as Themes.

Depending on the architecture of V4, a Theme would then be made up of templates, the templates containing the HTML of the theme, which hopefully will be completely separate from the core code files.

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48 minutes ago, Hotclutch said:

I think there is some confusion between Templates and Themes. In the old days we used to call them Templates, like the templates that came from Template Monster. Now it's probably more conventional to refer to them as Themes.

Depending on the architecture of V4, a Theme would then be made up of templates, the templates containing the HTML of the theme, which hopefully will be completely separate from the core code files.

OK makes sense. In fact they are called Themes in osCommerce v4 by default (although, it is possible to change it using the built in Translation tool).

Inside a Theme, there exist multiple page templates. And theme settings, etc. All editable in the back end, all completely separate from the core of course. 

Also, there exist Widgets, that can be of two types - general (like banner, for example) and page-specific (like product price, for example).

We would like to encourage osCommerce designers and developers to not only customize existing themes, but create new ones and list them in the future marketplace.

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So in another post i asked how many templates does the default theme have ? but i think i was misunderstood. I was trying to glean how much work is involved in creating a new theme 😁

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10 minutes ago, Hotclutch said:

So in another post i asked how many templates does the default theme have ? but i think i was misunderstood. I was trying to glean how much work is involved in creating a new theme 😁

Perhaps this deserves a dedicated post or even a Forum thread - will work on it!  

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We would like to encourage osCommerce designers and developers to not only customize existing themes, but create new ones and list them in the future marketplace.

 

==> Is possible to export a theme and push on the markeplace ? (of course import) Or to install directly inside the application.
About that what is the process, manual, automatically, both?


Regards
-----------------------------------------
Loïc

Contact me by skype for business
Contact me @gyakutsuki for an answer on the forum

 

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3 hours ago, Gyakutsuki said:

We would like to encourage osCommerce designers and developers to not only customize existing themes, but create new ones and list them in the future marketplace.

 

==> Is possible to export a theme and push on the markeplace ? (of course import) Or to install directly inside the application.
About that what is the process, manual, automatically, both?

Yes, of course! That's the main point - themes can be exported from a shop and imported into a different one. 

We will work on adding them to the future marketplace / add-on / app store too. 

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On 3/10/2021 at 11:46 PM, osCommerce-Official said:

Hello, and thanks for your comments! 

We are working on a series of developer manuals, and will publish those once they are ready. 

The template system will be fully described as we want to ensure osCommerce designers can create new amazing functional osCommerce Templates. Template is not PHP as such. Please kindly allow us to have some time to properly describe it for your convenience. 

osCommerce v4 is not using the same programming logic as osCommerce 2.x or its forks. There are a number of fundamental differences, and we will make sure they are properly described in a very detailed Developer's Manual, so that osCommerce Developers could create new apps and work with the core where needed. 

Hope you preserved the previous OSC structure (but with improved coding) so we don't find ourselves in a completely new platform bearing only the name of OSC.

Regarding the programming language, for example Opencart followed very similar structure to OSC, I feel familiar with the platform customization. But unfortunately they used template engines like TWIG and TPL, what makes it really annoying to customize and modify the code.

I think if you preserve the OSC structure without any additional php engines, that would be great for the community.

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25 minutes ago, Psytanium said:

Hope you preserved the previous OSC structure (but with improved coding) so we don't find ourselves in a completely new platform bearing only the name of OSC.

Regarding the programming language, for example Opencart followed very similar structure to OSC, I feel familiar with the platform customization. But unfortunately they used template engines like TWIG and TPL, what makes it really annoying to customize and modify the code.

I think if you preserve the OSC structure without any additional php engines, that would be great for the community.

Thanks for your comments.

New osCommerce v4 is based on a framework YII, on top of which we implemented all solutions and features based on our experience working with osCommerce since 2002, and on our experience working with thousands of business clients from all over the world in the last 20 years. 

There will definitely be a learning curve for designers and developers. It is a new solution, capable of more than ever before. 

Note though, the main point about new osCommerce is that one can run a successful online store based on osCommerce without the need to code unless they want to create new modules, new widgets, new apps. Everything is available and is managed from the back end of the website, and is designed to allow businesses, developers, consultants - you name it! - to be able to operate their Ecommerce store based on osCommerce in the most efficient way. 

We will ensure all the required development manuals are available to the community and will welcome development partners to create solutions based on and for the new osCommerce!

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2 hours ago, 14steve14 said:

@osCommerce-Official it sound as if you already have a product as you are posting screenshots from it in other threads, so why not release that. What is causing the wait until later this year for a release.

Steve, 

What will soon become osCommerce v4 has been in development for the last 5 years or so. It was conceived with the intention to have an Ecommerce platform that is modern, secure, flexible, relatively easy to upgrade, and has soooo many features that it can offer solutions to various businesses, of different sizes, from different industries and countries.

There are a few hundred businesses using it at the moment. Businesses whose success can to some degree be contributed to the platform, as it automates a number of processes and operations, improves data quality, speeds things up from the users' point of view, etc.

Our intention is to offer this platform to existing osCommerce users and developers, and broader public as such (i.e. people and businesses who didn't hear of osCommerce, or heard of osCommerce 10 years ago, or got upset with osCommerce not moving forward when the rest of the world did and switched to something else) so that we could redevelop the brand and community, and turn it into a very popular and successful Ecommerce solution and business for everyone involved into it.

It takes some time to create osCommerce v4 from the current platform, and this is what we are working on now. We are looking to make it ready for php 8. We are moving some parts of the functionality into the add-ons. We're working on the manuals for users and developers, and so on. 

We are really looking forward to releasing osCommerce v4 as soon as possible. And then - will continue working on it, releasing new features as apps and new versions several times a year (but not too often).

We would be very happy to see you and everyone else using osCommerce v4 in this or that way. Creating and running new successful websites with it. Creating new apps, modules, design themes. Offering development support and Ecommerce consulting to businesses. There are so many things we can do together!

And if somebody wants to still use some old osCommerce or another shopping cart for any reasons - so be it, it is totally fine. We want to see osCommerce v4 considered on its merits, on what positive change and improvements it can bring to the business - either of the online retailer or of osCommerce developer.

You're welcome to get in touch via the Contact page, happy to have a phone chat with you. 

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Hi,

I also created some addons for my shop. Discount, attribute image and etc.

Is also hard for me to convert or create these addons for oscommerce v4?

Because it was really hard work for me to read and modify the core codes and turn it into reality.

 

 

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The v4 will be a new version, a completely new version, nothing in relation to the current version 2.2, 2.3, 2.4.
All the community must restart by zero but the new manager tries to take into consideration all the requests inside the community to give you the best experience i in the new software.
 

 

 


 


Regards
-----------------------------------------
Loïc

Contact me by skype for business
Contact me @gyakutsuki for an answer on the forum

 

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How easy will it be to modify or add some custom code? Some features I've created over the years are independant to the website's needs and might not be something that is useful to another user. Or there may not be an add-on available. 

Ah, the world wide web. What a wonderful place.

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45 minutes ago, freakystreak said:

How easy will it be to modify or add some custom code? Some features I've created over the years are independant to the website's needs and might not be something that is useful to another user. Or there may not be an add-on available. 

Richard, Thanks for your question.

It is an open source PHP and mySQL solution as such. It is an on-premises solution. So you are in control of it. 

We would only recommend adding mods as add-ons and modules (which do not have to go to the Add On store or Marketplace, but can be "sitting" on your server). So that the next time we have a new version you could get the upgrade done fairly easily and quickly.  

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Plugins generally have a format ... it's only the query and then the output of the data that varies.

A How To write a plugin will be an interesting tutorial.

Along with this would go a library of functions, with the old osCommerce they were contained mostly in html_output.php, like the tep_xxx functions. I presume those are no more and replaced by new definitions.

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55 minutes ago, Hotclutch said:

Plugins generally have a format ... it's only the query and then the output of the data that varies.

A How To write a plugin will be an interesting tutorial.

Along with this would go a library of functions, with the old osCommerce they were contained mostly in html_output.php, like the tep_xxx functions. I presume those are no more and replaced by new definitions.

Sure, we will be releasing developer manuals with instructions on how to use the API, how to add widgets, modules, register and add apps, etc.

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  • 3 weeks later...

After skim reading..

I implore you not to follow anywhere near the Magento bloatware framework. I host a couple of sites for a client (because he was desperate to move from an existing host) and it is the worst bit of coding that I have seen in over 30 years of IT. The recommended OS level settings are insecure, the means of adding a simple module completely overly complex, the system overheads appalling and many other issues. If you can run on relatively high end server, think in terms of >6GB RAM, 100GB storage then you might get a mid-size store to run well.

Any framework, if you must use one, should have minimal impact on daily operations of the store, take the features of the underlying OS into consideration and not consume vast resources in relation to the data it is presenting to the buying public.

Even though in real terms, the cost of hardware has dropped, many smaller and mid-size store owners shouldn't need a large outlay to host their wares. If the e-commerce software requires large hardware (costs) then they will be better served by the likes of Shopify, Amazon et al. Stick with the original ethos of osCommerce, ZenCart, OpenCart etc. and try to maintain a lightweight platform.

I have to lease a whole large VPS dedicated to those two mid-size Magento sites, whereas a dozen or so sites happily consume half the amount of resources on another VPS, with 1,000 more products and much more traffic.

I don't tend to have a lot to say and I am frequently controversial but there's a little of what's on my mind. If the chosen programming language (please not the dumbing-down "App") makes any syntax sense to me then I may be able to assist.

Good luck with the venture.

 

(I continue to effectively host a propped-up "old" mostly stable osCommerce derivative/fork for a resilient few)

[Edit] I've just back read it's YII framework sitting on top of composer. This is not a good sign as composer is one part of the Magento nightmare! 😢

 

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On 2/22/2021 at 7:53 PM, milkman45 said:

Very happy to hear this happening. More so that I've been using every iteration of the OSC platform since 2007 right up to 2.3.4.1.

With that has been the OSCPM from Mario Valdez which is the desktop GUI that allows adding, delete and manipulate all product data directly into the store. Hopefully, you will the advantage to support OSCPM into V4 and onwards.  There has been no other desktop, NOT browser-based program that allows such manipulation of OSC-based sites.

Good to hear and will be keen to see where it heads to from here.

 

I stil use the Mario Valdez GUI interface until this day. Great for product maintenance. Sadly, the 'calendar' for products got stuck at December 31, 2020. Guess he didn't think people will still be using his software up to this day!.. 

I started with 2.2MS2, now, using 2.3.4 in my live store. An OsCommerce fan since 2003. Looking forward for a seamless upgrade and being part of this community. 

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9 hours ago, ejsolutions said:

After skim reading..

I implore you not to follow anywhere near the Magento bloatware framework. I host a couple of sites for a client (because he was desperate to move from an existing host) and it is the worst bit of coding that I have seen in over 30 years of IT. The recommended OS level settings are insecure, the means of adding a simple module completely overly complex, the system overheads appalling and many other issues. If you can run on relatively high end server, think in terms of >6GB RAM, 100GB storage then you might get a mid-size store to run well.

Any framework, if you must use one, should have minimal impact on daily operations of the store, take the features of the underlying OS into consideration and not consume vast resources in relation to the data it is presenting to the buying public.

Even though in real terms, the cost of hardware has dropped, many smaller and mid-size store owners shouldn't need a large outlay to host their wares. If the e-commerce software requires large hardware (costs) then they will be better served by the likes of Shopify, Amazon et al. Stick with the original ethos of osCommerce, ZenCart, OpenCart etc. and try to maintain a lightweight platform.

I have to lease a whole large VPS dedicated to those two mid-size Magento sites, whereas a dozen or so sites happily consume half the amount of resources on another VPS, with 1,000 more products and much more traffic.

I don't tend to have a lot to say and I am frequently controversial but there's a little of what's on my mind. If the chosen programming language (please not the dumbing-down "App") makes any syntax sense to me then I may be able to assist.

Good luck with the venture.

 

(I continue to effectively host a propped-up "old" mostly stable osCommerce derivative/fork for a resilient few)

[Edit] I've just back read it's YII framework sitting on top of composer. This is not a good sign as composer is one part of the Magento nightmare! 😢

 

Thanks a lot for your interest in osCommerce! 

It is our goal to make it comparable (or better) than Magento and other on-premises Ecommerce platforms and, at the same time, make it as streamlined as possible. 

However to make it truly capable, extendable and supportable - we need to ensure it is done right. The time is different and the approach needs to be different too.

We would very much welcome a review of the functionality of the new platform and of course of its code when it becomes available for such a review! 

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