extension and license

[stain]

Hi

I'd know if possible to extend/modify vB once you own a regular license. I mean I'd like to customize some parts such as url rewriting, integrate external subscriptions, etc. Can we do that? How is it possible?

Other questions about extending vB:

How can we deal with upgrades if we exten
How do extension work?
Is there any doc available?

Thank you in advance

Bye

[Colin F]

As vBulletin is visual source you can modify the code to integrate other things. With version 3.5 around the corner, you'll be able to do a lot of things with plugins instead of actually modifying the code.

Be aware that modifying the code will void your support, while plugins won't.
If you do apply code modifications, I'd suggest using a comparision software like winmerge (http://winmerge.sourceforge.net/) to reapply the changes to the new files.

There is a documentation of vBulletin 3 available here: http://www.vbulletin.com/docs/html

vBulletin 3.5 uses phpdoc to document a big part of the code.

[stain]

With version 3.5 around the corner, you'll be able to do a lot of things with plugins instead of actually modifying the code.


Might I know vB roadmap? When are you planning to release 3.5?

tnanks

bye

[Colin F]

There hasn't been a release date announced yet, but we're currently in Beta 3.
I personally expect the Gold release in July or August.

[feldon23]

I'd like to customize some parts such as url rewriting, integrate external subscriptions, etc. Can we do that? Yes and some of that already exists.

How is it possible? vBulletin.org is your source for any kind of vBulletin modifications/extensions/improvements and changes to the style/templates/HTML/etc.


How can we deal with upgrades if we extendWith the current stable build of vBulletin (3.0.7), every change you make has to undone and then redone during upgrades. If you make 3 hours of modifications to one version of vB3, it might (in the worst case scenario) take up to 3 hours to upgrade to the next version of vB3.


How do extension work?Starting with vBulletin 3.5, instead of changing PHP files, you put your code into an XML file and upload it. There are limits to what you can do, but the amount of time to upgrade anything involving these XML Plugins will be 50-80% less. Plugins are great for add-ons, modules, and new functionality. Plugins are less than ideal for extending/replacing existing functionality or changing the appearance/layout of existing code.

Changes to vBulletin involve Template changes (the HTML/CSS markup), PHP (the source code), and sometimes the SQL (database).

* Templates must still be edited/updated by hand, but some new utilities have been added into vB3.5 to greatly increase the speed of this effort. This includes Template History and Template Comparison.

* PHP can be extended using the new Plugins/Hooks system. You cannot change existing code but you can change the output of the scripts and you can add new functionality in 400 places throughout the code.

* The SQL can not be extended but you can add new SQL functionality/queries.

* vB3.5 has a new API which allows you through abstraction to create new users, send private messages, send e-mails, and manipulate usergroups and usergroup permissions all without modifying the PHP code.


Is there any doc available? vBulletin source code is now PHPDoc'ed. This means that if you use a PHPDoc compatible code viewer (instead of Notepad/Wordpad/etc.), you'll be able to get Help on what certain pieces of the vBulletin source code does and how to extend it.

[feldon23]

Might I know vB roadmap? When are you planning to release 3.5?
Release Dates = inferior product or disappointed customers (in my opinion)

vBulletin 3.5 is on its 3rd Beta and the next release *should* be very close to stable. I believe that more "hooks" are being added to support more robust Plugins and that management/grouping of Hooks/Plugins is being improved.

[Reeve of Shinra]

Upgrading the files with a file comparison tool like winmerge or beyond compare makes things pretty simple imho. Theres a tutorial about using file comparison tools for upgrade purposes at www.vbulletin.org. As you will be able to see, alot of us choose to modify our forums and you will find some good modifications at the aforementioned site.

You can create your own modifications so long as you know PHP. :)