Upgrading to 1.5.8

I have started the upgrade to 1.5.8. I'm trying to do it by uploading individual files starting with the admin folder and going through the subfolders. I upgraded the PHP version to 8.1. I'm immediately having problems with pages showing blank or not showing correctly and having to upload my backup files in order for it to work properly.
The first file I had a problem with is admin/includes/autoloaders/config.core.php. The admin page was blank.

Am I doing something wrong? Is there a better way to do this besides a clean install?

Thanks for any help/suggestions.

Carol

I don't recommend the approach you are using now. START with 1.5.8, then add in your customizations.

Whilst i don't want to appear foolish or uninformed, I'm really struggling to figure out how much work upgrading from 1.5.7 (or previous) to 1.5.8 involves?..
I'm Eager to start working with ZenCart using the Laravel framework, but... "most plugins should work" is incredibly vague, ..
and whilst i'm used to 'fettling' plugins into submission, I really can't seem to get my head around the fundamental changes between versions. Does anyone know of a guide to the methodology of the update, ...(rules / practices followed)?

Many thanks in advance

Daniel

The driver for 1.5.8 was getting Zen Cart to a point where it could be run under PHP 8.1. Most of the changes were done for that reason, but of course there were also bug fixes and feature additions. I'm not sure what more I can tell you.

The complexity of an upgrade depends on how many changes were made to the base code - what template and plugins are in use.

Due to the vast amount of minor and major changes, this IS the only way, in my opinion:

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I don't recommend the approach you are using now. START with 1.5.8, then add in your customizations.

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but as I've said before, should be in big, flashing, neon lights and not just a recommendation.
Too many things are dependant on other things/have been moved to have the code mixed 157-158.
Start with vanilla code and add in your customisations piecemeal or you will not be able to easily fix what you break as you add.
It is also the moment to forget the mods you don't really need, and contribute your mods that you think could be in the core,

@torvista - ditto:bigups:

I think the 1.5.7 series (especially c to d) was the ONLY time an upgrade did not involve the process of installing fresh code and going from there.

One thing I would like to add here is that one of my first installs after turning on Display Logs is lat9's clone a template. Before using ANY installed template, I make sure to clone it and may clone it several times at each stage of installation/upgrade to give me a "point in time" to fall back to for troubleshooting.

Everyone has their methods that work but using ANY shortcut most always results in the most problems.

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Originally Posted by dbltoe

I think the 1.5.7 series (especially c to d) was the ONLY time an upgrade did not involve the process of installing fresh code and going from there.

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:shocking:
I think the ONLY time I went for a fresh install for upgrading was last year when I had to upgrade a site using 1.2.4 (yes, you read that right!) so it was a complete revamp, but I still carried over all customer, order and product information... For all other upgrades, I just use BeyondCompare and common sense. :wink:
But seeing what everyone here is doing and suggesting, I feel like I'm the black sheep here...

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Originally Posted by dbltoe

Everyone has their methods that work but using ANY shortcut most always results in the most problems.

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There's always different methods, I agree, but I've never understood people overcomplicating the upgrade process... Yes, it depends on the plugins installed, template used, custom coding etc, but in 99% of cases those are clearly visible using BC (heck, even highlighted) so it's super-easy to return to it and do it afterwards...

Maybe I might have misrepresented. We take new files, copy over images, and overrides like define_pages, html_includes from the existing and go from there. Even 1.5.7 to 1.5.8 may involve mods that no longer work.


I have UltraCompare which is VERY powerful but have found less is missed by using fresh code WITH pertinent files and images from the old site. And taking the time to find old mods with it is time wasted to me.