[TYPO3] Commerce extension usage

sudara sudara at web-crossing.com
Mon Oct 30 12:15:26 CET 2006


My experience so far:

It's been maybe one month of setting this extension up and (debugging) and customizing it.

I could have saved a lot of time if there was decent documentation in place. Instead, I learned how it worked from following the code and trial and error. The first week, I did not have SVN access, so I literally had to start from 0, and work my way up. The second week I had access to SVN, so some fixes were in place, and I had access to more documentation (though they were all  in German, and my German is not sooooo good)

As far as documentation goes, this is what I see is needed:

* A basic "this is how this extension works" guide. For example, describing what an "Article" is, what a "Product" is, etc. This exists in German in the svn, but not in English and not in the public RC. This is desperately needed - I have set up many ecommerce solutions, and the most important thing is to first know how the system is going to treat your products, etc...

* A "Best Practices" guide that leads you through a few basic things such as localizing products (again, this exists, in German, in SVN), different kinds of shipping, etc.

* A "Developer" how-to - it seems like there will be a HUGE need for developers to create mini-extensions to make Commerce work under specific conditions (such as payment processors, paypal, different shipping methods, etc)

* Active attention on the http://bugs.typo3-commerce.org - I have now done a fair amount of work with the extension and can help others. The three lead developers are often too busy to really take a look at tickets, so I really only see this extension surviving by community involvement. I've invested MANY hours (that I could have saved) figuring this extension out. So, now I am here and able to help other people get up to speed.

In my opinion, there are a few major fixes (especially in the static TS setup) that should be committed, then the SVN version should go live (or tagged and released as RC2) - It is time that the general community can start picking and beta testing this.

...Even after 1 month, I still have some basic questions that are open on the bug tracker, such as setting up shipping - I want each product to have it's own shipping amount - is this possible? A simple question like this *needs* an answer from one of the developers (maybe 5 minutes of their time).


MY PERSONAL THOUGHTS:

I enjoy open-source, I understand this software is free, and yes, we are all busy. 

I do have a suggestion though:  When there is a public attempt to develop something for the community (with promises of releasing, and stability) it *needs* to be maintained, or passed to someone who is willing to make the time to maintain it. 

What is there to be afraid of? Make a few fixes, release it, and if you don't have the time to commit changes, then find someone you trust who can. It's either that, or the software stays buggy and never gets released. 

So, I raise my cup and say "cheers" to the commerce team! You are all close the the finish line - I know you can make it! 

sudara



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