Stock by Attributes 5.0 Beta (for v1.5.0)

[mc12345678]

Thank you for all you have done so far. One more question and I'm done. Is there anyway you can send me the sba you have since it is no longer downloadable. I don't know why someone hasn't already uploaded it to zen cart.

Have a good weekend

Buried I think it is in this thread, one of the other three/four, or yet another thread is a discussion on SBA outlining that ZC has basically stopped allowing the new addition of ever more SBA strains... There are too many out there now as it is, and it seems that not one of them "consolidates" all of the features and functionality of the others to give a consistent/uniform implementation.

I plan to upload the/a version that I obtained from this thread last year, but thing is I don't plan on maintaining it... Will be hard to keep saying that when/if continually asked, but I'd be posting it to allow the community to continue working on it. Something I have dreams of doing, but am working on a few other projects first and maintaining what little I've helped out on.

As for "the SBA I have" well, I started at one point to try to figure out which of the three or four versions I had installed, but got distracted as I think I had narrowed it down, but hadn't determined specifically which I had installed. So now as I upgrade through ZC versions, I just keep an eye out for SBA related code and incorporate it as applicable.

From what I have seen across the versions, it seems like the base framework of all SBA versions need some revamping. I could be wrong, but it seems like the table structure used to build the product variant quantities contains "too much" information and is not structured as it should be for a database dependent program such as ZC. It's all fine and dandy for me to say that, but implementation also is not/will not be fun. Will probably have to add a few handlers to be able to insert/retrieve the data in a format that remains understandable by the existing code, and then from there can improve on the code if any is needed.

Anyways, I'll try to get the copy of robophungs that I retrieved relatively "recently" before the link no longer worked up today in github.

[countrycharm]

Buried I think it is in this thread, one of the other three/four, or yet another thread is a discussion on SBA outlining that ZC has basically stopped allowing the new addition of ever more SBA strains... There are too many out there now as it is, and it seems that not one of them "consolidates" all of the features and functionality of the others to give a consistent/uniform implementation.

I plan to upload the/a version that I obtained from this thread last year, but thing is I don't plan on maintaining it... Will be hard to keep saying that when/if continually asked, but I'd be posting it to allow the community to continue working on it. Something I have dreams of doing, but am working on a few other projects first and maintaining what little I've helped out on.

As for "the SBA I have" well, I started at one point to try to figure out which of the three or four versions I had installed, but got distracted as I think I had narrowed it down, but hadn't determined specifically which I had installed. So now as I upgrade through ZC versions, I just keep an eye out for SBA related code and incorporate it as applicable.

From what I have seen across the versions, it seems like the base framework of all SBA versions need some revamping. I could be wrong, but it seems like the table structure used to build the product variant quantities contains "too much" information and is not structured as it should be for a database dependent program such as ZC. It's all fine and dandy for me to say that, but implementation also is not/will not be fun. Will probably have to add a few handlers to be able to insert/retrieve the data in a format that remains understandable by the existing code, and then from there can improve on the code if any is needed.

Anyways, I'll try to get the copy of robophungs that I retrieved relatively "recently" before the link no longer worked up today in github.

Sounds good and we all appreciate your fine work and support you have given.

[countrycharm]

So I'm assuming my client is using the right version of SBA module.
After installing everything on my test site easy populate is adding another download link. I guess this is the right link.


Detailed Stock By Attributes Data (detailed multi-line)

[mc12345678]

So I'm assuming my client is using the right version of SBA module.
After installing everything on my test site easy populate is adding another download link. I guess this is the right link.


Detailed Stock By Attributes Data (detailed multi-line)

At least it is a version that shouldn't be wrongly affected... :) At the very least you should be able to modify the available SBA quantities. Implementing the "Basic" import/export is actually a little more advanced than the "detailed" version, which is somewhat counter-intuitive unless you truly look at all that is going on in the process and it may be the differences in SBA modules that will change how the basic import/export is done, but in the meantime just about everything else can be done with EP4 and then the admin panel used to properly set the initial set of pattributes that will be tracked against the stock. :)

[dharrison]

Hi

I have a lot of attributes for my products. I have set them a unique ID (code number) for each instance, but the ID doesn't appear on the order.

Is this normal, or are the custom Id's just for stock reference? Is there a way around this? Please advise.

Thanks in advance.

[mc12345678]

Hi

I have a lot of attributes for my products. I have set them a unique ID (code number) for each instance, but the ID doesn't appear on the order.

Is this normal, or are the custom Id's just for stock reference? Is there a way around this? Please advise.

Thanks in advance.

Not sure where this custom id you are referring to is, did you create another unique field, did you just happen to add more to the attribute text? Perhaps could share a web page link and a little bit of description about what special code we should expect to see? Could be that you don't have a setting turned on to display attributes in checkout, etc. Could be a template issue, could be that the orders.php file doesn't include that part of the order info. Help us, help you.

[potteryhouse]

Hi

I have a lot of attributes for my products. I have set them a unique ID (code number) for each instance, but the ID doesn't appear on the order.

Is this normal, or are the custom Id's just for stock reference? Is there a way around this? Please advise.

Thanks in advance.

The description sounds like you are using the version supported in the thread: http://www.zen-cart.com/showthread.p...07#post1237407

If so, than in the "Configuration -> Stock" page, check your setting for "SBA Display Custom ID - Display Custom Id (if defined) in cart, checkout process and invoice. Options (True/False)"

[dharrison]

The description sounds like you are using the version supported in the thread: http://www.zen-cart.com/showthread.p...07#post1237407

If so, than in the "Configuration -> Stock" page, check your setting for "SBA Display Custom ID - Display Custom Id (if defined) in cart, checkout process and invoice. Options (True/False)"

Spot on! Thanks for your help.

[DivaVocals]

Buried I think it is in this thread, one of the other three/four, or yet another thread is a discussion on SBA outlining that ZC has basically stopped allowing the new addition of ever more SBA strains... There are too many out there now as it is, and it seems that not one of them "consolidates" all of the features and functionality of the others to give a consistent/uniform implementation.

Which should have happened YEARS ago.. Like the many confusing cross sell mods, SBA got forked and forked and forked again, and NOT ONE of these forks (IMHO) did anything to bring an overall IMPROVED product to the table.. Some of these forks were added by authors who do not understand what the concept of OPEN SOURCE means.. So they fork an add-on because they added some NEW feature.. (the "model number" version of SBA is GREAT example of this - StockByAttributes with my stock id)

Some folks fork add-ons because they don't want to "make the author mad" by submitting an update with their NEW feature included.. Some submit them because they want "top billing" for their plugin.. Whatever the reason it makes NO SENSE to fork something unless it TRULY takes the add-on dev in a NEW direction.. (adding the ability to assign a model number to a product variant is NOT one of those reasons)

Each one of these versions of SBA added some new feature that the contributor felt he "had to have" but instead of adding it to the BASE version they would create their NEW fork (Fork A).. many of these fork authors didn't address any of the BUGS in the version they were forking from. So they would submit their NEW forked version with their NEW feature, but would leave broken features in place in their fork..

Then someone else would come along and take Fork A version FIX some broken functionality and add new functionality and submit it as a yet another NEW fork (ie: Stock by Attributes 4.7Multiadd WITH TABLE FILTER ). Then yet another person would fix fork A, but not consolidate it with fork B or even better yet consolidate it with the BASE version.. In the meantime folks were updating the base, but not bringing in the features from the forks.. Then there were the versions that never made it to the plugins repository AT ALL..

Anyway I could go on, but it's has been the MESSIEST of all mods because all these forks diluted the whole, and provided HALF working versions to anyone who DARED install SBA.. Rubbish..

Thank goodness for the recent work on SBA by potteryhouse.. He has fixed issues with SBA, IMPROVED the functionality of SBA and CONSOLIDATED features from the "multi-add" and "stock ID" forks of SBA back into the BASE version of SBA!!! Which is how it should have been done in the first place and it renders the need to install these version moot.. Anyone coming here looking for the now defunct RoboPhung fork of SBA should use the latest version of SBA by potteryhouse instead..

[mc12345678]

Which should have happened YEARS ago.. Like the many confusing cross sell mods, SBA got forked and forked and forked again, and NOT ONE of these forks (IMHO) did anything to bring an overall IMPROVED product to the table.. Some of these forks were added by authors who do not understand what the concept of OPEN SOURCE means.. So they fork an add-on because they added some NEW feature.. (the "model number" version of SBA is GREAT example of this - StockByAttributes with my stock id)

Some folks fork add-ons because they don't want to "make the author mad" by submitting an update with their NEW feature included.. Some submit them because they want "top billing" for their plugin.. Whatever the reason it makes NO SENSE to fork something unless it TRULY takes the add-on dev in a NEW direction.. (adding the ability to assign a model number to a product variant is NOT one of those reasons)

Each one of these versions of SBA added some new feature that the contributor felt he "had to have" but instead of adding it to the BASE version they would create their NEW fork (Fork A).. many of these fork authors didn't address any of the BUGS in the version they were forking from. So they would submit their NEW forked version with their NEW feature, but would leave broken features in place in their fork..

Then someone else would come along and take Fork A version FIX some broken functionality and add new functionality and submit it as a yet another NEW fork (ie: Stock by Attributes 4.7Multiadd WITH TABLE FILTER ). Then yet another person would fix fork A, but not consolidate it with fork B or even better yet consolidate it with the BASE version.. In the meantime folks were updating the base, but not bringing in the features from the forks.. Then there were the versions that never made it to the plugins repository AT ALL..

Anyway I could go on, but it's has been the MESSIEST of all mods because all these forks diluted the whole, and provided HALF working versions to anyone who DARED install SBA.. Rubbish..

Thank goodness for the recent work on SBA by potteryhouse.. He has fixed issues with SBA, IMPROVED the functionality of SBA and CONSOLIDATED features from the "multi-add" and "stock ID" forks of SBA back into the BASE version of SBA!!! Which is how it should have been done in the first place and it renders the need to install these version moot.. Anyone coming here looking for the now defunct RoboPhung fork of SBA should use the latest version of SBA by potteryhouse instead..

Thank you Diva for the summary. Fortunately I didn't find a copy of the robophung version on the one computer I was looking in, and based on the above I will stop that search. Also, the mod I did for EP4, I will make corrections as necessary, including a note to appear suggesting that the above version be used in place of the one tested for if mods are identified in how I've written the additional code. (For others, this means that I will keep the existing code in place to support those that have come to use it and "refuse" to upgrade, but that the "new" version will be the one that will be incorporated.)

Timeline unknown, but this is the type of input I was hoping to hear. I realize that some of the above is opinion, but if it has been identified as the "fix" to some of the base issues then that is the direction I plan to assist with until something "better" is developed.