Amiga.org
Amiga News and Community Announcements => Amiga News and Community Announcements => Amiga.org site announcements => Topic started by: on March 20, 2009, 08:13:14 PM
-
Over the years, Amiga.org has stayed with its current version to allow the classic Amiga users to use the Web site. Newer versions support and pretty much require options that the Classic Amiga browsers simply can't handle.
We may be running into the end of the world as we know it very shortly and here's why...
The servers on which we rely are currently running PHP4.x which is at its end-of-life and will not get any more updates. The Web host we use (and have no need to move away from) are being forced to update all of their servers to PHP5.x or later.
We simply don't know if the old copy of Xoops we have will run under 5.x or later.
What this means is that we may be proverbially screwed in several ways if Xoops 2.0x doesn't support PHP5.
1) We will have to forego support for classic Amiga browsers in any case, as we may be forced to move to a later version of Xoops (Drupal, or whatever).
2) Even if we do decide to go the route in 1 above, there is absolutely no upgrade path between the 6 year old 2.0x we now use and newer Xoops (or more appropriately, the old newbb module).
What this means, quite simply put, is that if Amiga.org's current software doesn't run under PHP5.x, there is no way to migrate the data that we've collected over the years.
What that means is, if Xoops 2.0x doesn't run, it's a reboot scenario with no "classic.amiga.org" possible without hiring a professional developer to write a migration module.
NOW BEFORE EVERYONE HERE STARTS GOING APESPIT AND BOMBARDING THE SITE TRYING TO MIRROR EVERY PAGE...
We are NOT going anywhere. Backups will be kept, and if we find you hammering the server to create your own copy of Amiga.org, I will personally ban you, your IP, your IP class, and that of those around you for ETERNITY...
The reason behind this post is not to panic everyone. I just don't want to hear it if everyone wakes up one morning and finds that AO isn't working due to the mandatory updates.
EVEN IF THE WORST CASE HAPPENS, WE WILL FIND SOME WAY TO SAVE/USE THE HISTORICAL DATA HERE...
It just may be an issue of rebooting into something new (I'm investigating Drupal as it's more current and may have an upgrade path from Xoops 2.0x -- even if it doesn't support the classic Amiga browsers) then finding out how to convert the existing data into something usable by the new system.
Sorry to be so firm, pushy, and mean about all this. It's not personal, I'm just a little stressed about it and want to make sure everyone knows what's happening.
Hopefully Xoops 2.0x will run just fine under PHP5. If not, we gotta do whatever it is that we gotta do. Right?
Wayne
-
I sent a little help your way Wayne. Thanks for keeping A.org rolling a long. This site is a tremendous resource for me, and I do appreciate everyone who contributes their knowledge and expertise on all things Amiga. :-D
The Dawg
-
Please, won't somebody think of the post counts! :nervous:
--
moto
-
Thank you very much.
To be clear though, I'm not asking for money. I'm just trying to figure out what the best course of action for the site and community will be.
Like I said, if Xoops 2.0x works under PHP5, we're golden. If not, it may be a rough awakening for everyone who is used to running classic Amiga browsers.
Wayne
-
Frankly, this is a situation that we've put ourselves in (and I'd be surprised if other Amiga Xoops sites aren't in) by trying to hold on so tightly to the past.
-
Wayne
What percentage of vistors using this site are using an AMiga browswer ?
I know with spoofing this cant be definite.
I would be happy to have Amiga.org live in whatever format. We all lost accounts in the past due to the hacking, I would rather this site an community carried on no matter the path.
-
@jj
approximately 8%, not counting the idiots who spoof.
Wayne
-
Consider looking into a dedicated/colocated server? If I was still at my old ISP job I could've gotten you a very good deal, maybe somebody else is in that position. There are some commercial colo services that are reasonably priced, I know a few individuals who run their own personal web servers that way.
Things like Amazon's cloud based virtual servers might be something to look into as well.
-
Unfortuntely time does march on and to me at least the continuation of this site is more important than 8 or 10% of amiga browser users not being able to browse this site.
-
Hi,
can someone give you a try on an another server ?
Maybe a trick is possible ? :-?
-
I enjoy using my Miggy, even online with my x-surf... but 99% of the time I visit this forum with my Mac laptop.
So, as far as I'm concerned, go ahead with any upgrades needed.
Keep it up Wayne, that's all I ask :-)
cheers
Tom UK
-
I am ignorant about Amiga browsers.
What would one have to do to update an Amiga browser?
-
@ Wayne
Well hello.
Not sure if I get the point.
You suggest the new PHP/Xoops upgrade might leave old Amiga browser users behind. There MUST be some workarounds! How about mobile plugins? Some mobile devices' profiles shouldn't go beyond Amiga browsers' demands. If there exist ones, you might simply redirect the content into a "limited" vault, which preserves all/some Aorg functionality. Also if new PHP causes old Amiga browsers to fail working, why not pass the data over some other low-end CMS providing service to the older browsers?
And what exactly do you mean by "no way to migrate data"?? It's just data, a matter of running some script transforming it to another data format, what's a big deal about it? I do not think moving xCMS data is any problematic. World is not much complicated as long as you keep data in XML, eventually with XSLT transformation.
I must be missing something, still dunno what that is.
-
There is a migration path from Xoops 2.0 to 3.0.
There is a migration path from Xoops 3.0 to 4.0.
There is a migration path from Xoops 4.0 to 5.0.
There is a migration path from Xoops 5.0 to 6.0.
[PlaySound TriumphantOrchestra.8svx]
Voila! No data gets lost. :idea:
-
well transfering data via XML should never be a problem given that XML is just palin text
-
well if i can find an old install of xoops 2. I dont mind testing it on my php5 server.
-
Just to be very clear, it doesn't matter what host we use, or whether we co-locate. PHP 4.x stopped dev 2 years ago, meaning they just stopped the support/update cycle. No more updates. No updates. No security patches. No other host in their right time would offer PHP 4.
It's just time to do something different (if Xoops and PHP 5 don't like one another.)
Wayne
-
http://gtawip.net/xoops2test/
seem to work fine together.(PHP Version 5.2.5)
-
I would not mind it if Amiga.org had to restart itself. Sure it would be bad in a way because of the entire archive and what we all built up, but then a new Amiga.org would give us a chance and more access to more feature-rich website instead of trying to make it as compatible with amiga web browsers. Not trying to filter out current amiga users, but by now, I hope that most have a PC or a MAC or Linux for web browsing. Anymore you need flash to view videos or java to play some fun and addicting game.
But I give it a thumbs up if Amiga.org had to be restarted. As long as you got the backup of Amiga.org it should be fine. I do all my web browsing on a PC anyways.
Dont mean to upset anyone here. :)
-
This is sad news indeed. I don't own a PC or a Mac, so if Amiga.org stops working in IBrowse, I probably won't be able to come back here. I may not have the highest post count, but I do know my way around Amigas better than most people, and have always tried to help whenever someone has a problem I know the solution to. I also enjoy browsing through the recent topics every morning from my A1200, which I use every day for the work I do, as well as for pleasure.
I guess now I'm hoping for a new version of IBrowse for 68k that supports whatever system this forum ends up using.
Good luck, Wayne, I hope you can sort out a solution that'll work for the Amiga guys as well as the PC/Mac crowd. If luck doesn't help, then may the Force be with you.
-
I think that the 8% figure is totally misleading because it reffers to the percentage of internet users who just visit this site, not to the percentage of the people who are actually registered and participate.
It's not my forum anyway and i could be wrong. Good luck..
-
Its going to be difficult moving the forum over to Drupal I think.
Pages (newsposts) and images Is not a problem I think, I just spent the last two weeks importing data from a custom ASP based CMS over to a fresh Drupal install and some parts are kinda tricky to import (most obvious comments and forum parts).
If you decide to go for Drupal check out the module 'Node Import' it will help you import pages from a CVS-file into Drupal without messing directly in the database.
Also, Drupal is not the most easy system to learn but its a good alternative for a future site IMHO.
-
I'm not going to complain if things change. Unless maybe if the site goes Flash or Shockwave only or something. Maybe a solution to backwards compatibility is to have a text only version page that spits out a latest posts style list for those that can't use the new stuff. Best I can reckon (being a lay style person in the matter) is that the problem is that there is a security issue with people trying to post information in old style ways so older computer people would be in a read-only situation, which is better than nothing. Better yet, if the new system is already readable via old methods anyway, no special page needs to be generated and people that can't post or search or login or whatever will figure that out and perhaps then consider upgrading to something newery.
Is there anything on OS4 that's compatible with what we're about to be forced to use?
-
Guys,
I hear the panic, and I understand the feelings going on here. There are a lot of great ideas, and some not so great. Unfortunately, none of you so far seem to grasp the intricacy and thin web of "oh dear god, don't break" that keep this site running now as it is.
I'm *not* advocating moving to another CMS. I'm hoping that one morning I wake up to a working site and a note from Chuck which says "oh, btw, we migrated your site to the new superduper server last night". That being said, I would be horribly remiss in my duties if I didn't prepare for the worst.
Love the snarky "this is the fact" attitude of some, but again, until we have to make a change, nothing except backups changes. None of you know, and I simply don't know how to explain properly what I'm thinking might happen.
Yes. It may work just fine. Cool. Ok. If that's the case, you should all be happy using the same old site that never changes or updates to do anything new.
As a web developer, I'm always looking for a better way to do things, and frankly, I gave up on trying to update the site years ago because of the 8% of all browsers using the site which are on the Amiga (according to the stats) who would raise unholy hell if we moved to a more modern and capable system.
To me, I look at the site and all I see is something that never changes. Strictly speaking, that's "ergonomically discomforting" to someone who usually takes pride in their constant sense of change.
It's 2009. It's been -- I believe -- 24 years since the birth of the Amiga, and 15 since the death of Commodore. I'm *not* in any way trying to dissuade a single member of the Amiga faithful here from enjoying their hobby.
Hell, I just bought a Dell Mini 9 specifically to load Mac OS X on, so I know from hobbies. There are no new Amigas, outside of at least a couple of wannabes, but facts are facts, and even if there were, I'm only aware (I think) of one single new browser out there, but if you're on a classic, you're screwed.
I love the classic Amiga. I grew up on one, and I owe a lot to the little machine that taught me most of what I know, but even if the PHP 5.x upgrade goes flawlessly, then what? We (this site) can't stay the same forever. It just can't if it wants to survive.
If I had my wish, I'd find a way to build a whole new site around the existing data and use it just as is, while re-orienting Amiga.org into what I *always* (since 1994) pictured it as, and that is what I'd call a "cooperative friend-based networking site". More of a Facebook than a MySpace, but not really either. Something different and completely unique.
A site designed to help each of you interact with one another in such a way that you actually establish friendships, rather than just warring over [insert your favorite target here] on the forums.
This community has reached a stage in life where it NEEDS something to change. I *loathe* the idea of leaving the few remaining classic Amiga users behind as much as the next guy, but at what point do we say "enough is enough, time to buy a newer computer (such as a Pegasos or whatever clone may be available)".
Seriously. Stop trying to convince yourself (and me) that everything is perfect and ask yourself what you'd like to see supporting the Amiga community. Chances and glances are that the current Web site isn't it.
Trouble is though, even the latest Xoops, whatever its version, hasn't changed THAT much to warrant all the work to move to it. The major changes being that they moved to CSS-oriented themes and use a LOT more Javascript which the Amiga is either too weak to process, or in most cases, can't process at all.
Parts of me wish that we'd never migrated from 1.x, which is what -- as I understand it -- Amigaworld still runs. At least then, we'd have a more logical code base and the hackers and spammers might have completely forgotten about bothering with it.
This is not a treat we share, as 80% of all new accounts are bogus, and the site is pretty much hammered by script kiddies every single day.
It's simple. If Xoops 2.0.7 works with PHP 5, I'll just shrink into the background again and let you guys enjoy the antiquated site this has become. Otherwise, it's not worth the trouble to upgrade to Xoops 2.**, so, that just leaves "change".
Sorry about this rant guys, it's late and I just watched a really deep movie ("Knowing") so I'm a little philosophical. If anything, I'm deeply moved by the fact that everyone who's responded cares so much what happens.
I started out with the intent just to warn you of the potential for change. Now, I'm just not so sure that change wouldn't be for the better.
Wayne
-
I was actually thinging about this a year ago. As was someone at AROS-EXEC. They had the target of going to Joomla. Just didn't know how to do the data migration. I think it looks possible. Just got hit with a case of life and was busy with other things for afew months. Sorry for flaking out on that.
Might be something to revisit.
I believe I still have the Xoops version AROS-EXEC uses installed. It is not too far off the version AO uses. I'll check and see what it does under PHP5.
-
Hey Argo,
Long time no see. Other than that, my only comment would be "Oh DEAR GOD NOT Joomla!"
(I use Joomla for a work project and find it extremely frustrating. Granted, it's Joomla 1.0 not 1.5.x, but still)
Wayne
-
Wayne wrote:
(I use Joomla for a work project and find it extremely frustrating. Granted, it's Joomla 1.0 not 1.5.x, but still)
Don't know why, but that made me chuckle :lol:
-
I don't recall Joomla 1.5 looking that bad. Granted that was about a year ago. I'm more of a fan of PHPWebsite.
-
My opinion on this: Preservation of the old content must have 100% priority. This site is not a simple chat type of thing where information looses its value over time. Instead, it has grown to a huge knowledge base around the Amiga technology. Whatever Amiga-related problem you encounter, you will probably find the solution here. So, migrating to a completely different CMS and starting from scratch really isn't an option.
AFAIK, lower 5.x PHP versions have a compatibilty switch that enables PHP4 compatibilty. I'll see if I can find it somewhere. If this is not possible for some kind of reason, I suggest going the way Chaoslord mentioned.
Chaoslord wrote:
There is a migration path from Xoops 2.0 to 3.0.
There is a migration path from Xoops 3.0 to 4.0.
There is a migration path from Xoops 4.0 to 5.0.
There is a migration path from Xoops 5.0 to 6.0.
Loosing classic Amiga browser support is still better than loosing the content. The information collected here over the years is invaluable.
-
Why not run AO off a virtual machine that uses php4?
Dammy
-
Wayne wrote:
If I had my wish, I'd find a way to build a whole new site around the existing data and use it just as is, while re-orienting Amiga.org into what I *always* (since 1994) pictured it as, and that is what I'd call a "cooperative friend-based networking site". More of a Facebook than a MySpace, but not really either.
Both of them suck about equally, I think.
A site designed to help each of you interact with one another in such a way that you actually establish friendships, rather than just warring over [insert your favorite target here] on the forums.
OK, just create an Amiga group on and you're done.
Seriously. Stop trying to convince yourself (and me) that everything is perfect and ask yourself what you'd like to see supporting the Amiga community. Chances and glances are that the current Web site isn't it.
I disagree. This site perfectly serves its purpose.
-
Colani1200 wrote:
My opinion on this: Preservation of the old content must have 100% priority. This site is not a simple chat type of thing where information looses its value over time. Instead, it has grown to a huge knowledge base around the Amiga technology. Whatever Amiga-related problem you encounter, you will probably find the solution here. So, migrating to a completely different CMS and starting from scratch really isn't an option.
I agree with you! :-)
-
yeah but you support the UKIP so your opinion really doesn't count for much does it.
-
Why not go with a entirely different portal software?? You could always look the old forum for posting and keep it as a archive. I think this is better option than dropping all support for amiga browsers. I am unsure what amigaworld uses, but it seems to work fine in ibrowse at least.
-
Hi Wayne,
I know I don't really post here, but wanted to say I'm sorry to hear of your 'forced upgrade,' that's never fun :-( As you said, yes, AW is still on 1.x.
@thread
Migration of large databases to some 'random yet different, in odd and incompatible ways' is not 'an easy fix' as some of you seem to believe (even while Wayne has said it's not the case :-/ ). For something like your contacts or address book, that has half a dozen or so fields, sure, no problem. You'll have to trust Wayne and others with more CMS and DB experience when it's said - you do NOT want to see the DB schema for XOOPS - it's rather bizarre. Also, all of the 'features' modules as well. The more tables and fields there are, the more difficult it becomes to do any sort of 'easy translation' into another system.
And in this case (CMSes/forums, etc) - you'll find any potential system being migrated to, has it's own DB schema oddities to it, as well. Sure, *some* of it *might* be easy, but even for users, there's more data than just nick and password...Just the way forum sections are split out can be entirely different, let alone all the polls, news stories, profile data, etc etc etc.
Having said that, I've rarely seen too many issues in moving from PHP -> PHP5. You may need to do some tweaks for the php.ini file at worst, but the majority of PHP code 'just works' going from php4.x -> php5.x.
Someone (argo) looks like he even quickly stood up a XOOPS 2 instance in PHP5.
There can *always* be issues...and there usually are, and Wayne was being *nice* in raising 'there may be some issues ahead' to his users. Those of you saying 'oh, no problem, move to < something else >'.. I bet haven't actually *done* what they're proposing. It can be done, possibly with some lost data (polls, perhaps, other features, some user data from profiles can't be migrated, etc), but it can be, and usually is, a *lot* of work and time - test instances, lots of schema comparisons and writing transformation code, but even before that, *understanding* both the old and new schemas, triggers, odd looking table layouts that you normally never touch just running the site...
Anyways, good luck, Wayne - I hope it goes well.
-
Those 8% are long over due a little shove into the 21st century, maybe this will do it (not holding my breath)? :-D
S/h PC's are almost free, it wouldn't hurt anyone to try something different no matter how much they hate; Apple, Microsoft, Linux, anything new...
-
The data can be migrated to any suitable system using Pentaho Data Integration (http://www.pentaho.com/launch/pdi/) or similar (I am gaining experience with it at the moment).
Also, if we move to a system with a SOAP/XMLRPC API (or similar) for the back-end, another service (hosted/managed by someone else, maybe) could provide access for older/mobile browsers without impacting the design of the primary site.
jaminJay
"Just sayin'..."
-
Surely not. We should stay in living in the past and believe that AmigaOS will be the one OS to rule all others. :-D
I think its great what people are able to achieve with such old hardware and software.
But lets be honest they are better and easier computer experiences to be had these days.
-
removed.....check your email Wayne
-
Am I missing something, Xoops.org says the current version is 2.3.3?
-
Tomas wrote:
You could always look the old forum for posting and keep it as a archive.
You can't keep it because of the pending server upgrade. That's what this thread is all about. :roll:
-
I personally love the layout of Amiga.org. It loads up in no time, and still looks great, unlike most of the flash-heavy crap that is so commonplace these days.
It will be a real shame if we lose all the old data though.
-
Colani1200 wrote:
AFAIK, lower 5.x PHP versions have a compatibilty switch that enables PHP4 compatibilty. I'll see if I can find it somewhere. If this is not possible for some kind of reason, I suggest going the way Chaoslord mentioned.
I think I found what I meant. The variable zend.ze1_compatibility_mode can be (un)set in php.ini. But this only seems to be for the Zend engine and it only works for PHP < 5.30 so it wouldn't help forever.
-
Thnaks for the information Wayne and good luck migrating the site.
If Amiga.org requires a "re-boot" then so be it. It's the people here who make the site worth visiting, not the legacy pages held on the server.
I'm a regular member on another site that had to do something similar. They mothballed the old site and made it available as read only and then carried on with a fresh, new site. To be honest, despite the initial "shock", I don't think anbody was bothered after a couple of weeks had gone by.
-
@Wayne
I hope everything goes well, so there will be no Amiga version of the Alexandria library incident. I’m curious of the new ideas but at the same time, understand that there is a legacy here to respect and consider. The option Darrin told of is perhaps a way to start from scratch and yet keep everything. Hope it works out anyway somehow.
-
Wayne, thanks for all of your unseen efforts to create and maintain this gathering place for Amiga users. Being one of the 8%, I have really benefitted from and enjoyed the site through the years. This is not "Goodbye" of course, but a vote of confidence in what you decide to do. Everything has a life cycle, even Yahoo was Amiga friendly until last year. I have other platforms to follow the site as required. I simply prefer Amigas, but I'm not a fanatic. (Big toothy grin)
-
I'd be happy if the site worked with Safari. I always get 400 error from the Apache server whenever I get futher in from the index page.
I second Tenacious - everything moves on, this will bring improvements to the site, the people behind it and in front will be the same.
-
Wayne, you call all people not to panic, but yet you did. How hard is it to set up a PHP5 server and a.org on it to test if it's running like it always did?
I even have an obscure Windows based webserver, running PHP5 and Xoops 2, and it just runs fine.
-
I meant what I wrote about life cycles, however, if it is doable and doesn't cost Wayne extra work, I would choose compatibility with iBrowse over the latest browsing trends. Any of us can visit a million different other sites to see the latest in web fashion. Next year, the trends will change again.
If you think about it in a different way, this site is very successful. It has a dedicated following, a great deal of traffic every day and a long history. Sites with the latest technology are not guaranteed to be significant or relevant or visited.
It seems appropriate that a site about Amigas should probably be accessable by an Amiga. If it aint going to break, I vote to not fix it. Grin.
-
It seems appropriate that a site about Amigas should probably be accessable by an Amiga.
How did you came up with this insane notion? You lack common sense if you ask me. :-x
-
Wayne you rule. You made a site that brings people of a flavor of computer that should have ruled the world together. But it lost the battle for domination. Now its a great hobby.
Most mechanics have a 50's car in the garage. Amigians have there old puters. Theirs nothings wrong with the preservation of a great technology. However making this site something easier for you to manage should be well respected by all. You do the work and from I can tell don't take any money for doing so. Why should you feel the need to work harder instead of smarter.
I would think it can't be that hard to take the data collected here and find a way to take guides and convert them. The average daily post. Let them die.
Keep the knowledge and let the chatter die.
Simple an sweat.
But what do I know just a noob.
:-D
-
gurthuk wrote:
I'd be happy if the site worked with Safari. I always get 400 error from the Apache server whenever I get futher in from the index page.
Uh, I've been visiting this site with Safari for years, never had any issues with it. Sounds like a PEBKAC related problem.
-
I dropped html3 in favour of xhtml/css for the exotica. Maintaining such antiquated stuff, makes for hard work (and ugly code). I suggest moving to modern standards. People should not expect a website to look nice on their 15 year old browser technology!
-
If you use IBrowse or Aweb or Voyager then you shoudl switch to the Webkit based OWB browser which you can get from here:
(OS4) http://os4depot.net/index.php?function=browse&cat=network/browser
(OS3/4) http://strohmayer.org/owb/
-
Wayne, ya gotta do what ya gotta do :hammer:
I don't care much for modern flashy sites..simple is better IMHO and the classic Amiga evryday users will find a way to access the new site..shit 'finding a way' has been the Amiga motto since day one..LONG LIVE AMIGA.ORG :pint:
-
pjhutch wrote:
If you use IBrowse or Aweb or Voyager then you shoudl switch to the Webkit based OWB browser which you can get from here:
(OS4) http://os4depot.net/index.php?function=browse&cat=network/browser
(OS3/4) http://strohmayer.org/owb/
OWB won't run on my Amiga. In fact, I doubt it would run on anything less than the most souped-up 060, and even then it'd be slow. I know it works through UAE, but that's not real Amiga hardware. 68k Amiga owners still need to use IBrowse or AWeb these days.
-
Wayne, if you need to test, I have a PHP5 based server already setup that is at your disposal.
-
I know, OWB gobbles up memory like Windows does :/
I also have IBrowse, a version 3 (or 4) has been over due for a long time. There has been no news of a new version for a long time.
I hope Amiga.org will still be accessible for all browsers as long as you stick to standards (leave out CSS and other flashy stuff) we should be fine.
-
Oh the irony of an Amiga dedicated Website that won't actually support the Amiga anymore. :-P
-
@Wayne: go ahead and may the force be with you :pint:
-
skurk wrote:
gurthuk wrote:
I'd be happy if the site worked with Safari. I always get 400 error from the Apache server whenever I get futher in from the index page.
Uh, I've been visiting this site with Safari for years, never had any issues with it. Sounds like a PEBKAC related problem.
oh yes silly me -
-
@gurthuk
I sometimes get that error in Safari. Deleting all amiga.org cookies fixes it.
--
moto
-
Krusher wrote:
Wayne, you call all people not to panic, but yet you did. How hard is it to set up a PHP5 server and a.org on it to test if it's running like it always did?
I even have an obscure Windows based webserver, running PHP5 and Xoops 2, and it just runs fine.
Problem solved. Didn't anyone else see the message above?
I am glad things won't have to change and that Amiga browsers will still be able to access this site, even though I usually visit from my MacBook using Firefox, I would still like to be able to visit here in the future from my Classic Amigas, AmigaOS4.x (if I ever get one) and MorphOS computers.
-
Well, the oldest version I could find is Xoops 2.0.14-RC1. Which I believe is what AROS-EXEC runs on.
That installed with no issues on Apache 2.2 with PHP 5.2.6.
So far so good.
-
IMO, Amiga.COM may be running out of time (and $$)
hopefully.
-
@Argo,
2.0.7 is roughly 2 years earlier than 2.0.14.
@everyone
First, thanks very much for your understanding and support.
As I said, I just want everyone here to understand what's happening. It's kinda my job to make sure everyone understands so that if we have a day or so of scrambling to fix problems, you won't go all insane and start forest fires in the name of the Amiga religion (it's a joke, albeit bad, sorry).
Hopefully everything will go without a hiccup. If not, we'll do whatever's necessary and worst case scenario, my concentration will be on saving the data, building a new site, and making the old (current) data at least accessible in online archive form.
I don't like change any more than the rest of you, but the fact is that we're dealing with data that's quite literally up to 14 years old in some cases. Literally hundreds of thousands of records, literally 50 or so tables and literally a thousand or so fields between them. That's what you get when you don't auto-delete forum posts, links, pictures, or anything else for 10 years or so.
Again, I get the snarky comments from a limited few, and I understand how -- in these days -- I should count my blessings that this thread hasn't turned into open fighting.
I also understand the "irony of an Amiga site which isn't usable by Amigas" but for Pete's sake.. You either trust that I will do everything in my power to provide service for them, or you don't.
All I'm asking for is a little patience (if the worst happens) and a little faith. Hopefully in a month or so, we can all sit around laughing about "the much to do about nothing thread". :)
Have a great night ladies and gents.
Wayne
P.S. - Laughingly stated, anyone who doubts my resolve and determination can always write me a SIZABLE check with at least 5, non-zero digits to the left of the decimal point in exchange for "the keys to the Amiga religion heaven"... :) (rofl... goodnight ladies and gents)
-
Wayne, I do not know if this is of any help or not.. but here goes.
http://www.xoops.org/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=18176&forum=14&post_id=100624
I`ve just sucessfully set up XOOPS 2.0.6 on PHP5. But I had to make some modifications.
First of all, I had to change name of 'clone' methody of XoopsObject in kernel/object.php, because this name is reserved in new PHP. Then it turned out that PHP get_class() function is now case-sensitive, so I wrapped all calls with strtolower(). My patch is here: http://ares.4lo.bytom.pl/pavcio/downl ... isc/xoops-2.0.6-php5.diff
But that`s not all. After patching the XOOPS source I realized that PHP crashes (!) sometimes when Smarty is outputting some templates (?). I tried to debug it but after several hours I left it. I`ve replaced old Smarty bundled with XOOPS with new version - 2.6.2. Now everything works fine and it`s much faster!
-
@whiteb
Thanks. So, probably not as easy as I'd hoped, but maybe not deadly. I wonder what he means by "I've replaced old Smarty bundled with Xoops". I'll have to ask him to elaborate because after all these years, I have no idea what files that entails exactly.
Wayne
-
Bugger, I assumed development moved faster.
Wouldn't happen to have a copy of 2.0.7 hanging around? Well, a copy of what is up on the server actually. Since I know you have fiddled with the code.
Well, at least AROS-EXEC should be safe should there hosting change over to PHP 5.
-
A preliminary look it seems that you just install smarty in to htdocs\xoops\htdocs\class\smarty.
http://www.smarty.net/quick_start.php
-
It looks like you'll be able to get your current version of Xoops running on PHP 5, but if that doesn't work out I might be able to help.
I'm a PHP developer by trade and I would be willing to help out with a data migration script and a "lite" Amiga-friendly interface for whatever CMS you migrate to.
-
Yes, go ahead with the upgrade.
As for the historical data, I am sure you can find a way of keeping most of data.
The areas most of interest to me is the News and the Forums mainly.
-
Wayne, if you do decide to go the drupal route I sent you a PM on the migration scripts module. Its not that bad to do it, and just about everything will move over just fine.
Here is the link if your inbox is flooded and it didnt go through: http://drupal.org/node/63796