Once you mod the cart a little, how do you go about upgrading it and keeping the previous modifications?
What is your way of keeping it up to date but up to your specifications?
I’ve created my own skin and I’ve modded many of the cs-cart php files to suit my needs. Because of this I don’t use the upgrade feature of the cart. I also don’t use the upgrade feature because many times the database update file is not complete compared to what I do.
Here’s more or less what I do:
1.) Backup my site and database.
2.) Download the newest cs-cart version.
3.) Use a comparison program (I use ultracompare but many like BeyondCompare) on the new database structure file vs. the database structure file of the version I am using. This will tell me what tables have changed. I also run a compare on the data.sql file to see what new base data is different, ie. language files.
4.) I create a sql file that will alter my database to reflect the changes I found in step 3. I don’t apply it yet though. I make an update file for the data changes also, unless it is something I don’t need, ie. new countries.
5.) I make a new database and copy my backed up database to it. Then I apply the updates to this test database from step 4.
6.) Install the new cs-cart version in a testing area and once installed I change it to use the database from step 5.
7.) I go through the php files that I’ve altered from my version and if the new version of cs-cart has the same file as the old version of cs-cart I just overwrite it with my altered file. If the new cs-cart has an updated version of the file I use the compare program again to see what has changed and I apply my altered file changes to this new file. I do this for all the php files I’ve updated in my cart.
8.) I do the same as step 7 but for my skin file. I made my custom skin based off of the basic skin. So for every basic skin file that has changed since the last version I look at the changes and see if anything important was done and I work it into my skin. If it was just a visual change then I ignore it.
9.) Once I’ve tested this new version “test” site, I close my live site. Back it up again. Move the new files to the site. Update the database with the update file. Reopen.
Sounds like a lot of work and it can be, especially if you don’t understand changes you’ve made. I make all of my own changes and modifications so I’m aware of what they all are and why I did them. I also keep a file log of what files I’ve changed for quick reference. I find modifying a clean install is the best way to get the most bug free version.
adodric,
Funny, that is almost identical to how I do it. I use Winmerge to compare my php and tpl files against the new updates.
David
[quote name=‘adodric’]Use a comparison program (I use ultracompare but many like BeyondCompare) on the new database structure file vs. the database structure file of the version I am using.[/QUOTE]
There seems to be a wide variety of sql & php files containing database related information.
- Which is the “database structure file”?
- Do you also run a compare of all of the other db related files?
Found in the “/install/database/” directory. The database structure file is “scheme.sql” and the data file is “data.sql”. These are the two I run compares on between versions. If your store runs any of the other languages you may want to also compare the related sql file for the language data inserts.
Thanks adodric,
It’s really obvious, once you know where to look!!!