Boonex Code Quality

Hello,

That I am considering the Boonex script, what is the quality of the code? I say that some are complaining that the code is messed up and would confuse any developer, I know that people who complain are everywhere, but i just want to get your feedback...

Thanks

A

Quality is good. Its just complex and i think people say "quality" but its "complexity".

This is my opinion.

I have worked at the code level.  However, I am not a professional programmer so take my opinion with a grain of salt.  I find it fairly straight forward and I would say it follows proper practices although since I am not a professional programmer I don't have in depth knowledge.  You won't find a lot of inline notes in the code but then that is usually the case since it tends to take up more of the programmer's time.  There is some documentation of Dolphin functions and classes although I have no idea how useful it may be.

I've started using Dolphin just about 3-4 months ago. I've been a server-side software developer for the past 7 years, but only got introduced to Web programming in the past year (PHP, HTML, JS). I'm currently in the process of utilizing my very first community site ever, using Dolphin. And I make a LOT of changes, as I need my site to support right-to-left language inc. look-and-feel, and because the community type requires a lot of customization from the basic Dolphin setup.

Yes, the code is complex. I don't think there is a community script out there which isn't (and I've trialed several). Community sites are complex by definition.

I have no idea how someone with zero developing skills can customize many of the basic stuff by himself. There are a lot of configuration settings available in the admin panel, which everyone can use, but you reach your limit very fast if you're trying to do more than the basic changes, or require something that doesn't come ready out of the box.  And that's true for every community script I know of.
But I write this as a developer:  

Code annotations- almost don't exist, although I never missed them. Var and functions names are very clear as to what they contain, and functions are short and quite well written, they really speak for themselves.
You won't usually open a file and start reading the functions in it, but search for a specific something.
I work with the browser's "developer tools", and an IDE set with its workspace pointing to a local copy of Dolphin on my PC, to run searches through. That's all you really need in order to start getting the hang of it.
After ~3 months of code munching I can say the learning curve is a bit stiff, but once you get the hang of it- you just run with it.

The thing that bothers me the most is the inconsistency between the modules. For example: one module uses an array to define a group of service buttons, while another module reads them from the DB. Sometimes such inconsistencies exist within the same module. It can drive you nuts. As an experienced developer, I'm familiar with these issues, which are common and almost unavoidable when you maintain a veteran code throughout the years and under several different developers. So you take a note, curse a little... sigh, and move on.

Oh, and one more thing: the best tool you have here, which I can't appreciate enough: the forums. There is nothing I couldn't find by searching previous posts, or by asking the questions myself. No question left unanswered. Great people with great help.

Dolphin is a huge.  It's a beast.  It's a huge beast.  But the code is a lot cleaner than it used to be, and has gone through several rewrites over the decade.  But the folks above are right: clean != uncomplicated.  That said, a lot of work has gone into commenting the source code, and at least most some files have large segments of documentation commented in them, and a lot of common functions have comments to explain how they work.

Bourbon is still a minimal requirement for any sort of development.

Edit: I may have inhaled a few mole spores before making this post.

Hello AMR, I am the least experienced out of all the responders so far.  Dolphin software as a stand alone social network site out of the box? Not quite. Depending on where you want to take it. Dating sites, general social network or possibly a niche social site thought up in advance will require tweaking with wants and desires. From the quality of the modules available to add on, you can certainly get a social network up to speed in no time, depending on resources,your time to invest and your know how (couple months). As for the code, I as inexperienced as I am, have had no major issues that could not be resolved with the OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUALS that contribute in this forum as well as the good ones that support their products and offer advice, NO CHARGE. Now, I am not as dumb as I look, so a little here a little there or just a push and I am on my way. With that said, depending on your experience level, compatibility between modules should be thought out before purchase or plan on tweaking the module either yourself or by others. Me I like supporting the forum responders, unless there is a must have module that they are not offering. Advice read the modules support forum or comments and send a email out to the developer. If you are happy with the read and the response, then they are a go, but not before. Boonex needs to have a separate market for each version of Dolphin and another for no longer supported modules. If they continue to upgrade versions and codes, modules can become obsolete. As can any module that relies on other sources. So either you stick with your version or you adjust. I have not been there yet, just looking forward. This insight has not stopped me from going forward with my Dolphin purchases. If you would like to see my site, 1 1/2 months work on and off with support. Message me.

Here is one problem that is often encountered.  You want to change one area without it affecting other areas of the site.  However, you run into a situation where the code is reused; say the part of the code that allows one to leave comments.  Every part of Dolphin that has a place to leave comments uses the same code; there is actually only one comment editor for the whole site.  Every comment editor is initialised by the same bit of code so if you decide you want a different toolbar for different comment editors, it is not possible due to the way comments are handled.  There are benefits of course, reduced code base so the package is not overly large.  However, when it comes to customisation, it makes it very difficult.