osCommerce 2.3 to be released imminently
After the announcement a few days ago, I think that we should see the final release in the 2.x cycle of osCommerce.
I'm hopeful that there will be no more editions of osCommerce 2.x and that full attention will now turn to osCom3.0 (the 3 cycle of osCommerce).
Over at github, action has been fast and furious – with recent updates including an implementation of phpass and some "social bookmarking" ideas (digg, facebook etc) amongst others. I fully expect to see a few more code changes in the next few days with a final release announced sometime towards the end of this week.
2.3 or 2.2rc3?
The new 2.3 (I suppose it could also be called 2.2rc3, but that would be too confusing I think) has quite a number of new features compared to 2.2rc2a. One of the niftiest (for design purposes) is the inclusion of template files (header and footer) to allow designers to easily change the look of a website (eg, by removing a column) – no more editing of 30 odd pages!
The death of STS (Simple Template System)
The unique selling point of STS has always been the fact that the "designer" only needed to change 1 page to affect the entire site. Now that the header/footer files are changed, I hope to see the end of STS being used by people who know no better than to add an extra layer of complexity to an already complex setup. Just last week I encountered a site where the "designer" had installed STS simply to center the website!
The way forward
With this final release of the 2.0 cycle, as developers we now need to concentrate on getting osCom3.0 to a useable and stable point. At that time, it needs to be released as a Beta offering to customers – allowing developers and users the chance to work on a release that we all know will not change very much. Let's stop offering half finished scripts that are buggy and unstable to the general public!
What is holding 3.0 back is the constantly changing ideas introduced, it simply needs it's foundations made more rigid – which will be good for developers and good for business owners wanting to use osCommerce.
I am a business owner who uses and appreciates all that osC provides. I do my own web site managment using osC, learning as I go basically from the more experienced in the osC forums.
I was under the impression 3.0 was the next big move forward, so I am interested to see what 2.3 has. Especially in light of the fact I've added dozens of add ons to my 2.2 shops already.
Comment by Steve — September 6, 2010 @ 2:25 am
Steve – 3 will be a leap forward that is too much for the majority of people presently running an osCommerce site. I cannot see there being an easy [automated] way to change from 2.2 to 3, especially if, as you say, add-ons confuse matters greatly.
So, 2.3 appears to be the last stable release before work starts solely on 3 series of osC. 2.3 will have the same engine as 2.2 but "souped up" a little bit. It's also more secure and has some extras that are usable, and some that are plainly useless. But it'll definitely be worth upgrading to 2.3…
3 has zero compatibility with anything 2.2 or 2.3 (including contributions/addons).
Comment by Gary — September 6, 2010 @ 3:45 pm
Hi Gary,
Any more idea when this will be released ? I couldn't seem to see it on the oscommerce website ?
Ed
Comment by Eddy — September 15, 2010 @ 10:46 pm
Ed – very soon. The upgrade manual is being written right now for those who wish to upgrade…
Comment by Gary — September 17, 2010 @ 12:11 pm
I have used OSC for over 2 years now and it helped immprove my business no end.
I welcome upgrades but I have near 1000 products in my shop and the prospect of upgrading to 2.3 or 3 are frankly quite scary. I need time to do an evaluation then cut over the database and upgrade. I cannot afford to lose either customer or product data in doing so. Can anyone allay my fears?
Comment by Allan Shillitto — November 25, 2010 @ 8:06 am
Upgrading is fairly painless. If losing your website is critical, then pay a professional to do it right, first time…
Comment by Gary — November 25, 2010 @ 9:15 am