Error after update function val() is not defined

ppazos

Hi,
I followed the instructions here to update my 2.0.x version of Vanilla to the last 2.1.3: http://vanillaforums.org/docs/upgradeinstructions

And I´m getting this error: Fatal error: Call to undefined function val() in public_html/forum/library/core/class.request.php on line 341

Any ideas why?

The function is defined in functions.compatibility.php

peregrine

what version of vanilla 2.0.x are you using,

and use the upgrade instructions here:

http://vanillaforums.org/discussion/26685/vanilla-2-1-stable-released/p1

also read all the threads in discussion, it might help elsewhere.

and see

http://vanillaforums.org/discussion/26703/plugins-themes-that-work-and-don-t-work-in-vanilla-2-1

disable your plugins first and see if you have problem

ppazos

Hi!

It's 2.0.18.4.

Will follow those instructions and come back with news.

thanks a lot!

ppazos

Success

The update was successful.

ppazos

Just have one concern on /config.php, since the new Vanilla doesn't have that file in the ZIP, my config is the old one and has some entries with the old version number:

$Configuration['Conversations']['Version'] = '2.0.18.4';
$Configuration['Vanilla']['Version'] = '2.0.18.4';

Does this affect addon installation or forum functionality?
Should I update those entries by hand?

Thanks!

vrijvlinder

yes change by hand and also disable plugins and delete their settings in case they were saved serialized.

ppazos

Great thanks!

Can you elaborate a little about serialized saved plugins? Not 100% what's that

hgtonight

@vrijvlinder‌ is referring to plugins that save serialized data to the /conf/config.php file.

Not sure why she is talking about that though.

On topic, you can remove the version configs, and they will be regenerated from constant data next time they are needed. Or just edit them as needed.

vrijvlinder

@hgtonight said:
vrijvlinder‌ is referring to plugins that save serialized data to the /conf/config.php file.

Not sure why she is talking about that though.

I found that keeping those serialized settings from plugins causes problems after update. Removing them fixed the issues.

hgtonight

@vrijvlinder said:
I found that keeping those serialized settings from plugins causes problems after update. Removing them fixed the issues.

If that is the case, it has nothing to do with the settings being serialized. The plugin took issue with what the serialized settings represented.

Red Herring, I do say.

vrijvlinder

Well I don't think it is because I had the same issue multiple times as I updated 6 forums.

I looked for an old config.php to see if I could find an example of the ones that caused a problem but could not.

One big one was the Magpie, it saved it serialized in 2.0 .
Also the Routes are serialized in 2.0

I think the best thing to do is remove the old saved settings and re save them in the new format.

peregrine

@vrijvlinder said:

yes change by hand and also disable plugins and delete their settings in case they were saved serialized.

@hgtonight said:

If that is the case, it has nothing to do with the settings being serialized. The plugin took issue with what the serialized settings represented.

While the reasons V gave may be under question. I agree with her, that a bit of smart maintenance of your config.php is not a bad idea after upgrading to 2.1.3

There were a few cases where some config statements regarding serialized data were no longer used in 2.1.3 and were a "red herring" in that they were no longer used and an entirely different config statement was used to check settings.

Since vanilla core 2.1.3 doesn't use serialized data in config statements (to my knowledge) they can be safely removed. One might also not be using certain plugins that once worked in Vanilla 2.0, but no longer work and are no longer updated while the enable part may be false or removed, often times the settings may still be there. There is nothing wrong with judicious cleaning up of config.php (just keep a copy before you prune, in case you pruned something needed and don't know how to set it.).

e.g. if you had a plugin called MyOldPlugin and no longer use it and don't expect to use it.

You may have disabled it, but you still may have these lines relating to plugin in config.php

$Configuration['EnabledPlugins']['MyOldPlugin'] = FALSE;

$Configuration['Plugins']['MyOldPlugin']['Count'] = 30;
$Configuration['Plugins']['MyOldPlugin']['SortField'] = 'DateInserted';
$Configuration['Plugins']['MOldPlugins']['SortDirection'] = 'desc';
$Configuration['Plugins']['MyAttachments']['ShowIt'] = FALSE;

You might as well delete them.

You might also consider deleting any plugin folders that you downloaded from add-ons section that you know you will never use. Since these are actually inspected when dealing with plugins in dashboard.

It's just a good plan for keeping things clean, and reducing the size of your backups.

and yes it is a good idea to update the version number in config.php - just for consistency. Although most, if not all plugins, and the core don't rely on these, its a good idea to change it to the same version that is indicated in your dashboard in index.php as opposed to the config.php.

$Configuration['Conversations']['Version'] = '2.0.18.4'; 
$Configuration['Vanilla']['Version'] = '2.0.18.4';

http://vanillaforums.org/discussion/26943/tutorial-how-to-determine-the-version-number-of-vanilla-that-you-are-using-for-your-own-forum

hgtonight

Config cleanup is fine (and even a good step when upgrading plugins causes issues).

There is no reason to say "delete their settings in case they were saved serialized." This promotes treating serialized data as "magic" and just has to be dealt with.

Bad juju imo.