[Plugin: Hotfix] How will Hotfix handle fixes through the future?

  • I see that currently this plugin has an array of hotfixes for each specific WordPress version. I worry about the behavior of opting folks into each and every hotfix for their version instead of just the specific one that affects them, especially since a “hotfix” is released out of the normal testing and support cycle.

    Personally, I think this plugin might work better if it provided a checkbox in admin to opt in to individual hotfixes for issues that affect them. Otherwise I think a lot more people are likely to enable this plugin, forget about it, and then get a lot of fixes that don’t get the usual vetting and testing.

    Just my two cents, I do really like the central idea of this plugin and think it can make WordPress a lot more useful for folks with a minimal amount of updating overhead.

    https://www.ads-software.com/extend/plugins/hotfix/

Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
  • Plugin Author Andrew Nacin

    (@nacin)

    I don’t think we anticipate a flood of hotfixes. Keep in mind the plugin is controlled by Mark and the core team, so they are going to get the usual vetting and testing before something goes out.

    We subscribe heavily to a philosophy of Decisions, Not Options. I don’t think UI options are ever necessary here — we can make the right decisions for our users. Really, the Hotfix plugin is like point releases for the point releases.* Users should be able to trust us that when they hit the update button, things will get better, never worse.

    (* – “I gotta back up plan for my back up plan to back up my back up plan.”)

    Plugin Author Mark Jaquith

    (@markjaquith)

    I think a lot more people are likely to enable this plugin, forget about it, and then get a lot of fixes that don’t get the usual vetting and testing.

    Well, for now, they have to manually update the plugin. That’s their opt-in. And I’m providing update notices, which appear in WordPress. So they’ll know what the new version contains.

    If people have to opt in to individual fixes, it’s likely that they won’t. They won’t know to look, and they might not know if the bug they’re experiencing is actually the one that is described.

    I think more benefit can come from enabling all the hotfixes for their particular version automatically. I don’t plan to do a lot of these hotfixes.

    Thread Starter ZPWeeks

    (@zpweeks)

    Sounds good. I think the “Hotfix” title misled me as to the purpose of this plugin then- in Microsoft’s support world, “hotfixes” are little one-off fixes only provided to people who complain about an edge case bug, and receive less (and more expensive) support than something that comes through the mainline support system.

    This sounds like a more prudent option for minor functionality fixes that don’t warrant a new .x.x or .x.x.x release for all WordPress users all the time. (“Yo Dawg, I heard you patched your patch,” etc. ??

    Any idea if the new plugin will be included in future WP releases like Aksimet and Hello Dolly? It would be great if it was. Except for a brief post on Weblog Tools Collection, I really haven’t seen/read much about it, and future WordPress users might not even know that it’s available.

    Plugin Author Andrew Nacin

    (@nacin)

    Nope, we have no plans to bundle any more plugins. We’ll advertise the plugin when necessary. We don’t think it’s necessary at this point.

    Mark: Could the IIS6 canonical redirects problem be a candidate for a quick hotfix (version equals 3.1 and Server equals Microsoft-IIS/6.0), just disable canonical redirects i that case.

    Hi Mark,

    https://www.ads-software.com/extend/plugins/hotfix/

    Well the plugin does seem like a good idea. yes the plugin page does say for which version, which hotfix will be installed.

    My question is though, is your plugin reversible ?

    I mean, maybe the hotfix became a bug for example. Or maybe a new wordpress came out with the fix. So you want to remove your plugin, and install the new wordpress.

    But there doesn’t seem to be any notes or faq whether the uninstall process of your plugin won’t leave a mess of coding behind that will conflict later with a newer wordpress once it does come out.

    Maybe add in a FAQ to the plugin page mentioning these kinds of things for newbies like me.

Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
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