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Managing Component Updates (How to use this example)

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This tutorial is for Joomla Joomla 1.6

Articles in this series[edit]

Normal update sequence[edit]

You can use the following sequence to show the effects of this example. You may also try installs, updates and uninstalls in any sequence that you desire.

  • Previous state: no com_democompupdate component installed.
  • Install democompupdate_10.zip.
    • Verify the install is good by the text echoed in back-end.
    • Front-end: verify database, files and parameter setting.
    • optional: MysqlAdmin: verify:
      • democompupdate_mytable exists and has one row, value '1.0'.
      • extensions table has entry for com_democompupdate.
        • params field (JSON), has three values.
        • manifest_cache field (JSON) shows version '1.0'.


  • Previous state: version 1.0 installed.
  • Install democompupdate_111.zip.
    • Verify the install is good by the text echoed in back-end.
    • Front-end: verify database, files and parameter setting.
    • optional: MysqlAdmin: verify:
      • democompupdate_mytable exists and has one row, value '1.1.1'.
      • extensions table has entry for com_democompupdate.
        • params field (JSON), has three values.
        • manifest_cache field (JSON) shows version '1.1.1'.


  • Previous state: version 1.1.1 installed.
  • Install democompupdate_13.zip.
    • Verify the install is good by the text echoed in back-end.
    • Front-end: verify database, files and parameter setting.
      • There should be three rows in the table.
    • optional: MysqlAdmin: verify:
      • democompupdate_mytable exists and has three rows, values '1.1.1', '1.2.1' and '1.3'.
      • extensions table has entry for com_democompupdate.
        • params field (JSON), has three values.
        • manifest_cache field (JSON) shows version '1.3'.

Try a reverse-sequence update[edit]

  • Previous state: version 1.3 installed.
  • Install democompupdate_10.zip.
    • Update should fail, give useful information in the back-end.
    • No change should be seen in front-end, back-end or MySqlAdmin.

Make sure that uninstall works[edit]

  • Previous state: version 1.3 installed.
  • Uninstall 1.0
    • Verify the component does not exist in Joomla extension manager or front-end.
    • optional: MysqlAdmin: verify that democompupdate elements are gone.

Verify full installs of each revision work correctly[edit]

  • Previous state: no democompupdate component installed.
  • Install democompupdate_111.zip.
    • Verify that the full install created the same database and file state as the update to 1.1.1.


  • Previous state: version 1.1.1 installed.
  • Uninstall
  • Install democompupdate_13.zip.
    • Verify that the full install created the same database and file state as the update to 1.3.

Verify that Joomla version check works[edit]

  • Previous state: version 1.3 installed.
  • Uninstall
  • Install democompupdate_10j3.zip.
    • The update should fail, give useful information in the back-end.
    • No evidence of the installed component should exist in front-end, back-end or MySqlAdmin.

Summary[edit]

If the update requirements for your component allow you to follow the standard release sequencing, then you can use the update features in Joomla 1.6 to ensure your users do not install the component improperly.

  • Create update SQL files for component revisions. The file names must follow the version string sequencing that is documented in the PHP version_compare function. Create empty update SQL files if no SQL change is required for that version.
  • Update the version string in the manifest file for each version.
  • Update the version string in the script.php file for each version. Modify the custom code in this file, if needed, for each version.

If your component requires unusual update handling, you can implement it in the script.php file. You can disable the normal update SQL file execution and implement your own code. You can implement custom checks and custom install and update actions. You can, and should, create confirmation messages and error messages to help the administrator understand the actions in your code.

I intentionally made this example simple, to make debug easier. You can implement your custom code in this example, and verify that it works correctly, then implement it in your component. Share your successes with the Joomla community.