Question about the config.inc.php file

Software Support
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1

PKP, thanks for your work on getting 3.5.0.5 out!

As I watched the various videos and read some instructions, I have questions, as I am upgrading from 3.3.0.13 to 3.5.0.5. Once the installation is successful, I plan to run parallel instances (3.3 and 3.5) side by side for some time in order to give our publishers time to get experience with it (while they will continue to use 3.3 during this transition) and for me to prepare tutorials and demo videos. With this backdrop, I hope to understand a bit more about the config file. I have some experience editing it, but here is my question:

When migrating between two disparate versions like 3.3 and 3.5, which config file should I use: the one I backed up from the 3.3 (config33) or the one that came with the 3.5 (config35)? In the latter case, I would copy lines from the config33 into the config35 because I think the config35 would work better as designed with the 3.5.0.5. On the PKP video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twTfYLVSPrI) in which @asmecher demonstrates this process in detail, it looks like the config files of the older OJS version (3.3) is shoehorned into the target version (3.5). As 3.6 is just around the corner, wouldn’t the config file in 3.5 work better when preparing for 3.6? Any recommendations from PKP or others in the forum?

Thank you in advance! – @asabhar Arjun Sabharwal

2

Hi @asabhar,

There are some differences in the config.inc.php file in 3.5:
versus 3.3

For your 3.3 instance, you should continue to use the 3.3 version of the config file since the 3.5 version isn’t really made to be suitable to work with 3.3 (even though it contains a lot of the same settings.

When you do go to upgrade to 3.5, you will definitely want to use the version that is included as part of the 3.5 version, as it will include the most up-to-date settings that are relevant for a 3.5 installation, including some new settings that aren’t in 3.3. You could then copy over settings that you have in your 3.3 into the 3.5, when you do go forward with an upgrade (it would also be recommended to keep a backup of your 3.3 config file to refer to, just in case).

You could use a Diff viewer (e.g. https://www.textdiffviewer.com/) to compare the two versions and see how they differ.

-Roger
PKP Team

3

Hi @asabhar,

When upgrading your OJS from 3.3 to 3.5, you can take either path:

  • Start with your 3.3 configuration file, then make additions/adjustments recommended in the release note documents (see docs/release-notes) for each intermediary version (that’s README-3.4.0 and README-3.5.0). At the top of each is a list of changed configuration parameters.

…OR…

  • Start with the new 3.5.0 configuration file and merge your old settings in from your 3.3 configuration file.

Both ways will lead you to the same place.

Regards,
Alec Smecher
Public Knowledge Project Team

4

Thanks, Roger @rcgillis. I appreciate the link to Diff viewer.

Arjun

@asabhar

5

Thanks, Alec. I appreciate these clarifications, as I’d like OJS 3.5 to work with the newest config files in order to prepare for future upgrades.

Best regards,

Arjun

@asabhar