From 1.7 to 1.8

Elgg 1.8 is the biggest leap forward in the development of Elgg since version 1.0. As such, there is more work to update core and plugins than with previous upgrades. There were a small number of API changes and following our standard practice, the methods we deprecated have been updated to work with the new API. The biggest changes are in the standardization of plugins and in the views system.

Updating core

Delete the following core directories (same level as _graphics and engine):

  • _css

  • account

  • admin

  • dashboard

  • entities

  • friends

  • search

  • settings

  • simplecache

  • views

Warning

If you do not delete these directories before an upgrade, you will have problems!

Updating plugins

Use standardized routing with page handlers

  • All: /page_handler/all

  • User’s content: /page_handler/owner/:username

  • User’s friends’ content: /page_handler/friends/:username

  • Single entity: /page_handler/view/:guid/:title

  • Added: /page_handler/add/:container_guid

  • Editing: /page_handler/edit/:guid

  • Group list: /page_handler/group/:guid/all

Include page handler scripts from the page handler

Almost every page handler should have a page handler script. (Example: bookmarks/all => mod/bookmarks/pages/bookmarks/all.php)

  • Call set_input() for entity guids in the page handler and use get_input() in the page handler scripts.

  • Call gatekeeper() and admin_gatekeeper() in the page handler function if required.

  • The group URL should use the pages/:handler/owner.php script.

  • Page handlers should not contain HTML.

  • Update the URLs throughout the plugin. (Don’t forget to remove /pg/!)

Use standardized page handlers and scripts

  • Store page handler scripts in mod/:plugin/pages/:page_handler/:page_name.php

  • Use the content page layout in page handler scripts:

    $content = elgg_view_layout('content', $options);

  • Page handler scripts should not contain HTML.

  • Call elgg_push_breadcrumb() in the page handler scripts.

  • No need to set page owner if the URLs are in the standardized format.

  • For group content, check the container_guid by using elgg_get_page_owner_entity().

The object/:subtype view

  • Make sure there are views for $vars['full_view'] == true and $vars['full_view'] == false. $vars['full_view'] replaced $vars['full].

  • Check for the object in $vars['entity']. Use elgg_instance_of() to make sure it’s the type of entity you want.

  • Return true to short circuit the view if the entity is missing or wrong.

  • Use elgg_view('object/elements/summary', array('entity' => $entity)); and elgg_view_menu('entity', array('entity' => $entity)); to help format. You should use very little markup in these views.

Update action structure

  • Namespace action files and action names (example: mod/blog/actions/blog/save.php => action/blog/save)

  • Use the following action URLs:

    • Add: action/:plugin/save

    • Edit: action/:plugin/save

    • Delete: action/:plugin/delete

  • Make the delete action accept action/:handler/delete?guid=:guid so the metadata entity menu has the correct URL by default.

Update deprecated functions

  • Functions deprecated in 1.7 will produce visible errors in 1.8.

  • You can also update functions deprecated in 1.8.

    • Many registration functions simply added an elgg_ prefix for consistency, and should be easy to update.

    • See /engine/lib/deprecated-1.8.php for the full list.

    • You can set the debug level to “warning” to get visual reminders of deprecated functions.

Update the widget views

See the blog or file widgets for examples.

Update the group profile module

Use the blog or file plugins for examples. This will help with making your plugin themeable by the new CSS framework.

Update forms

  • Move form bodies to the forms/:action view to use Evan’s new elgg_view_form.

  • Use input views in form bodies rather than html. This helps with theming and future-proofing.

  • Add a function that prepares the form (see mod/file/lib/file.php for an example)

  • Make your forms sticky (see the file plugin’s upload action and form prepare function).

The forms API is discussed in more detail in Forms + Actions.

Clean up CSS/HTML

We have added many CSS patterns to the base CSS file (modules, image block, spacing primitives). We encourage you to use these patterns and classes wherever possible. Doing so should:

  1. Reduce maintenance costs, since you can delete most custom CSS.

  2. Make your plugin more compatible with community themes.

Look for patterns that can be moved into core if you need significant CSS.

We use hyphens rather than underscores in classes/ids and encourage you do the same for consistency.

If you do need your own CSS, you should use your own namespace, rather than elgg-.

Update manifest.xml

  • Use http://el.gg/manifest17to18 to automate this.

  • Don’t use the “bundled” category with your plugins. That is only for plugins distributed with Elgg.

Update settings and user settings views

  • The view for settings is now plugins/:plugin/settings (previously settings/:plugin/edit).

  • The view for user settings is now plugins/:plugin/usersettings (previously usersettings/:plugin/edit).