Upgrading from version 3.1?

[sissy]

Hello, I'm presently running a legally licensed copy of version 3.1 on one of my sites and am suddenly having a problem with the code which has been running on my server for nearly 4 years without issues.

The odd part is that the code in this program is untouched from when I originally uploaded it 4 years ago. I even downloaded the file and used "beyond compare" to compare my original copy of the program from 2004 to the one on the server today. They're absolutely identical! Yet, I get a consistent "Syntax error" from PHP whenever it tries to load and run lib/link.class.php:

Parse error: syntax error, unexpected ';', expecting T_STRING or T_VARIABLE or '$' in /home/www/mydomain/indexu31/lib/link.class.php on line 1204

and as far as I can tell, there is NO syntax error in that line which reads:

      elseif($new) {
        $line = str_replace("<%new%>",$this->icon_new,$line); <<--line 1204
        $updated = "";
      }

Under the circumstances, I suspect the real issue may be some glitch caused by the new version of PHP that they recently installed on my server which is:
version 4.4.4. I'm wondering if anyone else has reported issues of this type?

At this point, I'm thinking it may be easier to simply upgrade to the latest version; but the truth is that introduces other related issues. For example back in '04 I sought and found a programmer who could and would integrate the Indexu users database back to vBulletin so that I could share both login cookies and a common member list between those two products and allow the visitors to have a single login that worked for both applications.

I'm wondering if Indexu's 5.4 vBulletin integration is up to that task today without custom mods? I'm not concerned about the users who have LINKS in my database. They still do have their own usernames and passwords. I'm most concerned that registered users of my site who are logged in under vBulletin should not be required to login again when they enter indexu.

Also, I'm wondering how the new templates setup compares to the old one? Will I need to replace and rebuild all my existing templates? I put a fair amount of work into customizing them originally so they matched the overall look and feel and color scheme of the rest of my site...

Finally, I'm wondering if there is any sort of upgrade script that will take me from 3.1 to 5.4 or am I going to need to start over? Obviously I'm MOST concerned about the content in my existing links and members database here.

The forums seem to be almost entirely silent about what's involved to do a version upgrade like this.

Thanks very much!

[FSGDAG]

I'm wondering if Indexu's 5.4.1 vBulletin integration is up to that task today without custom mods?

Unfortunately thats a no! The latest version 5.4 does not have an integration with vB. You would need a custom programer again to find a way to integrate it.

Also, I'm wondering how the new templates setup compares to the old one? Will I need to replace and rebuild all my existing templates? I put a fair amount of work into customizing them originally so they matched the overall look and feel and color scheme of the rest of my site...

5.4 now uses Smarty, so you'll need to redo your custom template.

Finally, I'm wondering if there is any sort of upgrade script that will take me from 3.1 to 5.4 or am I going to need to start over? Obviously I'm MOST concerned about the content in my existing links and members database here.

There is an upgrade script that will upgrade the site to 5.4. Bruceper could probably tell you better than me, but I'm pretty sure the transition is pretty smoothe that way

The forums seem to be almost entirely silent about what's involved to do a version upgrade like this.

Its been a long time since 3.1. I wouldn't expect there to be much talk about that

[sissy]

Unfortunately thats a no! The latest version 5.4 does not have an integration with vB. You would need a custom programer again to find a way to integrate it.

Reply: I find that downright strange considering the fact that their own website uses vbulletin. But then I also find it strange that there isn't even a link from their community forums back to their home page!


5.4 now uses Smarty, so you'll need to redo your custom template.

Reply: I figured as much. But at leastthat task is "doable". Hopefully I won't get TOO many new grey hairs while doing it.


There is an upgrade script that will upgrade the site to 5.4. Bruceper could probably tell you better than me, but I'm pretty sure the transition is pretty smoothe that way

Reply: Well, THAT's good news! Getting Dody some help has served more than one good purpose. I've already read enough of Bruce's posts to know for sure he's NOT someone who's struggling with ESL if you know what I mean.


Its been a long time since 3.1. I wouldn't expect there to be much talk about that

Reply: Forget upgrades from 3.1. Heck, I'd settle for ANY discussion of upgrades from anyone at all. When the forums are silent about upgrading it suggests to me that no one ever thought enough of the software to be willing to consider upgrading. As a 40 year software pro, that's an VERY scarey thought indeed!

See my comments to your feedback above,

[FSGDAG]

I know integration with vBulletin is a big request... I also know that Dody is working on a new version of IndexU called IndexU Deluxe. And I have NO IDEA on whether vBulletin integration is even being consider for IndexU Deluxe but as of right now, this is something you'd have to have done by an outside programmer.

I did a search on the forums for "upgrade" and after the 15+ pages of results came back, I did find talk about it towards the end of the query. Again, 5.4 has been released for a while now. Most people who were going to upgrade already have, and even more are purchasing the latest version. So its not 'scary' to me or surprising that there isn't a TON of talk about upgrade from a version that came out almost 4 years ago

And yes, Bruceper has been invaluable! He has been a HUGE help and given Dody the time he needs to continue development.

[Bruceper]

Version 3.1 is unsupported, unless you find someone who remembers it you won't get any help as it's been way too long since I've used it.

The issue probably is the PHP version and PHP Environment.

The upgrade process is simple, upload the new version and choose upgrade from 3.x. There is nothing silent about the forum on the upgrade, v3 was a long time ago. People have moved on since then. The upgrade retains all information. ALWAYS make a FULL backup first before upgrading.

If you want easy and simple database integration ONLY then purchase a copy of amember pro. I believe it's $120 and will replace the user signup/login of both vb and indexu and other scripts as well. No need to hire anyone to write anything. And at $120 it's probably cheaper than hiring someone.

Don't forget to backup before you upgrade.

[sissy]

Okay Bruce, I downloaded the current version and have carefully read both your upgrade guide and the installation notes. I do have a question.

Under the circumstances here, since the version I bought and installed nearly 4 years ago is beyond the oldest version supported by the upgrade, I'm inclined to do a fresh install and let it create a brand new database then export the users, links and categories data tables from my existing version with mysqldump and import them into the database for v5.4. That way I'll get my existing data converted into the new table formats but leave the old configuration stuff behind.

Does that sound like a workable approach to you, Bruce? In your judgement is there significant risk in executing this plan that some new data columns might not be properly initialized because the columns don't exist in my old tables at all? If there is, I can plan to take a different approach to conversion and make sure after uploading my existing data that all new data columns are initialized the same way they are with a fresh install and a new database.

I did that in my original build of Indexu's MySQL data tables. In that project, I directly uploaded about 2,000 links into indexu's links database plus 500 categories in the category table and a couple of thousand link contacts as well all from an existing outside links list I'd built on an earlier project and I had good success with that. Even though Indexu's programs hadn't actually been used to create that database, the software never knew the difference. It just woke up one day and discovered a fully populated database it hadn't ever seen before sitting there ready for it to use! The software never complained and everything worked pretty well from that day forward.

Are there any other "gotchas" or pitfalls you're aware of that I should be considering?

In the version I'm running I hired and paid a programmer to loosely integrate the Indexu user table, login and cookies with vBulletin so that once a user had logged in to either product he was also logged in in the other. I'm 99% certain I can isolate the code changes made to do that on both the vBulletin and Indexu sides of the fence. The changes weren't terribly complex as I recall. If I can do that, I have a shot at being able to retrofit the required changes into the current versions of both products and thus should be able to integrate the latest versions in the same way the old ones were. We'll see.

But my first objectives are to get the new version installed and working and convert my existing data to the new format. Integration comes later just as it did in my original install.

I gather there's no ready to go vbulletin integration designed (or available) for the current version; but unless Dody has totally rewritten his code, I'll bet money my old vBulletin integration can be made to work with few (if any) major headaches. But I won't get around to tackling that until after I've got my existing data in place and working well. Integration will need to wait until after installation and data.

Believe it or not, I'm a 40 year IT Pro. So conversions of this scope don't scare me. I've managed many similar (and successful) data conversion projects over the course of my career with a high degree of success.

My question is, what have I overlooked (or not taken into account here)?

Thanks! And BTW, you did a fine job on that installation guide, Bruce. Thanks for a valiant effort!

[Bruceper]

Thanks for the comments on the install guide.

I tought the upgrade process included 3.1, but if it doesn't, there is still a way to keep your links and categories.

Go to your admin panel, and export the categories and links. Then upgrade and then import the links and categories. This is a similar process as upgrading from version 2 which you can see some brief instructions on how to do that here http://www.indexusupport.com/2007/11...rom-version-2/

If you wish, I'll even do the export/import for you.

You're right, there is no current integration for vbulletin. The integration will probably be harder this time because the new version uses smarty and it's harder to track things down with all the code.

Other than the import/export you haven't missed anything. Good luck and if you want me to do the import/export just let me know.