Wich is the best way to use smf mods?

[luuuciano]

Hi!

I was looking the mod directory, and I see a lot of them really interesting and useful...
but... wich is the best way to use them?

I mean, if I plan to use them in smf 2RC2... then I will need to mod all of them again in the next 2.0 release, and so on, in any future updates... not to mention mod updates itself...
it is a pain in the ass...

is that the only way to do it?


it is planned something like "plugins" system for smf?


best regards!
luciano

[Arantor]

The best way to use them is to use the Package Manager in the admin area, which should automate them.

You will need to reinstall them up until 2.0 final whereafter future changes to the 2.0 series should be reasonably lightweight and not likely to break too many mods.

A plugin system is not planned at this time as far as I know, mainly because it can actually very drastically limit the potential for mods (virtually every mod I ever wrote would be immensely more complex if it had to fight with a plugin system)

Note also that WordPress, which is the main comparison drawn, is incredibly easy to bog down in performance issues; I've seen WP installations crawl along because the plugins couldn't cleanly interact, meaning they all did their own queries - worst case I think I ever saw was a WP blog requiring over 400 database queries on every single page.

[luuuciano]

thanks for the reply Arantor!

btw, the package manager will work with any theme? or just the default one?

[Arantor]

For 2.x, the package manager will offer you the choice to attempt to install on custom themes - not all themes will work if they have very different coding, in which case there is no alternative but to do a manual installation of purely the theme part of the code then. Usually mod authors will help you out if that's the case.

[Kill Em All]

Reading up on those Docs should give you further insight to. Arantor covered a bunch of it though.

Package Manager
Current Theme
Themes And Layout

[catfished]

You will need to reinstall them up until 2.0 final whereafter future changes to the 2.0 series should be reasonably lightweight and not likely to break too many mods.

I wouldn't mind the reinstalling but a lot of the mods don't get upgraded to the latest RC for quite awhile after release so when the latest RC first comes out, we lose a lot of mods until the authors get a chance to update them.

Please understand that I'm not complaining since the mod writers are all doing it for no compensation and have full time jobs or are full time students, in some cases they are doing both. I'm just pointing out the inconveniences for us lazy users.

[Arantor]

To be fair though, the majority of mods probably will work reasonably well on 2.0 RC3 when it comes out - there's less major overhaul and more minor tweakage there.

[KensonPlays]

@arantor:
Over 400 queries!?!?!? wow!!!!

[catfished]

To be fair though, the majority of mods probably will work reasonably well on 2.0 RC3 when it comes out - there's less major overhaul and more minor tweakage there.

Well thanks for the info, that's good news.

[Arantor]

It all depends on the amount of changes to the theme they do. Ones that do lots of theme edits may need updates - others less so. Most of the ones I have left should need little or no change