Massive template updates might need to boost the middle version number.

[ShikiSuen]

XenForo 2.2.13 has massive updates among the templates.
This will be a burden to those sites using lots of deeply-customized styles, (possibly) discouraging them to buy further XenForo updates until the next really-big version.

I just upgraded the CSCN-Anniversary style for XF 2.2.13 (on XF official demo site), and I found that the upgraded version is no longer programmatically compatible to earlier releases of XenForo 2.2.x. For example: 2.2.8, see the screenshot below.

Such massive update deserves a new middle version number: 2.3.x .

Reference: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/introduction-semantic-versioning/

 

[bzcomputers]

2.2.13 is for the most part a basic patch update will little functionality change. It was correct to go with 2.2.13. Yes, it was a lot of patches and changed many templates but it has very limited function change compared to 2.2.12. The number of template changes for this patch update was high but not all that unusual.

2.2.12 to 2.2.13 = 43 template changes
2.2.11 to 2.2.12 = 30 template changes
2.2.5 to 2.2.6 = 29 template changes
2.2.4 to 2.2.5 = 32 template changes
2.2.1 to 2.2.2 = 29 template changes

Minor version changes (2.2 to 2.3) are for releases with new functionality in the system.

 

[ShikiSuen]

2.2.13 is for the most part a basic patch update will little functionality change. It was correct to go with 2.2.13. Yes, it was a lot of patches and changed many templates but it has very limited function change compared to 2.2.12. The number of template changes for this patch update was high but not all that unusual.

2.2.12 to 2.2.13 = 43 template changes
2.2.11 to 2.2.12 = 30 template changes
2.2.5 to 2.2.6 = 29 template changes
2.2.4 to 2.2.5 = 32 template changes
2.2.1 to 2.2.2 = 29 template changes

Minor version changes (2.2 to 2.3) are for releases with new functionality in the system.

I am afraid that XF 2.2.13 does have functional changes: The ability for being a PWA for iOS.
Also, the massive structured data metadata improvements are really a pain for style maintainers, rendering the "auto-merge" feature totally useless in this situation.

 

[benFF]

Also, the massive structured data metadata improvements are really a pain for style maintainers, rendering the "auto-merge" feature totally useless in this situation.

I was going to mention this - that seems to be the main thing that broke a lot of addons as the template replacements didn't match anymore.

 

[ShikiSuen]

I was going to mention this - that seems to be the main thing that broke a lot of addons as the template replacements didn't match anymore.

That's why these should be regarded as "ground-breaking changes".
What a nightmare for those big XF style vendors.

 

[Kirby]

I am afraid that XF 2.2.13 does have functional changes: The ability for being a PWA for iOS.

Installing XenForo PWA on iOS does not require 2.2.13, this also works with 2.2.0-2.2.12 (but without Push Notifications).

Also, the massive structured data metadata improvements are really a pain for style maintainers, rendering the "auto-merge" feature totally useless in this situation.

Yeah, it surely is annoying and does require quite a bit of work - but IMHO it does not justify a minor version increase as it is not really "ground-breaking".

 

[Russ]

What a nightmare for those big XF style vendors.

I had updates pushed out for all my styles in about an hour of XenForo releasing the update. That's updating the templates, packaging them, posting the announcement, and updating them on XenForo RM. This update was far from being a "nightmare". I think there are certain things you should consider for releasing styles to the public, one big one being "is that edit really necessary"

I checked out your style and I think there is a balance in the edits you should include. Things like this in your post_macros template is the only edit:



To me, this isn't an edit I'd make on a style releasing to the public. If an end-user wants to do that, an edit in the child style would be best. The message_macros templates sort of the same thing. The only edit you have is a container wrapped around the user banners which I don't really think that's necessary. I mention these two specifically because they were technically the "hardest" to update.

All of your node_ templates, it looks like you're adding special containers to achieve a specific look. I can tell you from experience, I can achieve the same look you have using pure CSS. Once XenForo introduced multiple node types, I quickly ditched the edits I had in those templates for a pure maintenance purpose. Funny enough, the edits I did have in there has never been requested since I removed them.

Again, total personal opinion, but I hate outdated templates so the less possibility the better .

One thing that helps me out a ton is I have a "Debug" style which has a simple edit in each template our framework modifies.


In those templates I have a single line at the top edited:


This will make it so these templates are outdated if XenForo updates them and I can easily see which code has been modified. This is way easier to read versus having my custom code in the compare screen.

 

[ShikiSuen]

I checked out your style and I think there is a balance in the edits you should include. Things like this in your post_macros template is the only edit:

There is a reason why I ditched these 3 dots: They can cause y-axis aligning problems with the triangle symbol (for certain fonts only), if my memory is correct.
I am afraid that one "…" should be enough.

 

[ShikiSuen]

All of your node_ templates, it looks like you're adding special containers to achieve a specific look

Not for all cases. Sorry for using vBulletin terms here.

Talking about the userbit in postbit, the userbits deserve a special flex container for banners. I don't know how you can make a dedicate flex container for the user banners by only using the LESS codes.

The forumbit (the node list in the forum homepage, watched forums, etc.) does have structural changes: I need a unique container to manage both "stats" and "watch":



Is this also achievable using LESS?

 

[Wildcat Media]

Again, total personal opinion, but I hate outdated templates so the less possibility the better .

I kept things simple when using your themes. All of my modifications are via my own template modifications installed as private addons (IOW not released to the public). I never edit a template directly, except for extra.less. This saves an incredible amount of grief each time an upgrade comes along, and in all but maybe one or two instances over the past couple of years, an upgrade of the style cures all the outdated template messages.