Why 5.7?
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I've transferred from Wordpress to Concrete5 (version 5.7) about 2 weeks ago.
Yesterday I read a thread about someone who had, like me, come straight to Concrete5 via the 5.7 version. They were frustrated (also like me) by how difficult they found it to do seemingly simply things within 5.7.
An experienced member of the Concrete5 community suggested that they try 5.6.x as this was a tried and tested version of Concrete5 with lots of online help and info. They also suggested that 5.7 has possibly been mis-marketed i.e. that 5.7 is not the next evolutionary step of 5.6 as the name suggests but is a different parallel entity entirely. And 5.6 will continue to be supported.
I'm sure I'm not the only one here that is confused! And could do with a few questions being answered before I continue with 5.7 or decide with 5.6
So,...
1/ Why did Concrete5 create 5.7.x?
2/ What are the key differences between 5.7.x and 5.6.x for the developer and the end user?
3/ Will 5.6.x continue to be actively developed and improved?
4/ Why has Concrete5.7 been released with some many evident problems? It should surely have been released as a Beta version.
5/ When do you expect 5.7.x to be a largely stable and workable CMS?
Thanks
Yesterday I read a thread about someone who had, like me, come straight to Concrete5 via the 5.7 version. They were frustrated (also like me) by how difficult they found it to do seemingly simply things within 5.7.
An experienced member of the Concrete5 community suggested that they try 5.6.x as this was a tried and tested version of Concrete5 with lots of online help and info. They also suggested that 5.7 has possibly been mis-marketed i.e. that 5.7 is not the next evolutionary step of 5.6 as the name suggests but is a different parallel entity entirely. And 5.6 will continue to be supported.
I'm sure I'm not the only one here that is confused! And could do with a few questions being answered before I continue with 5.7 or decide with 5.6
So,...
1/ Why did Concrete5 create 5.7.x?
2/ What are the key differences between 5.7.x and 5.6.x for the developer and the end user?
3/ Will 5.6.x continue to be actively developed and improved?
4/ Why has Concrete5.7 been released with some many evident problems? It should surely have been released as a Beta version.
5/ When do you expect 5.7.x to be a largely stable and workable CMS?
Thanks
Hi Ramonleenders,
Thanks for this! Great response.
Sounds like 5.7.x is the way forward, and as you say it just takes getting used to.
I'm interested to see that you are using 5.7.4 (2). I'm running 5.7.3.1 and there don't seem to be any updates available in dashboard?
Thanks for this! Great response.
Sounds like 5.7.x is the way forward, and as you say it just takes getting used to.
I'm interested to see that you are using 5.7.4 (2). I'm running 5.7.3.1 and there don't seem to be any updates available in dashboard?
You have to update manually. See this how-to:
http://www.concrete5.org/documentation/how-tos/developers/how-to-ma...
http://www.concrete5.org/documentation/how-tos/developers/how-to-ma...
cheers
installed the first 5.7 few days ago, be ready to run into bugs every 5 minutes. and with it being so new, google is basically empty.
Why not start with the latest ?
5.7 really gets better with every update :D
5.7 really gets better with every update :D
Strange, but the only version available on my web hosting was5.7.3.1.
Today I tried to install 5.7.4.2 but got error when going to the upgrde page.
Today I tried to install 5.7.4.2 but got error when going to the upgrde page.
Slightly off topic, but when I go tohttp://website.com/concrete5/index.php/ccm/system/upgrade... to upgrade I get the following error
is_dir(): open_basedir restriction in effect. File(/var/lib/php/session) is not within the allowed path(s): (/var/www/vhosts/yotefl.com/:/tmp/)
Got no ideas what it means. I've asked the web hosting people to take a look.
is_dir(): open_basedir restriction in effect. File(/var/lib/php/session) is not within the allowed path(s): (/var/www/vhosts/yotefl.com/:/tmp/)
Got no ideas what it means. I've asked the web hosting people to take a look.
I think an important thing to add is that developing for 5.7 and concrete5 in general requires knowledge of object-oriented programming. If you are only familiar with procedural programming you will be confused.
Investing the time to learn at least the basics of object oriented PHP will definitely pay off if you are serious about developing.
There are still bugs in the current version of 5.7, which if found, need to be reported on the bug tracker. What I often find though is that many of the reports of bugs are the result of user error, environment/host specific issues, and issues relating to programming knowledge.
While the 5.7 documentation grows, it is important to be diligent in searching the forums for solutions. An answer might not be immediately available without some digging.
Investing the time to learn at least the basics of object oriented PHP will definitely pay off if you are serious about developing.
There are still bugs in the current version of 5.7, which if found, need to be reported on the bug tracker. What I often find though is that many of the reports of bugs are the result of user error, environment/host specific issues, and issues relating to programming knowledge.
While the 5.7 documentation grows, it is important to be diligent in searching the forums for solutions. An answer might not be immediately available without some digging.
Being able to use composer packages, having PSR and all that. In short, having code that actually is coding from TODAY and not 5 years ago like WordPress has. They don't update code to todays standards, because they want to be backwards compatble. 5.7 is not a version that is backwards compatible, so you can not upgrade from 5.6.x to 5.7!
(PSR is a specification for defining a coding standard for PHP)
2/ What are the key differences between 5.7.x and 5.6.x for the developer and the end user?
- Redactor (inline) text editor -http://imperavi.com/redactor/
- PageTypes and PageTemplates are a HUGE time saver - you have to use it, words can not describe how powerfull this is
- Better file structure, but that comes more or less with PSR
- Being able to use the latest jQuery with a theme or provide your own and use all Bootstrap functionalities in your site out of the box (or Foundation)
- Full responsive backend for 5.7, so you can edit quite much from your mobile/tablet now
- Usage of (popular) composer packages ( simple example is the pagination:https://packagist.org/packages/pagerfanta/pagerfanta... )
3/ Will 5.6.x continue to be actively developed and improved?
They will support 5.6 for bugs and if there are leaks and such. I can't imagine they will be actively developing things for 5.6 anymore.
4/ Why has Concrete5.7 been released with some many evident problems? It should surely have been released as a Beta version.
You're right in a way, 5.7 was quite buggy when it first came out. Because it got released, people could develop, try it out and report bugs. In my eyes it should have been Beta till 5.7.4.
5/ When do you expect 5.7.x to be a largely stable and workable CMS?
As said above, 5.7.4(.2) is a real stable and workable version. Been using this version for all my clients and it is fantastic. I won't be going back. Some may not be using 5.7, but that is mostly because of the lack of a(n) (core) eCommerce version or because of the "unknown". 5.7 changed quite a bit UI wise, so one could not "recognize" Concrete5 in this anymore. You just have to use it to get used to it again. Simple as that. Don't complain if you just watch pictures and didn't use the product a couple of days. You will get used to it again. Same as if you didn't ride your race bike for 5 years, it takes time for you to adjust to it and don't get exhausted of the feeling.
Just my humble opinion!