[Discuss] AutoMOD 1.0.1 released

Martin Truckenbrodt · Sun Nov 25, 2012 12:04 pm

tumba25 wrote:... There are new installation instructions coming up shortly. When I test MODs I always use AutoMOD to upload the zip file directly. Much easier and faster than extracting, creating directory and copying files.

Hello Jari,
in my experience this has not been running well in all previous AutoMOD releases. My MOD's support forums are full of issues for this problem. But I haven't tested it for AutoMOD 1.0.1 by now.

I'm using AutoMOD only for test installations - to test the AutoMOD compatibility for my MODs which is required for the phpbb.com MOD DB. On my live board I'm never using AutoMOD.

My personal opinion:
AutoMOD for phpBB using webmasters should make it easy to install MODs. But for MOD authors at least of medium size and large size MODs it's a pain. People don't know what they are doing when they are using AutoMOD! So MOD authors don't support their MODs. They are teaching people basics about MOD installation insteat!
For me one reason for this problem is that the features at the phpBB3 Olympus core package are not complete and in some cases they are not finished. So a lot of MODs have to edit a lot of core code. Also there are some hard-coded sad restrictions for compatibility in combination with MCP, permission system and log system to use them for large MODs which could be called modules or Add-Ons. So a lot of large MODs are using their on tables and systems for these things. phpBB community at the moment doesn't have a usefull platform for feature discussion. Also in past phpBB developers and other team members in my personal experience haven't been very interested in a critical but objectively and constructive feature discussion. And for MOD authors it's forbidden or at least very restricted to discuss about the features of their MODs. Also they are not allowed the help people at the MOD requests forum with their MODs. They are called MOD hijacker, spammer and so on. phpBB community lost a lot of MOD authors last years. https://blog.phpbb.com/2012/11/10/appst ... -november/ gives me some hope for the future. But without something like a "Complete the phpBB core!" campaign I fear that the hooks and the extension things will not be successfully. And then much more people spent some money for alternative but commercial complete software solutions. Don't think about features as a software developer. Think about features like webmasters are thinking about it! In past it was a good point for phpBB to be a slim solution. But time is changing things. For a lot of people now it's easier to use a blog are a simple CMS insteat.

Bye Martin

RMcGirr83 · Post by **RMcGirr83** » Sun Nov 25, 2012 12:12 pm

Martin Truckenbrodt wrote: Hello Jari,
in my experience this has not been running well in all previous AutoMOD releases. My MOD's support forums are full of issues for this problem. But I haven't tested it for AutoMOD 1.0.1 by now.

I haven't had many posts of users having problems with uploading using the zip upload feature of automod. More than likely the end user didn't have permission set correctly on the store directory or the mod was packaged incorrectly. All mods must pass validation using Automod and many mod validators and jr validators do this by using the upload feature of automod.

AutoMOD for phpBB using webmasters should make it easy to install MODs. But for MOD authors at least of medium size and large size MODs it's a pain. People don't know what they are doing when they are using AutoMOD! So MOD authors don't support their MODs. They are teaching people basics about MOD installation insteat!

You are always going to have those users who don't know the phpBB system or way of installing mods. Teaching/re-directing them to a post or knowledge base article just goes with the territory. I am not sure what the point of the rest of your post is as this topic deals with Automod, not core functions of phpBB.

Martin Truckenbrodt · Sun Nov 25, 2012 12:20 pm

Hello Rich,
all of my MODs have been validated. Except for one completey rewritten MOD I'm waiting for a first approval. So my MOD packages are right. If the folder permissions are not right then you are getting a different error message. I could imagine that the problem is related only to larger MODs.

phpBB.com KB is a good thing. But there are other places on this website with documentation and the conjunction to the KB is missing there or at least not clear. Some documentation is very outdated. Also support team members are not redirecting to the KB consequently. So I think that the KB is not well used.

Yes, you are right. Some of my other words are a little bit off-topic. But I see a conjunction to these points. Maybe I have a strange view to these things?

Bye Martin

YouTube · Post by **DavidIQ** » Sun Nov 25, 2012 12:40 pm

The only problems I've seen with AutoMOD, besides these that came up recently, have been with server permissions. That isn't something that AutoMOD can deal with if the admin hasn't set up permissions properly. The upload feature receives and unzips proper MOD packages just fine and has been for quite some time now. If there were issues with this part then nobody has reported it.

zdDog · Post by **zdDog** » Sun Nov 25, 2012 5:28 pm

just upgraded it from the unofficial 1.0.0.2

works fine

had to upload the latest umil but working fine now

tumba25 · Post by **tumba25** » Mon Nov 26, 2012 9:36 pm

randomessence wrote:even if i remove that edit the bug i am talking about is still reproducible with the test mod

1:install a clean phpbb3 + automod 1.0.0.1 (which a lot of users will be updating from)

note on step 1: at this point you can install and remove the mod as many times , correctly, as you want if you remove the bug inducing edit to search.php

2: install the test mod

3: Update to automod 1.0.1 or use the github repo

4: Uninstall and Automod just ignores all the edits completely and says the mod was successfully removed

5: Try to re install the mod. it will produce errors as the correct finds can never be made since they were not returned to their correct state.

I would post it as an official bug if i knew what was causing it. so far the process of updating from 1.0.0.1 to 1.0.1 is the only thing that creates this problem.

A fix is now in the github repo. It needs some more work but is good for testing.
https://github.com/phpbb/automod (direct download link)

randomessence · Post by **randomessence** » Tue Nov 27, 2012 6:02 am

ok i test using these

1: Advanced Block Mod 1.1.2 non validated rezip/pack the file ( this is how i first noticed )

2: qte 1.2.1 (i was using 1.1.1 but the edits are the same)

3: and my test mod

the update seems to work. mod 1 2 3 have their correct (same) edits after updating 1.0.0.1 to 1.0.1(github) and when trying to remove.

mod 2 does a very peculiar thing when updating and you might want to test this yourself. This might be a weird fluke of how these particular edits have been done.

Install QTE 1.2.1 using automod 1.0.0.1

Try to remove (it will fail) and you will notice it is looking for a before and after version of the same edit.( You can over come this by literally duplicating the existing failed find part of the edit in the file. After successful removal you have to manually remove these dupe edits.)

Update to Automod 1.0.1

Now you will see something interesting. The previously broken edits seem to be "fixed" and apart from one edit you must manually correct the mod seem to be removed correctly. (this edit seems to be a mistake also) This could be the weird fluke, by ignoring the inline, it actually "accidentally" works.

Update to Automod 1.0.1(github)

The edits are the exact same as with automod 1.0.0.1

If you install a fresh board and install QTE 1.2.1 on either, 1.0.0.1 or 1.0.1 or 1.0.1 (github) the results are always the same. The scenario or updating 1.0.0.1 to 1.0.1 is never repeated.

So to me this seems to show the fix is working when using the new version from github but that this odd behavior with QTE might be worth checking out, if only to confirm the updated mod is working as intended.

thanks for updated version.

tumba25 · Post by **tumba25** » Tue Nov 27, 2012 7:32 am

I'll have a look. If its not critical it has to wait for AutoMOD 1.0.3.

tumba25 · Post by **tumba25** » Tue Nov 27, 2012 6:21 pm

randomessence wrote:Update to Automod 1.0.1(github)

The edits are the exact same as with automod 1.0.0.1

If you are checking the edits in the database (phpbb_mods.mod_actions) the edits there will not change. When you click on the uninstall link the edits will be converted to something the new uninstall function understands.

randomessence · Post by **randomessence** » Tue Nov 27, 2012 6:29 pm

ok that makes sense. I had assumed that that if the edits were the same before and after then the updated version was working as intended.

I think QTE is a unique issue due to the way he does the inline edits, but that is also has a peculiar result when updating from 1.0.0.1 to original 1.0.1

As for how Automod actually handles removing QTE edits i think is a separate issue, I just wanted to inform you so you could maybe see if it was related to the main bug or just a weird side effect.

tumba25 · Post by **tumba25** » Tue Nov 27, 2012 8:57 pm

Thanks, I see that the converting function needs some more love.

PinoyEngine™ · Post by **PinoyEngine™** » Fri Nov 30, 2012 2:18 pm

Finally! Mod Authors will surely not miss this.