What happens with add-on when upgrading xenForo?

[fredrikse]

Hi,

I'm currently finalizing my new xenForo platform. Hopefully it will be launched in the next month or so. One thing I've been thinking about is what happens with all add-ons installed once xenForo releases a forum upgrade? Will they break or will they just continue to work?

 

[Chris D]

Most add ons will continue working.

Of course there's always the chance that something has changed in the core code which throws an add on but this, from my experience, is very rare.

 

[fredrikse]

Thanks for a quick answer. Maybe you can give me some pointers here in terms of "do's" and "dont's". From what I understand I'm off to a good start as long as I don't implement add-ons or other tweaks that alters the core code directly?

 

[Chris D]

Thanks for a quick answer. Maybe you can give me some pointers here in terms of "do's" and "dont's". From what I understand I'm off to a good start as long as I don't implement add-ons or other tweaks that alters the core code directly?

Yeah that's all you can do really.

 

[fredrikse]

I for instance use your add-on Notifications. Is it "upgrade secured"?

TMS is another add-on which seems pretty popular. Is it a good alternative?

 

[Chris D]

Nothing can be "upgrade secured".

If XenForo decides to remove the Notices system in version 1.2 (they won't) then my add on will break as it uses the same criteria as the Notices feature.

All I can say is: As an add-on developer, if my add-on breaks, I will fix it in as quick time as possible.

With the way XenForo is written, and the way its event listener system works, chances of major problems after an upgrade are pretty slim. It's just not worth worrying about.

TMS is a good add-on, but is it a good alternative to what?

 

[fredrikse]

TMS is a good add-on, but is it a good alternative to what?

What I meant was that if I were to tweak the code in some way it would be better to use TMS instead of altering the core templates directly?

 

[Chris D]

If you are making template edits yourself, then yes, it is easier and better to use the TMS system.

You don't alter the templates, you can disable changes, track changes etc.

It's worth noting, however, that the TMS can cause your edits to stop working after a XF upgrade. TMS is a search and replace type thing. If what your template modificiation is search for is changed by XF then your modification will stop working.

We were talking about add-ons, so just to clarify. Any template changes you see as a result of an add-on, are normally safe as they are using template hooks. They don't modify core templates directly.