Joomla 4 upgrade.

[stuffdone]

I am sure this is really not the correct forum however I cannot seem to find any forum related to installing or updating from 3x to 4.

I want to try it out on a test site.

Questions:

1. How do you apply the update version to Joomla 3.9.24?

2. How to you export content from 3.9 for import to 4?

I hope to see an actual sub forum for those of us who might like to discuss migrating 3.9 to 4.

Thanks much.

[sozzled]

I am sure this is really not the correct forum however I cannot seem to find any forum related to installing or updating from 3x to 4.

There isn't a forum related to "installing" or updating from J! 3.x to J! 4 (because J! 4 does not exist as a stable release for production purposes and the mechanics for updating from J! 3.x to J! 4 have not been proven in a real-life, production environment). There is a forum for discussing the development of J! 4 before the release of J! 4. stable: viewforum.php?f=803 and that's probably where this topic will be moved to if the forum moderators want to do anything about this discussion. However, this discussion remains in the realm of something yet-to-be-proven and I can't help with things are are theoretical at this time. Perhaps, in another six to twelve months, in the future we'll have more stories we can share and better information to help us.

1. How do you apply the update to J! 4 ... to Joomla 3.9.24?

You don't. Don't try it.

2. How to you export content from 3.9 for import to 4?

See answer to Q1. Theoretically, it should be possible when J! 3.10 is released but J! 3.10 doesn't exist at the moment. J! 3.10 will be released at the same time as the release of J! 4. No-one knows for sure; it hasn't been proven.

I hope to see an actual sub forum for those of us who might like to discuss migrating 3.9 to 4.

I understand that any forums relating to the migration from J! 3.x to J! 4 will be created around the same time (or after) the release of J! 4.

[AMurray]

Given 3.x to 4.x is a major upgrade, v3.10 will be the only 3.x series version that should be used to update to 4.x.

Resources for testing 3.10/4.0
* J3.10 Alpha 4
* J4.0 Beta 6
* Step by Step 3.10 to 4.0
* Planning for Mini Migration
* MIgration - Self Assessment

In my own testing, the upgrade process is working. 3.9.24 > 3.10-Alpha-4 > 4.0-beta-6 = "OK". (but that's just me).

Discussion surrounding 3.10 or 4.0 should be posted to https://issues.joomla.org as that's where the dev team will see your queries and posted problems.

[stuffdone]

Thanks. I don't mind playing around with V4 on non production site.

I was just a bit confused about there being an update version for download if it does not yet "update" from anything?

Might be handy to have a topic just for those who want to try the J4 Beta to discuss it in a less technical development setting. Or a sub in the developer section for volunteer testers.

Thanks

[sozzled]

You may run into issues with existing extensions that don't work in J4 - then you need to investigate and find extensions that are currently flagged to be working on the beta release(s) and test them (and report issues to the respective extension developers - they might have their own Github sites). They are marked as such in the extensions directory. Not all extensions are ready for 4.0.

I think we need to expand on this a little.

Most extensions that were written for J! 3.x may "migrate" to J! 4 without problems ... assuming that they currently work with PHP 7.4 today. If they don't work with J! 3.x and PHP 7.4 today then they won't migrate to J! 4. That's the first of many unknowns.

Secondly, those extensions that are currently flagged to be working with J! 4 Beta are only proven to be working with J! 4 Beta if people (other than the developers who wrote those extensions) have tested these things. Further, many extensions that are "flagged" as J! 4 Beta-ready were flagged long before the release of PHP 7.4 which brings us back to the first point I made earlier. Regardless of claims that extensions are J! 4 Beta-ready or not, they're only claims made by developers and no-one can say with any certainty which ones are and which ones are not. I know of two extensions that do work with J! 4 Beta 6 but I haven't tested more than those two.

Most people who use this forum are lost when it comes to GitHub; conversely, most people who use GitHub don't visit this forum. As a result, there's no message flow between this forum and GitHub. Every time I've reported an issue on GitHub citing a discussion on this forum I've been asked to re-state the details on GitHub in a format that works for GitHub users. I'm not saying that's a blockage to using GitHub but I'm saying that, if you want to involve yourself in GitHub, you need to be well prepared.

I don't use alpha versions of someone else's software—even for experimental reasons—because alpha versions change from minute to minute. One minute things work, then they don't, then they do again, then the feature you're testing is "enhanced" or it's removed. Alpha versions are pot-luck. You never really know what to expect.

[stuffdone]

Thanks much. I consider this an adventure not nearly as dangerous as my old days of spelunking!

I can't hurt anything other than my pride !

Onward. Unpacking J4 as I write this.