That's the biggest question for me at this point in time.

I am one of those who is currently stuck on the 2.2.4 version of XOOPS which is apparently no longer officially supported and recommended.

I am aware that the blame for this situation partly falls on me for upgrading to the 2.2.x branch early, but I think that some part of the blame now evidently falls on XOOPS Project as well. What is happening recently is that XOOPS is practically giving up on 2.2, essentially marking it as a mistake, and moving on with the old 2.0.x branch. How else am I to interpret this than a realization of the wrong path and the late fix.

I don't nor should hold any grudges towards XOOPS for that though. I know the mantra. It's an "open source" project, people work for free etc. etc. even though I think some professionality is to be expected from a project that is now a real organization (XOOPS Foundation). Some responsibility is still carried.

Anyway, I have been considering a switch of my site to Drupal. One of the biggest reasons is simply lack of confidence in the future of XOOPS. What if the 2.2.x fiasco repeats itself again? Will XOOPS project finally have a long term stability and direction we all need? Does XOOPS have a good future or are we still in for surprises?

Have there been any steps made towards preventing similar problems happening in the future?

I am not saying all this to put anyone down. I am merely observing the situation as I see it and trying to decide wether to stick with XOOPS or move on to something like Drupal. I am trying to make the best choice here and I am hoping that your feedback will be of some help.

Some good points favoring the XOOPS option are:

1) The latest 2.0.14 release indicating that there is an active development of a well working branch

2) Skalpa's promise for a "downgrade" script in a future release for 2.2.4 users:
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3) My familiarity with XOOPS and the fact that sticking with XOOPS means preserving old URL's on the site, and putting less risk of data loss due to conversion (there aren't really all that reliable conversion options to Drupal actually).

However some points against XOOPS are:

1) Doubt about the future of XOOPS

2) Drupal appeal regarding some technical issues. Drupal extensibility and customizability definitely exceeds one of XOOPS.

3) The fact that Drupal has a solid base for an incresingly bright future which gives confidence.


So what are your thoughts? Have you found yourself in a similar situation? What have you ultimately decided? What would your suggestions be (if any)?

I appreciate any feedback.

Thank you
Daniel

More features from 2.2 will be added into the next release. Unless of major 2.0.14 errors, I would imagine that this could be 2.3.

The gap between the 2 branches (2.0 and 2.2) will be closing with each release... and very soon the gaps wont exist.

There is an option of downgrading to 2.0.13.2, and then upgrading to 2.0.14 ... it depends how much of your site needs 2.2.x features. If you can survive without those, then it's certainly the quickest option.

the code has always been in good hands with skalpa, you would have to trust in skalpa's, phppp's and other members of the devteam professionalism and a good way of knowing you are going the right path is testing and working with the new versions that are coming out, and proving for yourself that the code is solid.

Not only XOOPS code is unique it has a great community and until now I haven't met a cms with the manageability XOOPS has, also the opening of the documentation section reveals some real admirable work. As a 3 yr old user of XOOPS I trust in it's positive progress.

I think a bigger reason to move away from XOOPS would be its modules.

Both versions of XOOPS work fantastically, IMO. They do what they're supposed to do for me. I have nothing but praise for the work the developers have done with the software.

XOOPS also have a great group of theme developers joining the community. There have to be almost a thousand themes to choose from.

No, my problem is with the modules. It doesn't seem that XOOPS is keeping up with the competition in this regard.

Recently, I've had requests for

Realty
Commerce
Point of Sale
Inventory
Podcasting/Videocasting
Entertainment reviews
Functional blogging
Multimedia
Intergrated Internet Radio
A wider variety of business applications

Most of these are available either commercially or for free with other CMS packages.

While we do have some of these features at our disposal, they seem to be more like not-quite-ready-for-prime-time modules compared to other packages. And the constant bug fixes coming out for some modules make some people nervous about using them in the first place.

XOOPS is already recognized as a solid, fully-functional product. There's no question in my mind that it's the premier CMS. Our themes are excellent. In my opinion, our problem is our high-end modules. Right now, I sometimes feel like I'm driving a Rolls Royce with bicycle tires for wheels.

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Well that's good to hear.

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I am actually aware of that downgrade script, but since I am currently using quite a few modules I am worried that the downgrade will make them incompatible and if there are no downgrade scripts for these specific module databases then it's hard to get the content from 2.2 modules working in 2.0.13.2. But I'll have to test this I suppose.

The modules I use and need are CBB2.3, Private Messaging and profile modules (which come with XOOPS 2.2), SmartSection 1.1, SmartFAQ 1.0.4, MultiMenu 1.74, PiCal 0.82, MyAlbum-P 2.84, News 1.42, XPress 1.5 and WebLinks 0.93.

I posted that just so if anyone has used them on 2.2 and downgraded succesfully can share their experience. I'd appreciate it.

Also thanks snow77 and gestroud for your replies. Regarding modules for XOOPS I don't really need much more than I mentioned above and some of the new features I plan to implement on my site could probably well be done using an existing module, but compared to Drupal, for example, and its extensibility, I think gestroud is right that XOOPS does probably lack behind a bit in certain ways.

Anyway, if I could succesfully pull a downgrade that will make the final decision on wether to stay or go much easier. So I'll have to try that and then see if I like what I see enough to stick with XOOPS.

Thank you
Daniel

Daniel,

If your website is functioning to your satisfaction, why downgrade? There are still 2.2.3/4 users on the forum and while it's not "officially" supported, we do try to help each other out.

I have several 2.2.4 sites that are functioning successfully and other members are as well. Those sites will need to wait until version 2.4 is released.

Perhaps updating your modules will increase your site performance.

Current versions for some of the modules you listed:
CBB 3.04
multimenu 1.8.x
News 1.44
XPress 2.03
piCal .87

Hang in there!

Daniel,
I wholeheartedly agree with msdana. Those of us who use 2.2.4 will have the option to upgrade to 2.4 which should bring us up to speed, from what I understand (those in the know - correct me if I'm wrong here). I use both 2.2.4 and 2.0.13 and really like the extra functionality of 2.2.4 for the membership association site I've been working on. So far, it's working out well.

Good luck to you either way you go.
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Hmm.. well the site is more or less working alright on 2.2.4 so maybe you guys are right. But when is the 2.4 release due to happen, at least as a rough estimate?

Also it's a good idea about upgrading existing modules. I have actually tried to upgrade CBB already but ran into some problems (blank pages) and reversed as soon as I could not having enough time (and downtime) to sacrifice for troubleshooting). Maybe I need to upgrade one minor CBB version at a time?

Btw, one thing I forgot to mention is that I am using a couple of important hacks by GIJOE; the autologin hack and the shorturl's hack which also need to work on whatever I am going to upgrade or downgrade to.

Thanks guys for your support.

Daniel

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I believe that 3.04 will let you upgrade from any previous version. Double check on that one, though.

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Not sure, probably a couple of months, but don't quote me on that. It could be sooner or it could be later

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As with any hack that makes modifications to the core files, you will probably need to re-do them with whatever version you decide to use.

Dana

Alright, thanks. I'll try to upgrade to 3.04 again. I suppose that when the time comes GIJOE will have hacks and instructions for the new version ready as well (if they will be different) for reapplying so yeah..

I've just read the 2.3/2.4 roadmap and have a bit better understanding of where it is going. Essentially it's taking a step back after taking an approach that didn't work and redoing it hopefully right this time, from 2.0.x to 2.3 (dev) to final 2.4.

Well that sounds good and if it'll be ready in 2 months (give or take) that's alright as well considering that time passes so fast to me lately two months are nothing. (I mean, I've had my site on 2.2.4 now for probably six months already ).

I guess I'll take this road of least resistance (compared to the drupal switch and all risks/troubles that could bring) and give XOOPS a second chance.

Thanks

Daniel.