Why component version differs?

[rahilwazir]

I see couple of Joomla 1.5 third party components:

• JoomFish(com_joomfish)
  • manifest.xml= 2.1.5
  • version.php => 2.1.3
• Community Builder (com_comprofile)
  • comprofile.xml= 1.1
  • comprofilej.xml= 1.2.3

Now as you can see the version number differs within the component. When I visit the component page from my admin panel It says different than viewing the version at Extension Manager => Components listing.

I want to know why is this for? Or the developers forgot to change the version numbers?

[xfsgpr]

I can only think of the fact that they have been updated to work with new versions of joomla. you are still using 1.5 but the latest version is 3.3.6. component/extensions makers have to keep up with Joomla if they want their products to be used widely.

By the way, when are you planning to upgrade your Joomla? Just curious here.

[rahilwazir]

The current website (v1.5.21) is about 4 years old and since then its not updated nor its extensions. And the most sad thing is, most of the core and third party components have been modified by the previous developer (And its still being). I don't know why he hacked the core and its components even it was possible to override those components. And another sad thing is there were no version tracking, the developer itself don't remember where did he modfiy the core.

Now my task is to upgrade all its extensions and core Joomla to latest version along with the what current website functionality is (nothing needs to be break).

What will be your suggestion to handle this such a nasty task?

[xfsgpr]

My personal opinion is to upgrade the site to Joomla version 3.3.6 and then get the latest extensions for it. this ensures that the site is secure. Version 1.5 is no longer considered to be secure by today's standards.

Any reasons why you haven't tried to upgrade your site for so long? Websites is the best form of cheap marketing for your products and services and of course, makes your presence known to the wider community.

How difficult is it for your site to be upgraded? Have you done a backup of the site? Backup should be the first step before you undertake any upgrades.

[Per Yngve Berg]

The first thing you should do is update to 1.5.26

http://joomlacode.org/gf/download/frsre ... ackage.zip

[rahilwazir]

@xfsgpr As I said the task is given to me to upgrade the website. I'm not the developer who built and kept the site to its old state. And I know this would be a painfull task to upgrade the whole core hacked website to never version (Because the project is too large with dozens of extensions/modules (which are also hacked)).

@PerYngveBerg I've also read it should be update to 1.5.26 => 2.xx then 3.xx. But the website core files are already hacked. Should't I upgrade directly to 2.xx then 3.xx?

[Per Yngve Berg]

Probably best to start with a clean 3.3.6 and migrate content with SPUpgrade.

[rahilwazir]

@PerYngveBerg But the thing is the Joomla and 70% of its extensions core files are hacked how do I recover them even I upgrade it to latest version? Do I need to rewrite them for latest version as a separate components?

[Per Yngve Berg]

Upgrade runs on the Joomla Instance you are migrating to. As long as the database is intact, you can migrate.

[xfsgpr]

@PerYngveBerg But the thing is the Joomla and 70% of its extensions core files are hacked how do I recover them even I upgrade it to latest version? Do I need to rewrite them for latest version as a separate components?

when you say hacked, do you mean to say that the site has been defaced and they have planted something which should not be there? If o then you need to remove them manually. Without removing them manually, you can't progress because upgrade doesn't clean up the site. It is not its function.

Also, you need to change the password and make it long. I would suggest something like 16 to 17 characters.

After this, do the upgrade in steps as pointed out by Per Y Berg. You should be able to do this but to be safe, always make a backup after each step.

[rahilwazir]

I meant by hacked was the core files have been modified (altered) for extended functionality

[xfsgpr]

I meant by hacked was the core files have been modified (altered) for extending functionality

OK this is something nobody can help here because only you know what has been changed. I recently updated JSN Gruve template and what it did was to save my old template as a zip file for me before updating. I can see my changes from that template and make new changes on the new one. In my case the change was just to attach a custom.css file. Nothing special in it.

[dpacadmin]

@rahilwazir
You need to download the full file set for the version of Joomla you are using. Login here to see all Joomla file sets;
http://joomlacode.org/gf/project/joomla ... ge_id=6311

Then use a program like WinMerge to diff each of the core folders against a copy of your site folders, this will tell you which core files have been modified. You can then diff the files to see the modifications and document them. It takes a while but you will then know what hacks you have.

If the extensions were hacked you would need to find files sets of the same versions you have to diff against.

The reason most developers hack the core files is because they don't understand Joomla's override system or are too lazy to use it.

[rahilwazir]

@JoomlaChampion Thank you so much. This what I have done and analyzed most of the files (including extensions) were hacked using BeyondCompare.

Please do you have any suggestions for me?

Current site version 1.5.21. I'm upgrading to Joomla 2.5 (not directly to 3.x) because most of the extensions (used in my site) are not compatible yet with 3.xx. Then afterwards I'll go for Joomla 3.x without too much pain right?

[dpacadmin]

http://docs.joomla.org/J2.5:Migrating_f ... Joomla_2.5
jUpgrade is now RedMigration, google to find it.
You will need a Joomla 2.5 template or convert yours
http://magazine.joomla.org/issues/issue ... -Joomla-25