Joomla 4 - RoadMap - Plan - Phoca Extensions

[Jan]

Hi to all.

In any software development, it's very difficult to set a timetable, a date when something will be ready. An example is the development of Joomla 4 extension. You are a developer, make some custom feature that works in Joomla 4 Beta but stops working in Joomla 4 RC or Stable. Then, for example, you spend two days looking for a problem and you don't know if it is a bug or a new feature. And this is how delays are caused. There can be more than one of them, so it's very hard to estimate when a job will be done. In Joomla, between Beta, RC and Stable, the output has completely changed (to Bootstrap 5) and suddenly everything has to be rewritten again and that means more and more delays. This is why we cannot say, when some extension will be ready for J4.

In this thread, I will try to add updated information about the Phoca extension development for Joomla 4.

1) What is ready now:

- Phoca Top Menu Module
- Phoca Open Graph Content Plugin
- Phoca Open Graph System Plugin
- Phoca Email
- Phoca Gallery Beta
- Phoca Filter Options System Plugin
- Phoca Desktop System Plugin
- Phoca Download Beta
- Phoca Download Tree module
- Phoca Download Chart Statistics module
- Phoca PDF Beta
- Phoca PDF Content Plugin
- Phoca PDF System Plugin
- Phoca PDF Phoca Cart plugin
- Phoca PDF Restaurant Menu plugin
- Phoca Maps Alpha version
- Phoca Maps Content Plugin Alpha version
- Phoca Restaurant Menu Alpha version
- Phoca Cart component Beta
- Phoca Cart modules (10 core modules) Beta
- Phoca Cart plugins (5 core plugins) Beta
- Phoca Commander Alpha version
- Phoca Carousel module
- Phoca Particles module
- Phoca Favicon
- Phoca Photo
- Phoca Photo module
- Phoca Font component
- Phoca Font plugin
- Phoca Guestbook component

2) What we are working on right now
- Phoca Documentation

3) What comes next
- modules and plugins
...

It's good to know that common plugins or common modules that contain 500 to a 1000 lines can be rewritten in a few days or a week. Unfortunately, for larger components like the ones we deal with, the number is many times higher. For example, the Phoca Cart project contains over 200 000 lines of code.


Jan

[jb80]

Hi Jan,

Firstly, thank you for your commitment to continue to maintain and grow the Phoca project as I fully appreciate the effort to refactor all of this amazing work!

I shall patiently wait for the Phoca Galley J4 updates though I would like to enquire about the various modules and plugins that I use with PG. Should the PG modules and plugins be included in the backlog list as above?

Phoca Gallery Tree Module
Phoca Gallery Image Module
Phoca Gallery Search Plugin
Phoca Gallery Finder Plugin (Categories)
Phoca Gallery Plugin

[christine]

Hi,

Should the PG modules and plugins be included in the backlog list as above?

Phoca Gallery Tree Module
Phoca Gallery Image Module
Phoca Gallery Search Plugin
Phoca Gallery Finder Plugin (Categories)
Phoca Gallery Plugin

Should be under: 3) What comes next

In the meantime you could check for instance:
https://www.phoca.cz/download/category/ ... -component > Joomla 4 Alpha
https://www.phoca.cz/download/category/ ... der-plugin > Joomla 3.9
etc.

Kind regards
Christine

[jb80]

Hi Jan, Christine,

With the release of Phocagallery v4.5.0 Beta - did any of the modules/plugins get updated to support Joomla 4?

• Phoca Gallery Tree Module

• Phoca Gallery Image Module

• Phoca Gallery Search Plugin

• Phoca Gallery Finder Plugin (Categories)

• Phoca Gallery Plugin

Best regards,

[Jan]

Hi, it is planned, but first the components need to be finished.

Not sure, but standard search was removed from Joomla core, so maybet this plugin will be not upgraded. Maybe even the Finder plugin not as some new plugin will be needed for the new search feature in Joomla 4.

It is even planned to write Phoca Gallery Plugin from scratch so make the plugin much more simple.

Jan

[jb80]

Hi Jan,

Thanks for the reply, I could live without the Search and Finder plugins however the following modules would be desirable for the Joomla 4 upgrade path;

• Phoca Gallery Tree Module

• Gallery Image Module

I wonder whether it lessens the burden if only the modules were upgraded...

[Jan]

Hi, yes, but very insignificantly. Every day I find undocumented, redesigned, changed or not working features in Joomla 4 so this slows the overwriting extension process significantly. Just imagine, you prepared new versions and in e.g. 15 extension you find undocumented change and you need to implement it from scratch to all already overwritten extensions. Or you spent 3 - 5 days to search if the not working feature is a bug or just some new undocumented change in J4. All this unfortunately slows the overwriting process and it is very hard to make some time estimates of when some extension will be ready

Jan

[jb80]

Hi Jan, thanks for releasing the J4 Phoca Gallery Tree Module

Hoping the J4 Gallery Image Module isn't too far away.

[epugaa]

Hi!, sorry, what about Phoca Download Search Plugin?

[Jan]

Hi, there is version 4 of smart search plugin, standard search was removed from Joomla 4.

https://www.phoca.cz/download/category/ ... der-plugin

Jan