Roadmap/4.6.0

= Downloadable Virtual Products =

Some business models are based on downloadable virtual products like software, PDF or MP3 files instead of the classic shipment of products purchased in an online store. This is the second most requested feature on our feature request tracker and has now been contributed to the core installation of OXID eShop by marmalade.de.

= Rich Snippets with RDFa + GoodRelations =

Currently, OXID eShop implements the following rich snippets: microformat (basic) and microdata with schema.org (azure). We have been investigating this and are convinced that the RDFa + GoodRelations vocabulary will be the future of rich snippets, especially for eCommerce. Thanks to Daniel Bingel and Prof. Dr. Hepp from the Munich Bundeswehr Academy for this great contribution!

= Increased Performance in High-Load Scenarios =

OXID eShop 4.6.0 will offer better performance in high-load scenarios, through better optimization of SQL queries. The focus of this optimization effort is on OXID eShop EE; however, other editions will also gain this benefit.

= 128 Subshops (EE only) =

Today, only 64 subshops are possible with OXID eShop EE. This number will be raised to 128 with OXID eShop EE 4.6.0.

= Optimized Extension Handling =

The handling of extensions (modules) in the admin panel will change, and it will no longer be necessary to change admin templates for configuration of external modules. oxblocks will also be available in admin templates from this release. You can find out more about oxblocks in this tutorial.

= Better Display of Product Price Updates =

To comply with German laws, it is necessary to display price changes for special timeframes (for example, during sales promotions) not only in the online store but also on external marketplaces or price comparison platforms. Thus, via additional database fields in OXID eShop 4.6.0, it will be possible to enter these prices and also to transmit this data via OXID eFire to the appropriate marketplaces and price comparison platforms.

= New Order State =

For better administration and debugging, an additional order state "NOT_FINISHED" will be introduced for orders that couldn't complete for technical reasons. The status "NOT_FINISHED" will be set even before the status "NEW" is set and will remain until several additional actions (getting a unique order number, adding entries for the ordered items, processing payments, tracking response from chosen payment method or Trusted Shops transaction) have been completed fully.

= Built in Template Documentation =

Like discussed in this thread of dev-general mailing list, a template documentation mode shall be provided.

= ADODB mysqli hack =

mysqli driver can be used instead of the mysql driver.

= Removal of Facebook LiveStream Feature =

According to this poll in our forums, the Facebook LiveStream feature will be removed in OXID eShop 4.6.0.