Give your input on PrestaShop release cycles!

[Mike Kranzler]

Hello everyone,

 

In order to respond more accurately to your expectations we want your input:

Per year, how many major releases (from a version 1.x to 1.x 1) would you like?

And how often would you like to have minor releases (transition from version 1.x.x to 1.x.x +1)?

Thank you for your participation, these answers will help us adapt our strategy to your wants and needs, so please make your voice heard!

 

If your answer is not among the choices offered, please post your answer below as follows:

 

- Question 1: My Answer

 

- Question 2: My Answer

 

This will allow us to locate them more easily and include them in our data.

 

Thank you again for your participation, we look forward to your responses.

 

Regards,

Mike

[Mark Hesketh]

I think a lot can be taken from Matt Mullenweg's (WordPress Founder) blog post from last year '1.0 is the loneliest number'.

 

In it, Matt talks about how between WordPress 2.1 and 2.2 there was a 13 month gap. This was brought on by adding 'one more thing', and the more time that went by between the releases, the more pressure they felt that the update had to be something special.

 

I'd say then that a year between 'major' releases would be too long. There's a lot of changes + improvements you could add in a year (which in turn could bring migration problems).

 

I'd personally recommend twice a year, the same amount of updates over a year as would normally occur, but split over two updates. This would mean you could stay on top of any bugs that occur, get feedback and make improvements faster. You could then also roll all your new stuff out to users/the community when its ready, rather than it being held back in Alpha because a completely separate feature isn't yet finished.

 

Just my opinion anyway! Thanks for your great software, Prestashop.

 

Mark

[devilsown]

More often you have them the more you will keep the community on the forum hoping. Last software i used they started going long and longer between releases and the people on the forum quit hanging around.

 

I get on here often just to see if anything new is out.

[Richard S]

I think that priority must be the lack of bugs and good realeases as in PS 1.4 there were so many bugs that the versions was not really good enough until PS 1.4.3. I think that company has to concentrate on doing better job before launching and not the number.

[OC2PS]

You should target 2 major releases a year, and no minor releases unless there are important patches, bug-fixes, security-solutions, etc.

 

Updating is ultimately a hassle for shop owners, even with a one-click update. This is because *nobody* uses just the core system - there are many dependencies...plugins, themes, etc, and with each update there comes a possibility that something will break. So VERY frequent updates are an inconvenience more than a help (I can always not update when an update is available, but then I am afraid whether a good upgrade path will be available when I want to move from, say, 1.2.9 to 1.5.2)

 

Any longer than 6 months for a major update is just too long. There's a whole lot going on in the world of ecommerce and a whole lot of susbtantial improvements that can be packed in that period. Also, as another person already mentioned, anything beyond 6 months and 1) you pack a lot, and upgrade path starts becoming a mess and the likelihood of breaking starts getting bigger, and 2) if you wait for longer than that you want to pack more in it and that delays it further.

 

Finally, before releasing a major upgrade to public, you should have a "developer release" (not quite the same as Beta or RC) for plugin and theme makers so that on the day that an upgrade for PS core is released, a large proportion of plugins and themes ready for that version are also available.

[indus]

Features and bug fixes should be more frequent, while major changes to code like speed and other stuff can take more time .Difficult to say really.Prestashop should continue rapid releases till it becomes a really solid e commerce application.

[OC2PS]

How's the poll going compared to the expectations of the team?

 

What action will result from this?

[Mike Kranzler]

How's the poll going compared to the expectations of the team?

 

What action will result from this?

 

Hi OC2PS,

I am not involved with the decision-making process when it comes to the results of this sort of poll, but I can say that our developers do actively utilize this information when it comes to creating the development timeline for future releases. So while I cannot give any specifics, I can say that it does play a part in determining our strategy for future releases.

 

-Mike

[NOJoke]

I would suggest for there to be a release every 4 months to address the key features that need to be impletmented to making this software friendly for every user. Once the key features that are needed are addressed and established, then you can move onto releasing twice per year with updates for the software as a whole.

 

Right now prestashop is lacking a more robust free shipping feature on a per item basis as well as many other things that can be found around the forums.

 

Once those issues are addressed and implemented the software will take off since other software of the same nature is having the same issue. The first to address everyones needs is going to be the software that is going to be in the lead.

[Dreamtheme]

If you guys build strong auto-update feature and theme/module ability to auto-update i believe this questions will loose their weight.

[Mike Kranzler]

Hi Dreamtheme,

Have you tried out our new autoupdate module for 1.4.5 that we released today?

 

-Mike

[Carl Favre]

There are still thousands of members that have not voted yet.

 

Your feedback is really important for us and for the next versions of PrestaShop.

 

If you could take a few seconds to vote and tell us what you think about it, it would be really great.

 

Thanks.

[Burhan BVK]

I think once a year for a major release is sufficient. Stability is the most important thing for an e-commerce site, and if you have too many major releases it will inevitably be unstable. Each major release would require months of beta testing and a few minor releases to be sufficiently stable. If you have a major release every six months you will have just a couple months of stability.

 

As far as the minor releases go, it is best not to add any major feature in a minor release. Minor releases should be bug fixes, security patches etc. They should not contain database changes, new files etc.

[OC2PS]

There are still thousands of members that have not voted yet.

 

Your feedback is really important for us and for the next versions of PrestaShop.

If it's really important then IMHO you should push it in the backoffice news feed and the email newsletter.

[OC2PS]

How close are you guys to making a decision on release cycles?

 

Also, any chance we could see a roadmap with lists of features, version numbers and timelines?

[Dreamtheme]

Hi Dreamtheme,

Have you tried out our new autoupdate module for 1.4.5 that we released today?

 

-Mike

 

Yes and it is very good thing, its buggy yet but it is good, however i meant to include auto update function for custom modules and themes too or something in that direction.

[PurpleEdge]

Depends how seamless the update is. Big updates mean lots of bugs in my experience. Incremental updates are more manageable.

 

I haven't been game to try the auto-update feature, fixing glitches takes a lot of resources.

[PurpleEdge]

Hi Dreamtheme,

Have you tried out our new autoupdate module for 1.4.5 that we released today?

 

-Mike

 

Hi Mike,

 

Is this available separately somewhere?

 

I have a test site with 1.4.4.1 and the Upgrade feature does nothing - it says "You don't need to use this feature at the moment"

 

I dread having to do a manual upgrade!

[OC2PS]

Is this available separately somewhere?

Available for download: http://www.prestashop.com/forums/topic/136668-1451-upgrade-guide/

FAQ: http://www.prestashop.com/forums/topic/137315-upgrading-to-1451-frequently-asked-questions/

[damian1983]

I would prefer with each update to be a some release notes so i know what is being updated incase i have modified the files.

[A-Z Hosting]

Major releases should include all of the important bug fixes. Important being things that Merchants notice on a day to day basis. There are some bugs I've been following for 2-3 major releases that are never fixed. This really isn't how things are usually done. Minors should go out anytime 50% or better of the known bugs are fixed or if there are important security fixes. IMHO

[Nounours]

Even with a standard shop upgrading can be messy (thanks to murphy's law) so a seamless standard upgrading is vital.

 

I would prefer with each update to be a some release notes so i know what is being updated incase i have modified the files.

 

With a modified theme and several added modules uprading can be complex and the possibility of messing things rises a lot ; so such release note are very important.

Updating a live site would be less stressful.

[dewaz]

i think prestashop should lengthen alpha and beta test time before mark them as stable release. No I'm using 1.4.4 and totally scared to upgrade to the last update. For me it's better for me to see my shop running with small no function feature than take a risk to upgrade.

 

But ... in deep of my hart, I really want to test the newest stable. may be I'll try at local for couple weeks.

[Scotty501]

This is a tough one to vote on I feel. It comes down to "essential updates" versus "nice to have updates"

 

If there is a bug - then it should released ASAP - particulary when it comes to bug fixes and more importantly security. If it is some nice new features then there can be a more relaxed approach.

 

The biggest issue being that most people spend some weeks making their store work as intended, and then to see a major update screams out "I need to do it all again". That being said - the new update feature does work well from the work I have seen.

 

 

Updating is ultimately a hassle for shop owners, even with a one-click update. This is because *nobody* uses just the core system - there are many dependencies...plugins, themes, etc, and with each update there comes a possibility that something will break.

 

This summed it up perfectly.

 

One thing I do like with PHPBB - is that you get a pre-change stage before updating - it basically tells you what the changes being made are before you committ to them. If PS could do this it could make updating less painful.

 

I think above all this - improved support in the forums during major updates is essential - but I have been banging that particular drum for sometime now.

 

I know it's a commnity where (as I do) members try and help members - but ultimatley no one knows the product better than the PS Team.

 

Just my 2 cents!

[Dh42]

As someone that worked for a software company that can boast one of the greatest market penetrations of their software let me give my insights.

 

1. Testing, its just not there. I mean seriously, a release was rolled out with no ssl support. Did no one test a shop before they packaged that release? Whether you realize it or not you are alienating the novice developer with things like that. They cannot get it working, they move on.

 

2. Complete updates are a waste. Get off of the major and minor version number system. No one wants to wait a month for a bug that is keeping there store down to be fixed and packaged into a complete release. Use a hot patching system that allows for roll backs. SSL problem? No worries we will release a hot patch tomorrow, problem solved. That is the most logical way to provide fixes on what to most people is considered mission critical software.

 

3. Use the new version numbers, everyone is. I mean honestly what makes version 1.5 not be version 2?

 

4. Here is on that really bothers me. FIX BUGS. Out of the box, depending on what version you have, most of the payment gateways are broken. FIX them or suit offering them. It is very troublesome that when helping a novice user you have to say something like; your best bet is to go buy a module from that guy right there who gave prestashop a lot of money. It makes people think there is collusion between prestashop and others to break the program and help out developers. Bad business.

[OC2PS]

WP have an interesting approach:

http://wordpress.org/about/roadmap/

 

After the 2.1 release, we decided to adopt a regular release schedule every 3-4 months with the features primarily driven by ideas voted on by our users.

[Dh42]

It works once you get a solid framework. Then all updates are bug fixes or new features. Prestashop is lax on the bug fixing and the feature requests. They just kind a go on their own course. Hence why feature requests are not allowed in the forums. But at the same time they are afraid to step on the toes of the developers that are PS certified. If one of them has a module for something there is very little chance that, that feature will ever make it into Prestashop.

[OC2PS]

When I joined these forums early last year, PS was fairly good with this stuff, actually....at trying to fix things, etc.

 

I suspect that 1.5 has grown into a monster bigger than anyone on the team anticipated, and is soaking up a lot of their time and energy.

[Dh42]

Its like houses. If you are building a new house and your old house catches fire, you stop building the new house and put the fire out in the old house. They are concentrating on the new house too much and are not releasing or fixing the "stable" versions.