Renameuser extension and MediaWiki 1.7.1?

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Hínandil

11 Jul 2006 11 Jul '06

7:31 a.m.

I have been running MW 1.5.8, and now that it's time to upgrade, I've been looking for newer versions of the extensions we use. One useful one in particular is Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason's "renameuser" extension. I tried to get the latest version from http://svn.wikimedia.org/viewvc/mediawiki/trunk/extensions/Renameuser/, but aside from the fact that it still seems to explicity require MW 1.5b2, the latest updates seem to have broken it badly. I see that Wikipedia is running some version of this extension. How can I find out what version they are running, and am I missing any obvious (or non-obvious) way to know whether an extension like this is still being maintained? Many thanks, Hínandil

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Rob Church

11 Jul 11 Jul

8:05 a.m.

New subject: [Mediawiki-l] Renameuser extension and MediaWiki 1.7.1?

On 11/07/06, Hínandil <hinandil(a)freespirits.org> wrote:

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I see that Wikipedia is running some version of this extension. How can I find out what version they are running, and am I missing any obvious (or non-obvious) way to know whether an extension like this is still being maintained?

It'll be the latest version. What's happened is that from 1.6 to 1.7, some changes to the logging mechanism were made to allow custom extension writers to add new log types more easily. These changes were then made directly in the extensions module but, of course, the person who implemented them didn't check things like backwards compatibility etc. and has thus broken them with MediaWiki versions less than 1.7 etc. This is one reason I don't like unilateral implementations of new methods in old code. I'll go and check that any minimum version requirements the extensions are enforcing are up to date with respect to what's being relied upon. In the meantime, fall back to an older version of the extension. Rob Church

Hínandil

8:17 a.m.

New subject: [Mediawiki-l] Renameuser extension and MediaWiki 1.7.1?

Rob Church wrote:

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On 11/07/06, Hínandil <hinandil(a)freespirits.org> wrote:

I see that Wikipedia is running some version of this extension. How can

It'll be the latest version. What's happened is that from 1.6 to 1.7, some changes to the logging mechanism were made to allow custom extension writers to add new log types more easily.

Yes, I seem to have seen that. But I am testing the extension out on a mirror of my site running MW 1.7.1, in preparation to upgrade the main site... well, tonight, actually. :)

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I'll go and check that any minimum version requirements the extensions are enforcing are up to date with respect to what's being relied upon.

I really appreciate this. I wish I programmed in any current language--I can read most languages but not at any sort of proficiency. To be specific, SpecialRenameUser.php has the following lines 43-45: if ( !function_exists( 'extAddSpecialPage' ) ) { require( dirname(__FILE__) . '/../ExtensionFunctions.php' ); } And this is currently killing the wiki... it seems like I tried something else but now I think I must have mixed up the two versions on the live site and the mirror--the version check (version_compare( $wgVersion, '1.5beta2', '<' )) works on 1.5.8.

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In the meantime, fall back to an older version of the extension.

I'll keep an eye out for any revisions you make, and see if that fixes things. If so, great. If not, I guess I'll try to patch the path to ExtensionFunctions.php, and as a fallback plan, start stepping backwards through Subversion. Thanks again, Hínandil

Rob Church

8:31 a.m.

New subject: [Mediawiki-l] Renameuser extension and MediaWiki 1.7.1?

On 11/07/06, Hínandil <hinandil(a)freespirits.org> wrote:

...

To be specific, SpecialRenameUser.php has the following lines 43-45: if ( !function_exists( 'extAddSpecialPage' ) ) { require( dirname(__FILE__) . '/../ExtensionFunctions.php' ); } And this is currently killing the wiki... it seems like I tried something else but now I think I must have mixed up the two versions on the live site and the mirror--the version check (version_compare( $wgVersion, '1.5beta2', '<' )) works on 1.5.8.

That line is checking that the current MediaWiki version is 1.5b2 or later, which it is if it's 1.5.8, of course. The failing require() is not what I was referring to with respect to breakage, although it might be causing it all to die due to another oversight; not all extension users check out or export the entire extensions directory from Subversion. That particular bit of code is, in fact, backwards compability friendliness for MediaWiki 1.6.x and below, but it makes the assumption that the parent directory to that containing the extension file also contains another file. Nowhere is it actually well noted that that's now needed. There's a couple of workarounds to it. Grab ExtensionFunctions.php from Subversion and plonk it in the extensions directory, then edit the line to remove the "../" bit. Alternatively, go back to the last version which worked with MediaWiki's stable and legacy branches; that is http://svn.wikimedia.org/viewvc/mediawiki?view=rev&revision=142964296, I believe.

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I won't be altering existing behaviour because, even if it fixes stuff, I'd be shouted and screamed at for it; something I can do without. Rob Church

Ronald Hall

8:43 a.m.

New subject: [Mediawiki-l] Renameuser extension and MediaWiki 1.7.1?

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I won't be altering existing behaviour because, even if it fixes stuff, I'd be shouted and screamed at for it; something I can do without.

And still he tirelessly works to improve the world....... r

Hínandil

8:57 a.m.

New subject: [Mediawiki-l] Renameuser extension and MediaWiki 1.7.1?

Rob Church wrote:

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That line is checking that the current MediaWiki version is 1.5b2 or later, which it is if it's 1.5.8, of course.

Yes, I was thinking of the documentation page which claims that 1.5b2 works, but then 1.5rc4 would not. I didn't realize, trying to figure out why the old version wasn't working in 1.7.1, that the line didn't do that.

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The failing require() is not what I was referring to with respect to breakage,

Sadly, this was indeed the problem. Since I only have SFTP access to my host, I prefer to download only what I need before transferring. Thanks to your kind explanation, I pushed the last of my extensions into subdirectories and grabbed that copy of ExtensionFunctions.php and placed it into my extensions folder. Everything works perfectly, and I have a better grasp on how to manage these things in the future. Thanks for your time and patience!

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I won't be altering existing behaviour because, even if it fixes stuff, I'd be shouted and screamed at for it; something I can do without.

Hm, indeed. I suppose sufficient documentation would suffice. If I get some free time (famous last words!) maybe I'll write something up and submit it to Ævar. Thanks for checking into things even though I misread the version check line, and thanks for reporting back even though you found nothing wrong. It still taught me a lot. Hínandil

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Hínandil
Rob Church
Ronald Hall