Legacy mode
From Kunena
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Introduction
Legacy mode describes a feature that was introduced with Joomla! 1.5 to allow older modules (written for Joomla! 1.0) to run in the new environment. Legacy mode is a Joomla! plugin that can be activated by enabling the "System - Legacy" plugin in the Plugin Manager. This plugin emulates Joomla! 1.0 and allows many version 1.0 extensions to run on Joomla! 1.5. There is a minimal performance decrease by this, but in most cases it is not significant.
Extension providers still need to test and certify that their 1.0 extensions work in legacy mode. This is indicated by the tab "1.5 Legacy" in the Joomla! Extensions Directory listing.
Legacy mode should be viewed as transitional software that allows you to work with version 1.0 extensions until the extension provider has reworked the extension to work with 1.5 in native mode. In short "legacy" mode allows developers to get their products up and running quicker, particularly if they've been working in the Joomla! 1.0 world.
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You should disable the System - Legacy plugin. Kunena is not tested on J! 1.5 systems with the System - Legacy plugin enabled. Although Kunena may work with the System - Legacy plugin enabled, before posting messages on the forum, users should first disable this plugin to see if this resolves problems that they may be having. The Kunena project give no assurances about the correct operation of Kunena on systems running with legacy mode enabled. |
Legacy mode and Kunena
Kunena 1.0
Kunena 1.0 requires either Joomla 1.0 or 1.5 with the System - Legacy plugin enabled. Kunena 1.5
Kunena 1.5 requires Joomla! 1.5.x; the System - Legacy plugin can be disabled for this version, but it may still be required for other installed components. Kunena 1.6
Kunena 1.6 requires Joomla! 1.5.19+ or Joomla 1.6.x. It is highly recommended to upgrade or remove older software that was dependent on J! 1.5 "legacy" mode. There is no "legacy" mode (or legacy concept) in Joomla 1.6. With from this version, the project team does not test Kunena on J! 1.5.x systems with the System - Legacy plugin enabled. Kunena 1.7
The System - Legacy plugin should be disabled on systems using K 1.7.x
Legacy mode and the effect on developers
There's a sunset clause in Joomla!: Legacy mode won't be around forever and developers are encouraged to remove their products' dependence on this feature as soon as they can.
While there is no definite evidence to support the claim that up to 99% of native extensions work with the System - Legacy plugin enabled, there is much anecdotal evidence to suggest that it's probable that only 1% of native products will fail. It is, however, true that those products that were developed for Joomla! 1.0 will not work in Joomla! 1.5 without the System - Legacy plugin enabled but that there's a high likelihood that some, older, Joomla! 1.0 extensions are inoperable under Joomla 1.5 even with the "legacy" plugin enabled.
If developers want to keep their customers satisfied, they'll move with the times and update their software to continue to work in the future. Those that don't will lose the business.
Legacy mode and its effects on users
Joomla! 1.5 "legacy" mode has negligible impact from the end user's perspective and there is little appreciable difference both in functionality and performance. The important matter is that this feature is only a transitional feature that won't be available in some future version of Joomla!. For users who want to future-proof their Joomla! installations, they should try to eliminate their dependence on legacy mode, where possible, and shop for products that are built as Joomla! 1.5 native extensions. That's really the bottom line: most customers want to run Joomla! 1.5; it's the market that's driving developers to stay focused.
With the release of J! 1.6, J! 1.7 and J! 2.5, "legacy" mode is a non-issue because it does not exist on these platforms. Although J! 1.5 and extensions written for it will be around for a while, there is no reason these days for people to be reliant on outdated software and, as more people adopt later forms of Joomla, many of the issues discussed in this article will have little relevance. Some people enable the System - Legacy plugin because it's there (and it's disabled by default) without knowing what it does. There are good reasons why many Joomla plugins are disabled by default. If you don't know what these things do then you should not play with them. Many of the best Joomla sites in the world are those that were installed using the standard Joomla installation procedure and never changed at all.
Kunena 1.6 and legacy mode
Kunena 1.6
K 1.6 is different to earlier versions of Kunena. It's not only different in the ways that it's installed, setup or used, it's structurally different to K 1.5. K 1.6 uses a different database and handles SQL queries differently by utilising the latest best-practices of Joomla. Because of these differences, all add-ons that were originally developed for Fireboard or older versions of Kunena will not work with K 1.6.
From a developer's perspective, K 1.6 focused a lot on on Joomla 1.5 native mode but it was mainly intended to work with J! 1.6. In other words, the developers were not primarily concerned with ensuring K 1.6 would necessarily operate in a "legacy" J! 1.5 environment as there was in K 1.5. It is not that Joomla's "legacy" mode does not work with K 1.6; rather it is because, unless there is a need to run J! 1.0 components, modules, plugins, templates or languages, there is no requirement to enable the System - Legacy plugin for J! 1.5. If users encounter problems running "legacy" mode, it's unlikely that the plugin itself is the cause of those problems. It's more likely to be the J! 1.0 things that users still have running on their websites.
The purpose of the legacy plugin was to enable developers an extension of time to upgrade their products' compatibility with J! 1.5. The purpose was not to permit J! 1.0 things on users' websites to continue indefinitely.
Kunena is moving to keep pace with the developments in Joomla. It is worth mentioning here that Joomla 1.6 does not have any "legacy" mode for J! 1.5 extensions and all J! 1.5 extensions will need to be converted to run in a J! 1.6 environment; fortunately, most extensions are automatically converted by the J! 1.6 installation process. J! 1.0 support was withdrawn on 22 July 2009. If Kunena users are still dependent on software written for J! 1.0 they need to be aware of current practices if they want to move ahead. It should be clearly understood that J! 1.6 will not support J! 1.0 software products at all.
It can be argued that J! 1.5 legacy mode has negligible impact from user's perspective; there may be little appreciable loss of functionality or performance if it is used. The primary consideration, from a user's perspective is that legacy mode was only intended to be used in a transitional way. Users who want to future-proof their Joomla! websites should eliminate their dependence on legacy mode, where possible, and only use native J! 1.5/1.6 extensions. Most users want to run Joomla! 1.5/.6 natively and it's this market pressure that drives software development; Kunena is no different in this regard.
For some users it's difficult enough making sure that their sites meet Kunena's minimum technical requirements. Firstly there is the need to be running J! 1.5.19 or later; there may be other extensions that may have to be upgraded as well. It makes good sense to eliminate the potential for outdated Joomla 1.0 software that only further complicates matters.
If users are continuing to operate J! 1.5 legacy mode and they are considering K 1.6 for their websites then they also use this opportunity to examine why they still need the System - Legacy plugin enabled and to remove the J! 1.0 software. The continued reliance on outdated, J! 1.0 software will only hinder progress in the wider Joomla! community and for Kunena in particular.
Kunena 1.7 and legacy mode
Kunena 1.7
Support is not available for K 1.7 systems running J! 1.5 with legacy mode enabled. Before attending to problems that people may have with K 1.7, if people are using legacy mode they are advised that they should first make every attempt to disable the System - Legacy plugin first. For security reasons, users are advised to run J! 1.5.25 or later.
If users are continuing to operate J! 1.5 "legacy mode" and they are considering K 1.7 for their websites then they also use this opportunity to examine why they still need the System - Legacy plugin enabled and to remove the J! 1.0 software. The continued reliance on outdated, J! 1.0 software will only hinder progress in the wider Joomla! community and for Kunena in particular.
Direct access is not allowed
1. Go to Extensions » Install / Uninstall. You will see that 6 sub-functions you can choose from:
- Install
- Components
- Modules
- Plugins
- Languages
- Templates
2. Click, one by one, each of the items that appear in bold above. Browse the listed items and look for any items that have a red X in the compatibility column. For example, see the image shown on the right (the red X is shown against the "ObjectClarity Kunena Discussbot" plugin).
