Hello,

Is there any "official" guide on what the best practice is
to upgrade xoops? I've got it running fine on 2.0.6
initially, with customizations. For the upgrade to a
newer version, I'd like to

1) preserve my customizations
2) have a full backup including db backup in case things
go wrong.
3) understand how to quickly restore to the previous version
if necessary (include db restore)

What is the best way to achieve this? I'm running it on a production site so I really don't want to "experiment" with it.

For the upgrade to 2.0.7 I had to manually go thru the change log, and only applied file changes where necessary. Now I'd like to upgrade to 2.0.9.2. Any suggestions?

Thanks much,
Ray

Just for your info, you should always have a test site to check any changes that you make to a production site first.

As far as the upgrades go you will have to upgrade to 2.0.7x first then upgrade to the latest version.

Customizations depending on what they are, will need to be tracked so they can be restored (if still compatible with no changes).

Here is a document on Howto upgrade from 2.0.7.3 to 2.0.9.2 with images and explanations.

Database and home directory backups always a good idea.

Any installed hacks (like auto login for instance) will need to be upgraded to a version compatible with the latest Xoops.

Also read all the faq sections pertaining to your situation, Lots of information in the faq. Read all readme files included with the upgrade files.

Any other questions or problems post here for help. And good luck with the upgrade.

HTH.

Thanks for the info. I understand the general philosophy but am interested in specific procedures regarding XOOPS upgrade.

1) how to I backup the db content of xoops?

2) how to restore from the db backup?

3) customizations. I have to say as a CMS xoops's customization capability isn't so good because quite often I have to modify the php code, which makes upgrade a real pain. But that's more of long term problem to solve I think.

4) I also would like to have a test site. Having only a production site right now, would it be possible to "clone" it into another site which I will use as my test site for upgrades?


Thanks much,
Ray

Yes, you can clone your site to make a test site. It should be the same procedure for site migration. See this Faq Page which contains a part of an article I wrote when I migrated my site between servers.

It also explains how to export the database and to restore.

If anything is not clear, ask.