Enhancement Suggestions for Fast Woo Order Lookup Plugin

  • Hello,

    Following up on my previous issue, I’d like to offer some targeted suggestions to further enhance the Fast Woo Order Lookup plugin. These suggestions are designed to improve user experience and address specific potential issues:

    Performance+Data Validation: Given the concerns raised here , here & in FAQ, implement a feature in the settings page to verify that the plugin does not cause unnecessary slowdowns and that the trigram tables are correctly generated and maintained.

    WP-CLI Support: Enable trigram regeneration via WP-CLI to facilitate maintenance during off-peak hours and to allow those with the capability to automate this process, recognizing that not all hosting environments support WP-CLI. Like the other plugin by the author named: Index WP MySQL For Speed

    Dependency Declaration: Explicitly state WooCommerce dependency in both the plugin’s documentation (readme) and code, ensuring that users are aware of this prerequisite before installation.

    Documentation of Trigram Table: Document that the trigram table is named wp_fwol in the readme.md to enhance transparency, especially as the table size grows.

    Compatibility Alerts: Note potential conflicts with other WooCommerce search plugins and provide guidance on reporting these issues for resolution. Example issue for reference.

    Order Count Warning: Introduce a warning message for stores with fewer than a certain number of orders, as the plugin may not perform as intended in smaller datasets.

    These enhancements aim not only to improve the plugin’s functionality but also to reduce the support burden if the plugin becomes very popular. Such preventative measures can help avoid negative reviews stemming from misunderstandings about the plugin’s requirements and capabilities.

    Hoping for continued success and health for many more years! (30 years if you can keep up ?? )

    • This topic was modified 2 months, 1 week ago by Maxime Michaud. Reason: Typo Title
Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
  • Thread Starter Maxime Michaud

    (@maximemichaud)

    Order Count Warning: The idea of an “Order Count Warning” is quite general; any method that could make this feature more precise would be valuable. Given my limited understanding of how this could be implemented in this context, it led me to think about replacing a simple order count with an “Order Complexity Check” to analyze the diversity and complexity of existing orders. Another possible approach could be “Data Density Analysis.”

    Performance Suggestion: I’m unsure about the concrete implementation, but a performance simulation might work. This could involve sampling the store’s order data and running it through a mock trigram generation and search process to predict performance improvements.

    Compatibility Alerts: I have submitted a pull request to add compatibility details for the plugin. Everything has been clearly outlined in the pull request, and you are free to adjust the versions if you prefer to enforce stricter requirements.

    A bit more clarification regarding my previous message. I marked it as a support request because I genuinely want to ensure long-term, hassle-free usage is not problematic. I rarely use the feature (orders search) and receive very little technical feedback (unfortunately), so it usually takes me weeks to come across an issue (with luck).

    I want to emphasize again that this is not a critical priority, and I’m very grateful that the plugin exists and works properly. The WordPress Performance Team isn’t very productive, though that’s just my opinion ??

    Thread Starter Maxime Michaud

    (@maximemichaud)

    This concerns whether the FAQ mention about the meta key query is still valid.

    I’ve created an issue regarding this, which you can view here: Issue #21.

    In addition, I’ve submitted two pull requests related to continuous integration setup:

    • Build: Add GitHub Actions workflow for build and archive – PR #19
    • Feat(CI): Add Dependabot config for GitHub Actions daily updates – PR #20
    Plugin Author OllieJones

    (@olliejones)

    Thanks for these suggestions!

    I’m not sure about the order count warning or performance prediction. Does the feature’s usefulness justify its complexity? We’d have to run the tests and announce the results to the user. And, they’re in a language (backend database performance) unknown to many WordPress site operators.

    This plugin works fine on small sites. It doesn’t help much but it doesn’t hurt either. The trigram lookup complexity is O(log n), even when n is small.

    Workaround for missing feature: To regenerate the trigrams, use wp-cli to deactivate and then activate the plugin. Activation regenerates them, while deactivation drops the table.

    Notice that it’s necessary, when the toplevel php file mentions * WC Requires at least, to implement an action hook that declares the plugin to support HPOS. That will be in the next release.

    • This reply was modified 2 months ago by OllieJones.
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