Modules compatibility

[endriudb]

Hi all!

These days I'm starting so many topics 'cause developing a module makes me reflecting about different aspects about Prestashop platform

Btw, I tried to install the module I'm developing on the 1.4.9.0 version (of Prestashop, of course) and the installation fails at all. It gives me a blank page with no errors and no alert messages, so I can't figure out what's wrong. I could study how the modules for 1.4.x version are installed to find differences in the process and maybe fix the problem, but the question I've in my mind is more generic:

How do we (the developers) have to manage the modules' compatibility? If I develop (as I'm doin') a module starting on the 1.6.x PS version (the newer one), how can I assure and manage the compatibility for the older PS versions? How I change and structure my code?

Are there guide lines for doin' this? And if not, maybe someone from the PS staff could write a guide all about compatiblity. I've read the developer's guide but I can't remember anything about it.

What do you think about? I'd love to do it myself (I love to write documentation, yes... maybe I'm crazy), but I've not enough experience in PS development

[endriudb]

No one interested about this??

[El Patron]

welcome to development, please  don't post non-informational post just to bump.   always add to original post to make it more interesting.

 

as for blank page, if you are going to develop, then you need to know any error that happens, yes?

 

start here

 

http://www.prestashop.com/forums/topic/224525-how-to-turn-on-error-reporting-for-debug-information/

[endriudb]

welcome to development, please  don't post non-informational post just to bump.   always add to original post to make it more interesting.

 

as for blank page, if you are going to develop, then you need to know any error that happens, yes?

 

start here

 

http://www.prestashop.com/forums/topic/224525-how-to-turn-on-error-reporting-for-debug-information/

 

Well, my topic is not about a blank page I can't figure out. At all.

It's about receiving guidelines to handle modules' compatibility through the various Prestashop's versions.

Because (correct me if I'm wrong) there should be - imho - a section in the developer's guide about this argument, but there isn't.

It's a suggestion, a sort of "Hei, why don't we do it?"

A free opinion, something to help developers to make quality modules; if the community wants to grow, it has to help other people to know the platform, and how to handle these problems.

A clear, rich, well-done documentation is the key.

 

P.S.: my suggestions are about development, so I chose this section to make my topic. If it's wrong, feel free to move it to another section

[El Patron]

well you said you loaded on 1.4 and got blank page...so the logical step is to get error so you know...

 

Most things work between releases, but if we write for say 1.6, try on another version and get blank page...then only you can find out what is the issue.

 

the 1.5 and 1.6 high light changes from 1.4, i.e. using context.

 

here is 1.6 developers link

 

http://doc.prestashop.com/display/PS16/Developer+Guide

 

here is 1.5, this highlights more about difference with 1.4

http://doc.prestashop.com/display/PS15/Developer+Guide

[endriudb]

Yep, I know. I've read both those guides and I appreciate them so much.

But there are not so many examples and they explain how to realize a very simple module.

So when I face new errors I search in the forum, then through internet with Google, and the informations that can be found are precious but at the same time confusional, fragmented, and not always compatible with the version I'm using or I wanna fix.

Many times, I've found different people facing the same problem in different ways, and I really don't know the best practices I should follow.

I'm not saying "I don't wanna study, you have to tell me what I have to do to make a brilliant module!"... I'm only saying that there's not a great documentation about all the aspects a developer have to face to make advanced modules

I'm not new to developing in Prestashop, and I'm not even new to PHP, OOP and MVC. But sometime I find difficult to find solutions because I'm not one of Prestashop's creators, and it would be great to have a scheme saying:

 

* for 1.6 version you should be doin' this and NOT that

* to assure compatibility with 1.4 you should add this method

 

and so on.. these are example, ok?

Guidelines, only and simple guidelines