Multi-Stores shop system for OSCMAX

[jpf]

A new project_project entry has been added:

Multi-Stores shop system for OSCMAX

Version 1.4
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These modifications allow you to assign specific products and categories to multiple stores that you define in the administration panel. The products and categories

[MindTwist]

Makes me wonder where I got the 1054-problem.txt file, I thought it was from this thread, but it seems to be NOT related to the Multi Stores installation. Guess it must be just a fix for MySQL5, but those queries have nothing related to the STORE tables...

[MindTwist]

Ok, SQL queries seem to be my problem everywhere.

For now I think I have 4 problems:

- Categories not showing up right and giving me the 1054 error, problem is the queries on index.php

- Search, still geting the 1066 - Not unique table/alias: 'c' error. I tried with advanced_search_result.tpl.php from multishop_fixzip.zip with the same results.

- /includes/modules/default_specials.php - On the new store I am seeing on the main page the specials for the other store. I have checked the full installation and it does not modify default_specials.php to make it so the queries will select only the specials active on the current store. Makes me wonder if I have missed something big, or I am the only one with specials on the main page (and so the first to notice).

- /allprods.php - the default MS install also does not modify /allprods.php or /templates/fallback/allprods.tpl.php , so when seeing "all products" you will see everything from all stores.

So it seems I will need to learn some SQL before going on any more. I assume that the first two problems must be related to my host configuration since many people have been able to set up Multi-Stores with no problems

[MindTwist]

Another one that needs some retouching on the SQL query or otherwise will show products from all stores and not just the active ones on the current store...
/templates/fallback/content/catalog_products_with_images.tpl.php

[MindTwist]

/includes/modules/xsell_products.php
Cross related products also shows items not active on the current store... Bleh

[MindTwist]

Well, I think everything has been nailed down. Got two stores working with the multi stores module, and they seem to be geting along toguether quite well.

http://www.twistedtienda.com - live store
http://www.twistedreality.org - clone store

They are sharing DB, and the only different tables each store has is the configuration table and the newsdesk module tables. Everything else is shared, and products, categories, specials, and manufacturers (I do not have/use manufacturers) can be selected to which store/s they belong to.

I still have a couple things to iron out, but they shoud be minor, like moving some texts/files from the main language files to the template directory so it will be different on each store without them needing different language files, I will probably modify a bit the who's online modules and visitors/user tracking modules so I can tell where is actually everyone, and just trying to make it easier to "clone" the store with touching only configure.php and database.php files, so I need to put all related store info on the template, since every store will have its own template.

I had someone fix me all the SQL related things since I would have not been able to do it myself, so if anyone needs some info on how to fix something let me know, otherwise I will try to post the changes I had to do here when I have some time.

[ALElder]

MindTwist,

You think maybe you could make a new manual on how to install the mutl-store mod? I have been trying and have hired 2 programmers and they are still having problems. Maybe a repackage would be a good idea. Just wated to get your thoughts on this.

Did you also have a text file on what templates file you needed to change?

Thanks,

Adam

[MindTwist]

Adam,

I do not think I could do that, since my base installation is already way too modified to be able to create a new package from my code. Some queryes are also a bit personalized, like my new products box does not show last products for the current month, but shows 3 random products out of the 18 last ones, etc.

I actually have to say I do not quite understand how anyone has been able to get this contribution working right out of the box. A lot of queries some buged to me, and there are even several files with queries that should be updated for MS to work ok everywhere, and the contribution does not even touch them.

So I really think it is strange that this would work ok just by installing it on top of a clean OSCMAX installation, I think that by doing that there should be still many things to retouch. Files like /includes/modules/default_specials.php are not even modified, and some queries look like they come straight from hell, and makes me wonder how they could work for anyone... no matter what version of SQL they are running.

Like the modified queries on /includes/modules/new_products.php which have been my last nightmare, they have some joins related to TABLE_SPECIALS and TABLE_SPECIALS_TO_STORES ... wtf? The query is supposed to return X last new products for the month, it has no relation to specials.

So making a full manual would probably be way too much for me. In fact, I know I do not have a full working installation of Multi-Stores, because I have not even checked anything that relates to manufacturers, since I do not use them on my store. ANd I also know I still have some problem with "specials", because when I create a special but it is NOT assigned to store X, when browsing store X you will not see the special on the specials box, or the new products box, but you will see the special price on new_products.php and when looking at the direct product.

But since when I make a special I will make it for all the stores, I have not bothered fixing that one...

[habelson]

If I remember correctly the MySQL 5 issue is that MySQL does not support a mixture of explicit joins along with comma separated joins. The quickest fix for SQL queries giving you a 1054 error is to just replace every comma you seein the "FROM" section of the query with the word "JOIN" and that should fix the problem. There is no change in the meaning of the query since in standard SQL a comma in the "FROM" clause means "JOIN".

As far as rewriting the manual, I'm not sure it's that bad. The query issue was a MySQL 5 issue not a multi-store mod issue. And I had very little trouble getting this mod to work.

To answer the question of how to do symbolic links in php, it is as simple as using the function symlink(). I don't recall the order of the paramters, but you should be easily able to look it up.

Just a note about symbolic links that I learned recently. Many FTP servers do not support the use of symlinks very well. This means if you create a site with simlinks and then want to connect to it with FTP you may have problems. This is completely dependant on your host. If symlinks is not supported by your FTP server, than you are just out of luck. I tried using hard links, but that doesn't eliminate the situation where if you make a change you have to upload the change to each individual store.

MindTwist, I'm not sure what your specific application of the multi-store mod is, but a technique I used was that the template for each of my stores is the same and all I did was create a separate image folder inside each stores template and a separate CSS file for colors scheme and those are all I have to change. Of course that only applies if your stores are all the same general design with just logo and color differences.

You can check out two of my live stores at SpiritGearNJ.com : Welcome to SpiritGearNJ.com and SpiritGearNJ.com : Welcome to SpiritGearNJ.com

these are using the multi-store mod the only files that are different are the configure.php and database_tables.php files and a few files in the template.

[MindTwist]

Hi habelson,

Thanks on your input, just checked out your stores. I am quite sure that if you were to start doing some testing on your stores and on the parts that make use of the Multi-Stores contribution, you would find plenty of holes. The reason why you do not see them is because you make use only of a small part of multi stores.

Your store doesn't use many of the options you have on MS, let me point you out some.

- You have 3 categories, which are the same on both stores. If you had different/more categories and subcategories, enabled and/or disabled on different stores, you might start finding out errors when your categories start showing up where they are not supposed to do so.

- You do not have any specials. I am positive that several of the special modules need some fixing, and I kind of remember that some were not even touched. If you have the specials module active on your main page, and you set up some specials (different on each store), I am positivethat you will have products on the specials box showing up on store 2 that should only be active on store 1.

- One glitch I still have on my store, sitemap.php . I have fixed googlesitemap so it will make XML sitemaps for robots and they will be ok, they will only show categories and products active on the current store, but the MS contribution does not even touch OSCMAX sitemap, so customers that see it will find categories that should not be there.
Here you have a quick example, it shows all categories, when I only have 2 active on this store:
http://www.twistedreality.org/sitemap.php

I could go on for a while, there are more things that needed some fixing.

Do I think Multi_Stores is a good module? YOU BET. It rocks, I am already doing a template for my store clone which will be only for wholesale, but will share DB with the other one.

Is it a mature and friendly contribution? Not even close. It might seem to work on easy installations like yours, where you are not pushing it too much, because as soon as you start doing it, you would find out many holes that need to be closed... And I do not mean just converting some SQL queries to make them MySQL5 compatible, there are many queries that need some fixing, and there are many files that need Multi-Stores code added, and it just isn't there.

[habelson]

You are right, though I do have stores with very different products on them and I do not have a problem with them showing up in the wrong store. In fact I also went so far as modify it so that even though there is the same product on the two different stores, the available product attributes are different.

One thing I know I had to fix was the printable catalog. But you are right, I do not use specials, or search. I didn't mean to dumb it down, and I apologize for sounding like that: it's definitely far from being perfect, but I don't think any of us active in this thread have the time or expertise to redo the package.