1 This files describes API changes in core libraries and APIs,
2 information provided here is intended especially for developers.
6 * $core_renderer->block_move_target() changed to support more verbose move-block-here descriptions.
9 * $module uses in mod/xxx/version.php files is now deprecated. Please use $plugin instead. It will be removed in Moodle 2.10.
10 * Update init methods in all event classes - "level" property was renamed to "edulevel", the level property is now deprecated.
11 * Abstract class \core\event\course_module_instances_list_viewed is deprecated now, use \core\event\instances_list_viewed instead.
12 * mod_book\event\instances_list_viewed has been deprecated. Please use mod_book\event\course_module_instance_list_viewed instead.
13 * mod_chat\event\instances_list_viewed has been deprecated. Please use mod_chat\event\course_module_instance_list_viewed instead.
14 * mod_choice\event\instances_list_viewed has been deprecated. Please use mod_choice\event\course_module_instance_list_viewed instead.
15 * mod_feedback\event\instances_list_viewed has been deprecated. Please use mod_feedback\event\course_module_instance_list_viewed instead.
16 * mod_page\event\instances_list_viewed has been deprecated. Please use mod_page\event\course_module_instance_list_viewed instead.
17 * The constants FRONTPAGECOURSELIST, FRONTPAGETOPICONLY & FRONTPAGECOURSELIMIT have been removed.
18 * Various cm_info methods have been deprecated in favour of their read-only properties (get_url(), get_content(), get_extra_classes(),
19 get_on_click(), get_custom_data(), get_after_link, get_after_edit_icons)
20 * The ajaxenabled function has been deprecated and always returns true. All code should be fully functional in Javascript.
23 * The lightbox attribute for moodle-core-notification-dialogue has been
24 deprecated and replaced by the modal attribute. This was actually
25 changed in Moodle 2.2, but has only been marked as deprecated now. It
26 will be removed in Moodle 2.9.
27 * When destroying any type of dialogue based on moodle-core-notification, the relevant content is also removed from
28 the DOM. Previously it was left orphaned.
31 * The findChildNodes global function has been deprecated. Y.all should
33 * The callback argument to confirm_action and M.util.show_confirm_dialog has been deprecated. If you need to write a
34 confirmation which includes a callback, please use moodle-core-notification-confirmation and attach callbacks to the
37 * New locking api and admin settings to configure the system locking type.
38 * New "Time spent waiting for the database" performance metric displayed along with the
39 other MDL_PERF vars; the change affects both the error logs and the vars displayed in
44 * Use new methods from core_component class instead of get_core_subsystems(), get_plugin_types(),
45 get_plugin_list(), get_plugin_list_with_class(), get_plugin_directory(), normalize_component(),
46 get_component_directory() and get_plugin_list_with_file(). The names of the new methods are
47 exactly the same, the only differences are that core_component::get_plugin_types() now always returns
48 full paths and core_component::get_plugin_list() does not accept empty parameter any more.
49 * Use core_text::* instead of textlib:: and also core_collator::* instead of collatorlib::*.
50 * Use new function moodleform::mock_submit() to simulate form submission in unit tests (backported).
51 * New $CFG->localcachedir setting useful for cluster nodes. Admins have to update X-Sendfile aliases if used.
52 * MS SQL Server drivers are now using NVARCHAR(MAX) instead of NTEXT and VARBINARY(MAX) instead of IMAGE,
53 this change should be fully transparent and it should help significantly with add-on compatibility.
54 * The string manager classes were renamed. Note that they should not be modified or used directly,
55 always use get_string_manager() to get instance of the string manager.
56 * The ability to use an 'insecure' rc4encrypt/rc4decrypt key has been removed.
57 * Use $CFG->debugdeveloper instead of debugging('', DEBUG_DEVELOPER).
58 * Use set_debugging(DEBUG_xxx) when changing debugging level for current request.
59 * Function moveto_module() does not modify $mod argument and instead now returns the new module visibility value.
60 * Use behat_selectors::get_allowed_text_selectors() and behat_selectors::get_allowed_selectors() instead of
61 behat_command::$allowedtextselectors and behat_command::$allowedselectors
62 * Subplugins are supported in admin tools and local plugins.
63 * file_packer/zip_packer API has been modified so that key functions support a new file_progress interface
64 to report progress during long operations. Related to this, zip_archive now supports an estimated_count()
65 function that returns an approximate number of entries in the zip faster than the count() function.
66 * Class cm_info no longer extends stdClass. All properties are read-only and calculated on first request only.
67 * Class course_modinfo no longer extends stdClass. All properties are read-only.
68 * Database fields modinfo and sectioncache in table course are removed. Application cache core/coursemodinfo
69 is used instead. Course cache is still reset, rebuilt and retrieved using function rebuild_course_cache() and
70 get_fast_modinfo(). Purging all caches and every core upgrade purges course modinfo cache as well.
71 If function get_fast_modinfo() is called for multiple courses make sure to include field cacherev in course
73 * Internal (noreply and support) user support has been added for sending/receiving message.
74 Use core_user::get_noreply_user() and core_user::get_support_user() to get noreply and support user's respectively.
75 Real users can be used as noreply/support users by setting $CFG->noreplyuserid and $CFG->supportuserid
76 * New function readfile_allow_large() in filelib.php for use when very large files may need sending to user.
77 * Use core_plugin_manager::reset_caches() when changing visibility of plugins.
78 * Implement new method get_enabled_plugins() method in subplugin info classes.
79 * Each plugin should include version information in version.php.
80 * Module and block tables do not contain version column any more, use get_config('xx_yy', 'version') instead.
81 * $USER->password field is intentionally unset so that session data does not contain password hashes.
82 * Use core_shutdown_manager::register_function() instead of register_shutdown_function().
83 * New file packer for .tar.gz files; obtain by calling get_file_packer('application/x-gzip'). Intended initially
84 for use in backup/restore only, as there are limitations on supported filenames. Also new packer for
85 backups which supports both compression formats; get_file_packer('application/vnd.moodle.backup').
86 * New optional parameter to stored_file::get_content_file_handle to open file handle with 'gzopen' instead
87 of 'fopen' to read gzip-compressed files if required.
88 * update_internal_user_password() and setnew_password_and_mail() now trigger user_updated event.
89 * Add thirdpartylibs.xml file to plugins that bundle any 3rd party libraries.
90 * New class introduced to help auto generate zIndex values for modal dialogues. Class "moodle-has-zindex"
91 should set on any element which uses a non-default zindex and needs to ensure it doesn't show above a
93 * $CFG->filelifetime is now used consistently for most file serving operations, the default was lowered
94 to 6 hours from 24 hours because etags and x-sendfile support should make file serving less expensive.
95 * Date format locale charset for windows server will come from calendar type and for gregorian it will use
97 * The library to interact with Box.net (class boxclient) is only compatible with their APIv1 which
98 reaches its end of life on the 14th of Dec. You should migrate your scripts to make usage of the
99 new class boxnet_client(). Note that the method names and return values have changed.
100 * Settings pages are now possible for Calendar type plugins. Calendar type plugins that require a settings page to
101 work properly will need to set their requires version to a number that is equal to or grater than the 2.6.1 release version.
102 * The admin/tool/generator tool was overhauled to use testing data generators and the previous interface to create
103 test data was removed (it was not working correctly anyway). If you were using this tool you will probably need to
107 Various previously deprecated functions have now been altered to throw DEBUG_DEVELOPER debugging notices
108 and will be removed in a future release (target: 2.8), a summary follows:
111 * get_context_instance() -> context_xxxx::instance()
112 * get_context_instance_by_id() -> context::instance_by_id($id)
113 * get_system_context() -> context_system::instance()
114 * context_moved() -> context::update_moved()
115 * preload_course_contexts() -> context_helper::preload_course()
116 * context_instance_preload() -> context_helper::preload_from_record()
117 * context_instance_preload_sql() -> context_helper::get_preload_record_columns_sql()
118 * get_contextlevel_name() -> context_helper::get_level_name()
119 * create_contexts() -> context_helper::create_instances()
120 * cleanup_contexts() -> context_helper::cleanup_instances()
121 * build_context_path() -> context_helper::build_all_paths()
122 * print_context_name() -> $context->get_context_name()
123 * mark_context_dirty() -> $context->mark_dirty()
124 * delete_context() -> $context->delete_content() or context_helper::delete_instance()
125 * get_context_url() -> $context->get_url()
126 * get_course_context() -> $context->get_course_context()
127 * get_parent_contexts() -> $context->get_parent_context_ids()
128 * get_parent_contextid() -> $context->get_parent_context()
129 * get_child_contexts() -> $context->get_child_contexts()
130 * rebuild_contexts() -> $context->reset_paths()
131 * get_user_courses_bycap() -> enrol_get_users_courses()
132 * get_courseid_from_context() -> $context->get_course_context(false)
133 * get_role_context_caps() -> (no replacement)
134 * load_temp_role() -> (no replacement)
135 * remove_temp_roles() -> (no replacement)
136 * get_related_contexts_string() -> $context->get_parent_context_ids(true)
137 * get_recent_enrolments() -> (no replacement)
140 * get_course_participants() -> get_enrolled_users()
141 * is_course_participant() -> is_enrolled()
144 * current_theme() -> $PAGE->theme->name
145 * skip_main_destination() -> $OUTPUT->skip_link_target()
146 * print_container() -> $OUTPUT->container()
147 * print_container_start() -> $OUTPUT->container_start()
148 * print_container_end() -> $OUTPUT->container_end()
149 * print_continue() -> $OUTPUT->continue_button()
150 * print_header() -> $PAGE methods
151 * print_header_simple() -> $PAGE methods
152 * print_side_block() -> $OUTPUT->block()
153 * print_arrow() -> $OUTPUT->arrow()
154 * print_scale_menu_helpbutton() -> $OUTPUT->help_icon_scale($courseid, $scale)
155 * print_checkbox() -> html_writer::checkbox()
158 * print_navigation() -> $OUTPUT->navbar()
159 * build_navigation() -> $PAGE->navbar methods
160 * navmenu() -> (no replacement)
161 * settings_navigation::
162 get_course_modules() -> (no replacement)
164 Files and repositories:
165 * stored_file::replace_content_with() -> stored_file::replace_file_with()
166 * stored_file::set_filesize() -> stored_file::replace_file_with()
167 * stored_file::get_referencelifetime() -> (no replacement)
168 * repository::sync_external_file() -> see repository::sync_reference()
169 * repository::get_file_by_reference() -> repository::sync_reference()
171 get_reference_file_lifetime() -> (no replacement)
172 * repository::sync_individual_file() -> (no replacement)
173 * repository::reset_caches() -> (no replacement)
176 * add_event() -> calendar_event::create()
177 * update_event() -> calendar_event->update()
178 * delete_event() -> calendar_event->delete()
179 * hide_event() -> calendar_event->toggle_visibility(false)
180 * show_event() -> calendar_event->toggle_visibility(true)
183 * filter_text() -> format_text(), format_string()...
184 * httpsrequired() -> $PAGE->https_required()
185 * detect_munged_arguments() -> clean_param([...], PARAM_FILE)
186 * mygroupid() -> groups_get_all_groups()
187 * js_minify() -> core_minify::js_files()
188 * css_minify_css() -> core_minify::css_files()
189 * course_modinfo::build_section_cache() -> (no replacement)
190 * generate_email_supportuser() -> core_user::get_support_user()
193 * session_get_instance()->xxx() -> \core\session\manager::xxx()
194 * session_kill_all() -> \core\session\manager::kill_all_sessions()
195 * session_touch() -> \core\session\manager::touch_session()
196 * session_kill() -> \core\session\manager::kill_session()
197 * session_kill_user() -> \core\session\manager::kill_user_sessions()
198 * session_gc() -> \core\session\manager::gc()
199 * session_set_user() -> \core\session\manager::set_user()
200 * session_is_loggedinas() -> \core\session\manager::is_loggedinas()
201 * session_get_realuser() -> \core\session\manager::get_realuser()
202 * session_loginas() -> \core\session\manager::loginas()
204 User-agent related functions:
205 * check_browser_operating_system() -> core_useragent::check_browser_operating_system()
206 * check_browser_version() -> core_useragent::check_browser_version()
207 * get_device_type() -> core_useragent::get_device_type()
208 * get_device_type_list() -> core_useragent::get_device_type_list()
209 * get_selected_theme_for_device_type() -> core_useragent::get_device_type_theme()
210 * get_device_cfg_var_name() -> core_useragent::get_device_type_cfg_var_name()
211 * set_user_device_type() -> core_useragent::set_user_device_type()
212 * get_user_device_type() -> core_useragent::get_user_device_type()
213 * get_browser_version_classes() -> core_useragent::get_browser_version_classes()
216 * moodle-core-notification has been deprecated with a recommendation of
217 using its subclasses instead. This is to allow for reduced page
218 transport costs. Current subclasses include:
225 Event triggering and event handlers:
226 * All existing events and event handlers should be replaced by new
227 event classes and matching new event observers.
228 * See http://docs.moodle.org/dev/Event_2 for more information.
229 * The following events will be entirely removed, though they can still
230 be captured using handlers, but they should not be used any more.
231 * groups_members_removed -> \core\event\group_member_removed
232 * groups_groupings_groups_removed -> (no replacement)
233 * groups_groups_deleted -> \core\event\group_deleted
234 * groups_groupings_deleted -> \core\event\grouping_deleted
235 * edit_module_post_actions() does not trigger events any more.
239 * New get_course() function for use when obtaining the course record from database. Will
240 reuse existing $COURSE or $SITE globals if possible to improve performance.
244 * The database drivers (moodle_database and subclasses) aren't using anymore the ::columns property
245 for caching database metadata. MUC (databasemeta) is used instead. Any custom DB driver should
246 apply for that change.
247 * The cron output has been changed to include time and memory usage (see cron_trace_time_and_memory()),
248 so any custom utility relying on the old output may require modification.
249 * Function get_max_file_sizes now returns an option for (for example) "Course limit (500MB)" or
250 "Site limit (200MB)" when appropriate with the option set to 0. This function no longer returns
251 an option for 0 bytes. Existing code that was replacing the 0 option in the return
252 from this function with a more sensible message, can now use the return from this function directly.
253 * Functions responsible for output in course/lib.php are deprecated, the code is moved to
254 appropriate renderers: print_section(), print_section_add_menus(), get_print_section_cm_text(),
255 make_editing_buttons()
256 See functions' phpdocs in lib/deprecatedlib.php
257 * Function get_print_section_cm_text() is deprecated, replaced with methods in cm_info
258 * zip_packer may create empty zip archives, there is a new option to ignore
259 problematic files when creating archive
260 * The function delete_course_module was deprecated and has been replaced with
261 course_delete_module. The reason for this was because the function delete_course_module
262 only partially deletes data, so wherever it was called extra code was needed to
263 perform the whole deletion process. The function course_delete_module now takes care
264 of the whole process.
265 * curl::setopt() does not accept constant values any more. As it never worked properly,
266 we decided to make the type check stricter. Now, the keys of the array pass must be a string
267 corresponding to the curl constant name.
268 * Function get_users_listing now return list of users except guest and deleted users. Previously
269 deleted users were excluded by get_users_listing. As guest user is not expected while browsing users,
270 and not included in get_user function, it will not be returned by get_users_listing.
271 * The add_* functions in course/dnduploadlib.php have been deprecated. Plugins should be using the
272 MODNAME_dndupload_register callback instead.
273 * The signature of the add() method of classes implementing the parentable_part_of_admin_tree
274 interface (such as admin_category) has been extended. The new parameter allows the caller
275 to prepend the new node before an existing sibling in the admin tree.
276 * condition_info:get_condition_user_fields($formatoptions) now accepts the optional
277 param $formatoptions, that will determine if the field names are processed by
278 format_string() with the passed options.
279 * remove all references to $CFG->gdversion, GD PHP extension is now required
280 * Formslib will now throw a developer warning if a PARAM_ type hasn't been set for elements which
281 need it. Please set PARAM_RAW explicitly if you do not want any cleaning.
282 * Functions responsible for managing and accessing course categories are moved to class coursecat
283 in lib/coursecatlib.php, functions responsible for rendering courses and categories lists are
284 moved to course/renderer.php. The following global functions are deprecated: make_categories_list(),
285 category_delete_move(), category_delete_full(), move_category(), course_category_hide(),
286 course_category_show(), get_course_category(), create_course_category(), get_all_subcategories(),
287 get_child_categories(), get_categories(), print_my_moodle(), print_remote_course(),
288 print_remote_host(), print_whole_category_list(), print_category_info(), get_course_category_tree(),
289 print_courses(), print_course(), get_category_courses_array(), get_category_courses_array_recursively(),
290 get_courses_wmanagers()
291 See http://docs.moodle.org/dev/Courses_lists_upgrade_to_2.5
292 * $core_renderer->block_move_target() changed to support more verbose move-block-here descriptions.
293 * Additional (optional) param $onlyactive has been added to get_enrolled_users, count_enrolled_users
294 functions to get information for only active (excluding suspended enrolments) users. Included two
295 helper functions extract_suspended_users, get_suspended_userids to extract suspended user information.
296 * The core_plugin_manager class now provides two new helper methods for getting information
297 about known plugins: get_plugins_of_type() and get_subplugins_of_plugin().
298 * The get_uninstall_url() method of all subclasses of \core\plugininfo\base class is now expected
299 to always return moodle_url. Subclasses can use the new method is_uninstall_allowed()
300 to control the availability of the 'Uninstall' link at the Plugins overview page (previously
301 they would do it by get_uninstall_url() returning null). By default, URL to a new general plugin
302 uninstall tool is returned. Unless the plugin type needs extra steps that can't be handled by
303 plugininfo_xxx::uninstall() method or xmldb_xxx_uninstall() function, this default URL should
304 satisfy all plugin types.
306 Database (DML) layer:
307 * $DB->sql_empty() is deprecated, you have to use sql parameters with empty values instead,
308 please note hardcoding of empty strings in SQL queries breaks execution in Oracle database.
309 * Indexes must not be defined on the same columns as keys, this is now reported as fatal problem.
310 Please note that internally we create indexes instead of foreign keys.
313 * M.util.help_icon has been deprecated. Code should be updated to use moodle-core-popuphelp
314 instead. To do so, remove any existing JS calls to M.util.help_icon from your PHP and ensure
315 that your help link is placed in a span which has the class 'helplink'.
319 * Pagelib: Numerous deprecated functions were removed as classes page_base, page_course
320 and page_generic_activity.
321 * use $CFG->googlemapkey3 instead of removed $CFG->googlemapkey and migrate to Google Maps API V3
322 * Function settings_navigation::add_course_editing_links() is completely removed
323 * function global_navigation::format_display_course_content() is removed completely (the
324 functionality is moved to course format class)
325 * in the function global_navigation::load_generic_course_sections() the argument $courseformat is
327 * New component and itemid columns in groups_members table - this allows plugin to create protected
328 group memberships using 'xx_yy_allow_group_member_remove' callback and there is also a new restore
329 callback 'xx_yy_restore_group_member()'.
330 * New general role assignment restore plugin callback 'xx_yy_restore_role_assignment()'.
331 * functions get_generic_section_name(), get_all_sections(), add_mod_to_section(), get_all_mods()
332 are deprecated. See their phpdocs in lib/deprecatedlib.php on how to replace them
335 * moodle-enrol-notification has been renamed to moodle-core-notification
336 * YUI2 code must now use 2in3, see http://yuilibrary.com/yui/docs/yui/yui-yui2.html
337 * M.util.init_select_autosubmit() and M.util.init_url_select() have been deprecated. Code using this should be updated
338 to use moodle-core-formautosubmit
340 Unit testing changes:
341 * output debugging() is not sent to standard output any more,
342 use $this->assertDebuggingCalled(), $this->assertDebuggingNotCalled(),
343 $this->getDebuggingMessages() or $this->assertResetDebugging() instead.
347 Database layer changes:
348 * objects are not allowed in paramters of DML functions, use explicit casting to strings if necessary
351 * DDL and DML methods which were deprecated in 2.0 have now been removed, they will no longer produce
352 debug messages and will produce fatal errors
356 * send_stored_file() has changed its interface
357 * deleted several resourcelib_embed_* functions from resourcelib.php
361 removed unused libraries:
362 * odbc, base32, CodeSniffer, overlib, apd profiling, kses, Smarty, PEAR Console, swfobject, cssshover.htc, md5.js
365 * new admin/tool plugin type
366 * new context API - old API is still available
367 * deleted users do not have context any more
368 * removed global search
374 * basic suport for restore from 1.9
375 * new mobile devices API
382 * new DML API - http://docs.moodle.org/dev/DML_functions
383 * new DDL API - http://docs.moodle.org/dev/DDL_functions
384 * new file API - http://docs.moodle.org/dev/File_API
385 * new $PAGE and $OUTPUT API
387 * new theme API - http://docs.moodle.org/dev/Theme_changes_in_2.0
388 * new javascript API - http://docs.moodle.org/dev/JavaScript_usage_guide
390 * new local plugin type
391 * new translation support - http://lang.moodle.org
392 * new web service API
399 * new backup/restore API
402 * improved plugin support (aka Frankenstyle)
403 * new registration and hub API
404 * new course completion API
407 * new text editor API
408 * new my moodle and profiles API
