[Contribution] Step-By-Step Manual Order

[kru]

Detailed instructions can be found in v1.1 and v1.2. So perhaps you should consider installing one of those or using the install instructions from one of those and then adding any relevant instructions from more updated versions if you're adding code from them too.

 

Yes, Guy de Nooij references steps 10-14 in his 3/23/2004 post when complete install instructions are not included in that packet but if you LOOK, you will see that he posted an install file the very next day which DOES have all 14 steps...

 

This install was not a snap but it is do-able. I did it by myself and I'm not a php programmer. You just have to be willing to put in some work and read through an incredibly long series of posts. If you have a bigger store, like us, it is WELL worth it.

[kru]

I tried to edit the last post but I guess my time limit expired...

 

Detailed instructions can be found in v1.1 and v1.2. So perhaps you should consider installing one of those or using the install instructions from one of those and then adding any relevant instructions from more updated versions if you're adding code from them too.

 

Yes, Guy de Nooij references steps 10-14 in his 3/23/2004 post when complete install instructions are not included in that packet but if you LOOK, you will see that he posted an install file the very next day which DOES have all 14 steps...

 

This install was not a snap but it is do-able. I did it by myself and I'm not a php programmer. (Although I do have some mostly un-related programming experience.) You just have to be willing to put in some work and read through an incredibly long series of posts. If you have a bigger store, like us, it is WELL worth it.

 

For what it's worth, since I have a small amount of technical experience, I installed v1.5 using the instructions from v1.1 or v1.2 and made adjustments based on changes/fixes/recommendations that happened in versions since then and/or were discussed in the forum. Unless you have a test server where you're installing, make sure to keep back-ups of any files you replace so you can do some re-naming and put them back in place if you can't get the contrib to work right away. (And you won't. It took me several long nights to get it running well enough that we could start using it while I still tweaked it here and there.) This contrib is for the Admin side of your website, so you can make changes after-hours and customers who are ordering from your website aren't impacted, even if you're not getting the results you want on the Admin side.

 

The problem with contribs made by a user community is version control. You have to understand how these contrib updates work. They are not posted by employees of osCommerce. These people can't be fired/reprimanded if they don't use common sense, follow proper procedures or provide reasonable documentation. Random users start with a specific version, add some changes they need (and/or changes/fixes discussed on the forum) and call it v1.whatever. Sometimes they just post one specific file they changed. Sometimes they post the entire package again. (Or what they thought was the entire package.) Well, if three random people from different businesses are working on changes at the same time, three 'versions' get posted. If they all started making their changes to the same version, they will not build on each other and won't necessarily include the same fixes/changes and/or documentation. (Certainly not accomplished in the same fashion, if they do.) Ideally, each person would state the version they started with in their release notes. ie - If I am releasing what I thought was going to be v1.35 (because I started with the code from v1.34) but, in the meantime, three other people posted versions, I now have to call mine v 1.38. If I was a responsible programmer, I would specifically say in my release notes: "v1.38 is an update of v1.34 and changes/fixes/enhancements made in v1.35 through v1.37 are not incorporated in my code (or at least not in the same manner.)"

 

Case in point: you will notice v1.5 and v1.6 of this contrib were posted within a couple days of each other. And only about a month after a release from user shimonp (that does not have a version number assigned to it.) It's entirely possible those do not build on one another. All three may have started with the exact same version as their base. Even if that's not the case, you should smell what I'm cooking and be able to apply my recommendation to any contrib you're looking at installing. If you want to be safe, start with an earlier version that is documented fairly well and/or a version that was not released close to the date of another. Then add newer fixes/updates/enhancements as needed...

Edited February 28, 2013 by kru