Compatibility issues while upgrading to SmartInstant 2.0

Introduction

There are some known issues if one tries to upgrade a pre-released version of SmartInstant to the official current version. Typically this upgrade attempt will result into database script errors and probably even overwritten site files. Mainly this pre-released version is implemented as SIO (SmartInstant Overheid).

Background

The development of SmartInstant 2.0 resulted to some necessary changes in EmptySix. Extra folders like Shared Applications and Shared Configurations are introduced, resulting into a more secure and comprehensible basic environment with far better overview. SubTrees are used as an opt-in rather than an opt-out. One of the major advantages of this philosphy is the abilty of coexistence of different sites while still sharing some technological features. This coexistence occurs in such a manner that multiple sites can be implemented in one single Smartsite iXperion instance without any conflicting issues like stylesheets, javascript, etc. Not only will this reduce costs in terms of number of Smartsite licences, but it also reduces development and maintenance efforts if implemented and used correctly.

These improvements however could not have been introduced without consequences to unsupported pre-released modules like SmartInstant, which is a typical burden of major improvements.

Technical consequences

If it is desireable to upgrade to the latest version of SmartInstant 2.0 while unfortunately having a pre-released SmartInstant (SIO), several methods are possible. If, however, one decides not to upgrade SmartInstant, it is highly recommended to rename the root code of SmartInstant into something the upgrade scripts will not recognize as if SmartInstant (or any other known modules) is installed: SI_CONFIG_ROOT

If one chooses to manually upgrade to the official SmartInstant 2.0, please follow the manual steps mentioned in the release notes of 1.4.

Adopting improved hierarchy

The best recommendation is to fully adopt the improved hierarchy. However this also is the most expansive solution in the short run. Note the advantages and cost-effectiveness in the long run of such a project.

Manually updates

It is also possible to manually update SmartInstant after each official release of Smartsite.