Framework

I’ve been thinking about the whole MVC stuff inside ZenMagick. Some of it is mixed up with very zen-cart specific code, but a lot of it is very generic. So, while I am quite clear about the fact that the world doesn’t need another PHP based MVC framework, I still ponder from time to time the chances of splitting that code into a subproject to make it easier to maintain. Not having to keep the sometimes obscure zen-carts in mind might actually improve the overall quality of the code.

Plugins

A never ending source for thoughts! This time it’s about what can be done and what can’t (again! I hear you cry). In particular I’ve been looking at anonymous checkout and though it would be nice as a plugin, I think the functionality is to close to some core code to allow a plugin to mess with that. So, since I think it’s a rather nice and obvious feature to have, I decided that I’ll try to add that as a feature to ZenMagick.

Just to be clear, not every zen-cart mod that is too hard to implement as plugin will get this sort of treatment. For example, the FAQ manager has been put back on hold, as there are too many zen-cart dependencies in the code and templates. All the including back and forth makes it virtually impossible to reuse any of the templating code.

Donations

A very tricky topic and I promise that this is going to be a one time thing.

Donations are a way for Open Source developer to cover for some of their expenses, may that be hosting, hardware or any other costs that is related to the project.

In the case of ZenMagick there are luckily no real costs involved. Hosting is just about covered by the hosting plan I use to run my private site and the rest is on sourceforge. Other than that it’s just my time and that is mostly ok, as I like working on ZenMagick.

On the other hand I realize that ZenMagick is different from, say, a free game or tool to manage your private PC. It’s software written to help you run your store and make live easier for the developer that implements your online store. So, bottom line is that it will save you some money while getting the store you want faster.Therefore I think it would be nice to acknowledge this situation by donating - thanks!