1 This files describes API changes in core libraries and APIs,
2 information provided here is intended especially for developers.
6 * Node.js versions >=4 are now required to run grunt.
7 * JQuery has been updated to 3.1.0. JQuery migrate plugins are no longer shipped - please read
8 https://jquery.com/upgrade-guide/3.0/ and update your javascript.
9 * New option 'blanktarget' added to format_text. This option adds target="_blank" to links
10 * A new webservice structure `external_files` has been created which provides a standardised view of files in Moodle and
11 should be used for all file return descriptions.
12 Files matching this format can be retrieved via the new `external_util::get_area_files` method.
13 See MDL-54951 for further information.
14 * The parameter $usepost of the following functions has been deprecated and is not used any more:
15 - get_max_upload_file_size()
16 - get_user_max_upload_file_size()
17 * The following classes have been removed and should not be used any more:
18 - boxclient - See MDL-49599 for more information.
19 * The following functions have been removed and should not be used any more:
20 - file_modify_html_header() - See MDL-29738 for more information.
21 * core_grades_external::get_grades has been deprecated. Please do not call this function any more.
22 External function gradereport_user_external::get_grades_table can be used for retrieving the course grades table.
23 Please note that the information returned from that WS is intended for displaying (not for data consumption).
24 * New option 'escape' added to format_string. When true (default), escapes HTML entities from the string
25 * The following functions have been deprecated and are not used any more:
26 - get_records_csv() Please use csv_import_reader::load_csv_content() instead.
27 - put_records_csv() Please use download_as_dataformat (lib/dataformatlib.php) instead.
28 - zip_files() - See MDL-24343 for more information.
29 - unzip_file() - See MDL-24343 for more information.
30 * The password_compat library was removed as it is no longer required.
31 * Phpunit has been upgraded to 5.4.x and following has been deprecated and is not used any more:
32 - setExpectedException(), use @expectedException or $this->expectException() and $this->expectExceptionMessage()
33 - getMock(), use createMock() or getMockBuilder()->getMock()
34 - UnitTestCase class is removed.
35 * The following methods have been finally deprecated and should no longer be used:
36 - course_modinfo::build_section_cache()
37 - cm_info::get_deprecated_group_members_only()
38 - cm_info::is_user_access_restricted_by_group()
39 * The following methods in cm_info::standardmethods have also been finally deprecated and should no longer be used:
40 - cm_info::get_after_edit_icons()
41 - cm_info::get_after_link()
42 - cm_info::get_content()
43 - cm_info::get_custom_data()
44 - cm_info::get_extra_classes()
45 - cm_info::get_on_click()
47 - cm_info::obtain_dynamic_data()
48 Calling them through the magic method __call() will throw a coding exception.
49 * The alfresco library has been removed from core. It was an old version of
50 the library which was not compatible with newer versions of Alfresco.
51 * Added down arrow: $OUTPUT->darrow.
52 * All file_packer implementations now accept an additional parameter to allow a simple boolean return value instead of
53 an array of individual file statuses.
57 * Webservice function core_course_search_courses accepts a new parameter 'limittoenrolled' to filter the results
58 only to courses the user is enrolled in, and are visible to them.
59 * External functions that are not calling external_api::validate_context are buggy and will now generate
60 exceptions. Previously they were only generating warnings in the webserver error log.
61 See https://docs.moodle.org/dev/External_functions_API#Security
62 * The moodle/blog:associatecourse and moodle/blog:associatemodule capabilities has been removed.
63 * The following functions has been finally deprecated and can not be used any more:
64 - profile_display_badges()
65 - useredit_shared_definition_preferences()
66 - calendar_normalize_tz()
67 - get_user_timezone_offset()
68 - get_timezone_offset()
69 - get_list_of_timezones()
70 - calculate_user_dst_table()
71 - dst_changes_for_year()
72 - get_timezone_record()
73 - test_get_list_of_timezones()
74 - test_get_timezone_offset()
75 - test_get_user_timezone_offset()
76 * The google api library has been updated to version 1.1.7. There was some important changes
77 on the SSL handling. Now the SSL version will be determined by the underlying library.
78 For more information see https://github.com/google/google-api-php-client/pull/644
79 * The get_role_users() function will now add the $sort fields that are not part
80 of the requested fields to the query result and will throw a debugging message
81 with the added fields when that happens.
82 * The core_user::fill_properties_cache() static method has been introduced to be a reference
83 and allow standard user fields data validation. Right now only type validation is supported
84 checking it against the parameter (PARAM_*) type of the target user field. MDL-52781 is
85 going to add support to null/not null and choices validation, replacing the existing code to
86 validate the user fields in different places in a common way.
87 * Webservice function core_course_search_courses now returns results when the search string
88 is less than 2 chars long.
89 * Webservice function core_course_search_courses accepts a new parameter 'requiredcapabilities' to filter the results
90 by the capabilities of the current user.
91 * New mform element 'course' handles thousands of courses with good performance and usability.
92 * The redirect() function will now redirect immediately if output has not
93 already started. Messages will be displayed on the subsequent page using
94 session notifications. The type of message output can be configured using the
95 fourth parameter to redirect().
96 * The specification of extra classes in the $OUTPUT->notification()
97 function, and \core\output\notification renderable have been deprecated
98 and will be removed in a future version.
99 Notifications should use the levels found in \core\output\notification.
100 * The constants for NOTIFY_PROBLEM, NOTIFY_REDIRECT, and NOTIFY_MESSAGE in
101 \core\output\notification have been deprecated in favour of NOTIFY_ERROR,
102 NOTIFY_WARNING, and NOTIFY_INFO respectively.
103 * The following functions, previously used (exclusively) by upgrade steps are not available
104 anymore because of the upgrade cleanup performed for this version. See MDL-51580 for more info:
105 - upgrade_mysql_fix_unsigned_and_lob_columns()
106 - upgrade_course_completion_remove_duplicates()
107 - upgrade_save_orphaned_questions()
108 - upgrade_rename_old_backup_files_using_shortname()
109 - upgrade_mssql_nvarcharmax()
110 - upgrade_mssql_varbinarymax()
111 - upgrade_fix_missing_root_folders()
112 - upgrade_course_modules_sequences()
113 - upgrade_grade_item_fix_sortorder()
114 - upgrade_availability_item()
115 * A new parameter $ajaxformdata was added to the constructor for moodleform. When building a
116 moodleform in a webservice or ajax script (for example using the new fragments API) we
117 cannot allow the moodleform to parse it's own data from _GET and _POST - we must pass it as
119 * Plugins can extend the navigation for user by declaring the following callback:
120 <frankenstyle>_extend_navigation_user(navigation_node $parentnode, stdClass $user,
121 context_user $context, stdClass $course,
122 context_course $coursecontext)
123 * The function notify() now throws a debugging message - see MDL-50269.
124 * Ajax calls going through lib/ajax/* now validate the return values before sending
125 the response. If the validation does not pass an exception is raised. This behaviour
126 is consistent with web services.
127 * Several changes in Moodle core, standard plugins and third party libraries to
128 ensure compatibility with PHP7. All plugins are recommended to perform testing
129 against PHP7 as well. Refer to https://docs.moodle.org/dev/Moodle_and_PHP7 for more
130 information. The following changes may affect you:
131 * Class moodleform, moodleform_mod and some module classes have been changed to use
132 __construct() for the constructor. Calling parent constructors by the class
133 name will display debugging message. Incorrect: parent::moodleform(),
134 correct: parent::__construct()
135 * All form elements have also changed the constructor syntax. No changes are
136 needed for using form elements, however if plugin defines new form element it
137 needs to use correct syntax. For example, incorrect: parent::HTML_QuickForm_input(),
138 HTML_QuickForm_input::HTML_QuickForm_input(), $this->HTML_QuickForm_input().
139 Correct: HTML_QuickForm_input::__construct() or parent::__construct().
140 * profile_field_base::profile_field_base() is deprecated, use parent::__construct()
141 in custom profile fields constructors. Similar deprecations in exsiting
142 profile_field_* classes.
143 * user_filter_type::user_filter_type() is deprecated, use parent::__construct() in
144 custom user filters. Similar deprecations in existing user_filter_* classes.
145 * table_default_export_format_parent::table_default_export_format_parent() is
146 deprecated, use parent::__construct() in extending classes.
147 * groups_delete_group_members() $showfeedback parameter has been removed and is no longer
148 respected. Users of this function should output their own feedback if required.
149 * Number of changes to Tags API, see tag/upgrade.txt for more details
150 * The previous events API handlers are being deprecated in favour of events 2 API, debugging messages are being displayed if
151 there are 3rd party plugins using it. Switch to events 2 API please, see https://docs.moodle.org/dev/Event_2#Event_dispatching_and_observers
152 Note than you will need to bump the plugin version so moodle is aware that you removed the plugin's event handlers.
153 * mforms validation functions are not available in the global JS namespace anymore, event listeners
154 are assigned to fields and buttons through a self-contained JS function.
155 * Added $CFG->urlrewriteclass option to config.php allowing clean / semantic urls to
156 be implemented in a plugin, eg local_cleanurls.
157 * $CFG->pathtoclam global setting has been moved to clamav antivirus plugin setting of the same name.
158 * clam_message_admins() and get_clam_error_code() have been deprecated, its functionality
159 is now a part of \antivirus_clamav\scanner class methods.
160 * \repository::antivir_scan_file() has been deprecated, \core\antivirus\manager::scan_file() that
161 applies antivirus plugins is replacing its functionality.
162 * Added core_text::str_max_bytes() which safely truncates multi-byte strings to a maximum number of bytes.
163 * Zend Framework has been removed completely.
164 * Any plugin can report when a scale is being used with the callback function [pluginname]_scale_used_anywhere(int $scaleid).
165 * Changes in file_rewrite_pluginfile_urls: Passing a new option reverse = true in the $options var will make the function to convert
166 actual URLs in $text to encoded URLs in the @@PLUGINFILE@@ form.
167 * behat_util::is_server_running() is removed, please use behat_util::check_server_status() instead.
168 * Behat\Mink\Selector\SelectorsHandler::xpathLiteral() method is deprecated use behat_context_helper::escape instead
169 when building Xpath, or pass the unescaped value when using the named selector.',
170 * table_sql download process is using the new data formats plugin which you can't use if you are buffering any output
171 * flexible_table::get_download_menu(), considered private, has been deleted. Use
172 $OUTPUT->download_dataformat_selector() instead.
173 when building Xpath, or pass the unescaped value when using the named selector.
174 * Add new file_is_executable(), to consistently check for executables even in Windows (PHP bug #41062).
175 * Introduced new hooks for plugin developers.
176 - <component>_pre_course_category_delete($category)
177 - <component>_pre_course_delete($course)
178 - <component>_pre_course_module_delete($cm)
179 - <component>_pre_block_delete($instance)
180 - <component>_pre_user_delete($user)
181 These hooks allow developers to use the item in question before it is deleted by core. For example, if your plugin is
182 a module (plugins located in the mod folder) called 'xxx' and you wish to interact with the user object before it is
183 deleted then the function to create would be mod_xxx_pre_user_delete($user) in mod/xxx/lib.php.
187 * Minify updated to 2.2.1
188 * htmlpurifier upgraded to 4.7.0
189 * Less.php upgraded to 1.7.0.9
190 * The horde library has been updated to version 5.2.7.
191 * Google libraries (lib/google) updated to 1.1.5
192 * Html2Text library has been updated to the latest version of the library.
193 * External functions x_is_allowed_from_ajax() methods have been deprecated. Define 'ajax' => true in db/services.php instead.
194 * External functions can be called without a session if they define 'loginrequired' => true in db/services.php.
195 * All plugins are required to declare their frankenstyle component name via
196 the $plugin->component property in their version.php file. See
197 https://docs.moodle.org/dev/version.php for details (MDL-48494).
198 * PHPUnit is upgraded to 4.7. Some tests using deprecated assertions etc may need changes to work correctly.
199 * Users of the text editor API to manually create a text editor should call set_text before calling use_editor.
200 * Javascript - SimpleYUI and the Y instance used for modules have been merged. Y is now always the same instance of Y.
201 * get_referer() has been deprecated, please use the get_local_referer function instead.
202 * \core\progress\null is renamed to \core\progress\none for improved PHP7 compatibility as null is a reserved word (see MDL-50453).
203 * \webservice_xmlrpc_client now respects proxy server settings. If your XMLRPC server is available on your local network and not via your proxy server, you may need to add it to the list of proxy
204 server exceptions in $CFG->proxybypass. See MDL-39353 for details.
205 * Group and groupings idnumbers can now be passed to and/or are returned from the following web services functions:
206 ** core_group_external::create_groups
207 ** core_group_external::get_groups
208 ** core_group_external::get_course_groups
209 ** core_group_external::create_groupings
210 ** core_group_external::update_groupings
211 ** core_group_external::get_groupings
212 ** core_group_external::get_course_groupings
213 ** core_group_external::get_course_user_groups
214 * Following functions are removed from core. See MDL-50049 for details.
215 password_compat_not_supported()
216 session_get_instance()
223 session_is_loggedinas()
224 session_get_realuser()
231 update_log_display_entry()
232 get_recent_enrolments()
233 groups_filter_users_by_course_module_visible()
234 groups_course_module_visible()
238 editorshortcutshelpbutton()
241 get_generic_section_name()
246 format_weeks_get_section_dates()
247 get_print_section_cm_text()
248 print_section_add_menus()
249 make_editing_buttons()
252 print_recent_activity()
253 delete_course_module()
254 update_category_button()
255 make_categories_list()
256 category_delete_move()
257 category_delete_full()
259 course_category_hide()
260 course_category_show()
261 get_course_category()
262 create_course_category()
263 get_all_subcategories()
264 get_child_categories()
266 print_course_search()
268 print_remote_course()
270 print_whole_category_list()
271 print_category_info()
272 get_course_category_tree()
275 get_category_courses_array()
276 get_category_courses_array_recursively()
277 blog_get_context_url()
278 get_courses_wmanagers()
279 convert_tree_to_html()
280 convert_tabrows_to_tree()
281 can_use_rotated_text()
282 get_parent_contexts()
283 get_parent_contextid()
289 preload_course_contexts()
291 fetch_context_capabilities()
292 context_instance_preload()
293 get_contextlevel_name()
299 get_user_courses_bycap()
300 get_role_context_caps()
301 get_courseid_from_context()
302 context_instance_preload_sql()
303 get_related_contexts_string()
304 get_plugin_list_with_file()
305 check_browser_operating_system()
306 check_browser_version()
308 get_device_type_list()
309 get_selected_theme_for_device_type()
310 get_device_cfg_var_name()
311 set_user_device_type()
312 get_user_device_type()
313 get_browser_version_classes()
314 generate_email_supportuser()
315 badges_get_issued_badge_info()
316 can_use_html_editor()
317 enrol_cohort_get_cohorts()
318 enrol_cohort_can_view_cohort()
319 cohort_get_visible_list()
320 enrol_cohort_enrol_all_users()
321 enrol_cohort_search_cohorts()
322 * The never unused webdav_locks table was dropped.
323 * The actionmenu hideMenu() function now expects an EventFacade object to be passed to it,
324 i.e. a call to M.core.actionmenu.instance.hideMenu() should be change to M.core.actionmenu.instance.hideMenu(e)
325 * In the html_editors (tinyMCE, Atto), the manage files button can be hidden by changing the 'enable_filemanagement' option to false.
326 * external_api::validate_context now is public, it can be called from other classes.
327 * rss_error() now supports returning of correct HTTP status of error and will return '404 Not Found'
328 unless other status is specified.
329 * Plugins can extend the navigation for categories settings by declaring the following callback:
330 <frankenstyle>_extend_navigation_category_settings(navigation_node, context_coursecat)
331 * The clilib.php provides two new functions cli_write() and cli_writeln() that should be used for outputting texts from the command
332 line interface scripts.
333 * External function core_course_external::get_course_contents returned parameter "name" has been changed to PARAM_RAW,
334 this is because the new external_format_string function may return raw data if the global moodlewssettingraw parameter is used.
335 * Function is_web_crawler() has been deprecated, please use core_useragent::is_web_crawler() instead.
339 * New methods grade_grade::get_grade_max() and get_grade_min() must be used rather than directly the public properties rawgrademax and rawgrademin.
340 * New method grade_item::is_aggregate_item() indicates when a grade_item is an aggreggated type grade.
344 * The default home page for users has been changed to the dashboard (formely my home). See MDL-45774.
345 * Support for rendering templates from php or javascript has been added. See MDL-49152.
346 * Support for loading AMD javascript modules has been added. See MDL-49046.
347 * Webservice core_course_delete_courses now return warning messages on any failures and does not try to rollback the entire deletion.
348 * \core\event\course_viewed 'other' argument renamed from coursesectionid to coursesectionnumber as it contains the section number.
349 * New API core_filetypes::add_type (etc.) allows custom filetypes to be added and modified.
350 * PHPUnit: PHPMailer Sink is now started for all tests and is setup within the phpunit wrapper for advanced tests.
351 Catching debugging messages when sending mail will no longer work. Use $sink = $this->redirectEmails(); and then check
352 the message in the sink instead.
353 * The file pluginlib.php was deprecated since 2.6 and has now been removed, do not include or require it.
354 * \core_component::fetch_subsystems() now returns a valid path for completion component instead of null.
355 * Deprecated JS global methods have been removed (show_item, destroy_item, hide_item, addonload, getElementsByTagName, findChildNodes).
356 * For 3rd party plugin specific environment.xml files, it's now possible to specify version independent checks by using the
357 <PLUGIN name="component_name"> tag instead of the version dependent <MOODLE version="x.y"> one. If the PLUGIN tag is used any
358 Moodle specific tags will be ignored.
359 * html_table: new API for adding captions to tables (new field, $table->caption) and subsequently hiding said captions from sighted users using accesshide (enabled using $table->captionhide).
360 * The authorization procedure in the mdeploy.php script has been improved. The script
361 now relies on the main config.php when deploying an available update.
362 * sql_internal_reader and sql_select_reader interfaces have been deprecated in favour of sql_internal_table_reader
363 and sql_reader which use iterators to be more memory efficient.
364 * $CFG->enabletgzbackups setting has been removed as now backups are stored internally using .tar.gz format by default, you can
365 set $CFG->usezipbackups to store them in zip format. This does not affect the restore process, which continues accepting both.
366 * Added support for custom string manager implementations via $CFG->customstringmanager
367 directive in the config.php. See MDL-49361 for details.
368 * Add new make_request_directory() for creation of per-request files.
369 * Added generate_image_thumbnail_from_string. This should be used instead of generate_image_thumbnail when the source is a string.
370 This prevents the need to write files to disk unnecessarily.
371 * Added generate_image_thumbnail to stored_file class. This should be used when generating thumbnails for stored files.
372 This prevents the need to write files to disk unnecessarily.
373 * Removed pear/HTTP/WebDav. See MDL-49534 for details.
374 * Use standard PHP date time classes and methods - see new core_date class for timezone normalisation methods.
375 * Moved lib/google/Google/ to lib/google/src/Google. This is to address autoloader issues with Google's provided autoloader
376 for the library. See MDL-49519 for details.
377 * The outdated lib/google/Google_Client.php and related files have been completely removed. To use
378 the new client, read lib/google/readme_moodle.txt, please.
379 * profile_display_badges() has been deprecated. See MDL-48935 for details.
380 * Added a new method add_report_nodes() to pagelib.php. If you are looking to add links to the user profile page under the heading "Reports"
381 then please use this function to ensure that the breadcrumb and navigation block are created properly for all user profile pages.
382 * process_new_icon() now does not always return a PNG file. When possible, it will try to keep the format of the original file.
383 Set the new argument $preferpng to true to force PNG. See MDL-46763 and MDL-50041 for details.
387 * Gradebook grade category option "aggregatesubcats" has been removed completely.
388 This means that the database column is removed, the admin settings are removed and
389 the properties from the grade_category object have been removed. If any courses were
390 found to be using this setting, a warning to check the grades will be shown in the
391 course grader report after upgrading the site. The same warning will be shown on
392 courses restored from backup that had this setting enabled (see MDL-47503).
393 * lib/excelllib.class.php has been updated. The class MoodleExcelWorkbook will now only produce excel 2007 files.
394 * renderers: We now remove the suffix _renderable when looking for a render method for a renderable.
395 If you have a renderable class named like "blah_renderable" and have a method on a renderer named "render_blah_renderable"
396 you will need to change the name of your render method to "render_blah" instead, as renderable at the end is no longer accepted.
397 * New functions get_course_and_cm_from_cmid($cmorid, $modulename) and
398 get_course_and_cm_from_instance($instanceorid, $modulename) can be used to
399 more efficiently load these basic data objects at the start of a script.
400 * New function cm_info::create($cm) can be used when you need a cm_info
401 object, but have a $cm which might only be a standard database record.
402 * $CFG->enablegroupmembersonly no longer exists.
403 * Scheduled tasks have gained support for syntax to introduce variability when a
404 task will run across installs. When a when hour or minute are defined as 'R'
405 they will be installed with a random hour/minute value.
406 * Several classes grade_edit_tree_column_xxx were removed since grades setup page
407 has been significantly changed. These classes should not be used outside of
408 gradebook or developers can copy them into their plugins from 2.7 branch.
409 * Google APIs Client Library (lib/google/) has been upgraded to 1.0.5-beta and
410 API has changed dramatically without backward compatibility. Any code accessing
411 it must be amended. It does not apply to lib/googleapi.php. See MDL-47297
412 * Added an extra parameter to the function get_formatted_help_string() (default null) which is used to specify
413 additional string parameters.
414 * User settings node and course node in navigation now support callbacks from admin tools.
415 * grade_get_grades() optional parameteres $itemtype, $itemmodule, $iteminstance are now required.
418 * completion_info->get_incomplete_criteria() is deprecated and will be removed in Moodle 3.0.
419 * grade_category::aggregate_values() is deprecated and will be removed in Moodle 3.0.
420 * groups_filter_users_by_course_module_visible() is deprecated; replace with
421 core_availability\info::filter_user_list. Will be removed in Moodle 3.0.
422 * groups_course_module_visible() is deprecated; replace with $cm->uservisible.
423 * cm_info property $cm->groupmembersonly is deprecated and always returns 0.
424 Use core_availability\info::filter_user_list if trying to determine which
425 other users can see an activity.
426 * cm_info method $cm->is_user_access_restricted_by_group() is deprecated and
427 always returns false. Use $cm->uservisible to determine whether the user can
429 * Constant FEATURE_GROUPMEMBERSONLY (used in module _supports functions) is
431 * cohort_get_visible_list() is deprecated. There is a better function cohort_get_available_cohorts()
432 that respects user capabilities to view cohorts.
433 * enrol_cohort_get_cohorts() and enrol_cohort_search_cohorts() are deprecated since
434 functionality is removed. Please use cohort_get_available_cohorts()
435 * enrol_cohort_enrol_all_users() is deprecated; enrol_manual is now responsible for this action
436 * enrol_cohort_can_view_cohort() is deprecated; replace with cohort_can_view_cohort()
438 === 2.6.4 / 2.7.1 ===
440 * setnew_password_and_mail() and update_internal_user_password() will trigger
441 \core\event\user_password_updated. Previously they used to generate
442 \core\event\user_updated event.
443 * update_internal_user_password() accepts optional boolean $fasthash for fast
445 * user_update_user() and user_create_user() api's accept optional param
446 $triggerevent to avoid respective events to be triggred from the api's.
450 * PHPUnit cannot be installed via PEAR any more, please use composer package manager instead.
451 * $core_renderer->block_move_target() changed to support more verbose move-block-here descriptions.
454 * Significant changes in Logging API. For upgrading existing events_trigger() and
455 add_to_log() see http://docs.moodle.org/dev/Migrating_logging_calls_in_plugins
456 For accessing logs from plugins see http://docs.moodle.org/dev/Migrating_log_access_in_reports
457 * The validation of the following events is now stricter (see MDL-45445):
458 - \core\event\blog_entry_created
459 - \core\event\blog_entry_deleted
460 - \core\event\blog_entry_updated
461 - \core\event\cohort_member_added
462 - \core\event\cohort_member_removed
463 - \core\event\course_category_deleted
464 - \core\event\course_completed
465 - \core\event\course_content_deleted
466 - \core\event\course_created
467 - \core\event\course_deleted
468 - \core\event\course_restored
469 - \core\event\course_section_updated (see MDL-45229)
470 - \core\event\email_failed
471 - \core\event\group_member_added
472 - \core\event\group_member_removed
473 - \core\event\note_created
474 - \core\event\note_deleted
475 - \core\event\note_updated
476 - \core\event\role_assigned
477 - \core\event\role_deleted
478 - \core\event\role_unassigned
479 - \core\event\user_graded
480 - \core\event\user_loggedinas
481 - \core\event\user_profile_viewed
482 - \core\event\webservice_token_created
485 * $module uses in mod/xxx/version.php files is now deprecated. Please use $plugin instead. It will be removed in Moodle 2.10.
486 * Update init methods in all event classes - "level" property was renamed to "edulevel", the level property is now deprecated.
487 * Abstract class \core\event\course_module_instances_list_viewed is deprecated now, use \core\event\instances_list_viewed instead.
488 * Abstract class core\event\content_viewed has been deprecated. Please extend base event or other relevant abstract class.
489 * mod_book\event\instances_list_viewed has been deprecated. Please use mod_book\event\course_module_instance_list_viewed instead.
490 * mod_chat\event\instances_list_viewed has been deprecated. Please use mod_chat\event\course_module_instance_list_viewed instead.
491 * mod_choice\event\instances_list_viewed has been deprecated. Please use mod_choice\event\course_module_instance_list_viewed instead.
492 * mod_feedback\event\instances_list_viewed has been deprecated. Please use mod_feedback\event\course_module_instance_list_viewed instead.
493 * mod_page\event\instances_list_viewed has been deprecated. Please use mod_page\event\course_module_instance_list_viewed instead.
494 * The constants FRONTPAGECOURSELIST, FRONTPAGETOPICONLY & FRONTPAGECOURSELIMIT have been removed.
495 * Conditional availability API has moved and changed. The condition_info class is
496 replaced by \core_availability\info_module, and condition_info_section by
497 \core_availability\info_section. (Code that uses the old classes will generally
499 * coursemodule_visible_for_user() has been deprecated but still works - replaced
500 by a new static function \core_availability\info_module::is_user_visible()
501 * cm_info::is_user_access_restricted_by_conditional_access has been deprecated
502 but still works (it has never done what its name suggests, and is
504 * cm_info and section_info property showavailability has been deprecated, but
505 still works (with the caveat that this information is now per-user).
506 * cm_info and section_info properties availablefrom and availableuntil have been
507 deprecated and always return zero (underlying data doesn't have these values).
508 * section_info property groupingid has been deprecated and always returns zero,
510 * Various cm_info methods have been deprecated in favour of their read-only properties (get_url(), get_content(), get_extra_classes(),
511 get_on_click(), get_custom_data(), get_after_link, get_after_edit_icons)
512 * The ajaxenabled function has been deprecated and always returns true. All code should be fully functional in Javascript.
513 * count_login_failures() has been deprecated, use user_count_login_failures() instead. Refer MDL-42891 for details.
515 Conditional availability (activities and sections):
516 * New conditional availability API in /availability, including new availability
517 condition plugins in /availability/condition. The new API is very similar with
518 regard to checking availability, but any code that modifies availability settings
519 for an activity or section is likely to need substantial changes.
522 * The lightbox attribute for moodle-core-notification-dialogue has been
523 deprecated and replaced by the modal attribute. This was actually
524 changed in Moodle 2.2, but has only been marked as deprecated now. It
525 will be removed in Moodle 2.9.
526 * When destroying any type of dialogue based on moodle-core-notification, the relevant content is also removed from
527 the DOM. Previously it was left orphaned.
530 * The findChildNodes global function has been deprecated. Y.all should
532 * The callback argument to confirm_action and M.util.show_confirm_dialog has been deprecated. If you need to write a
533 confirmation which includes a callback, please use moodle-core-notification-confirmation and attach callbacks to the
536 * New locking api and admin settings to configure the system locking type.
537 * New "Time spent waiting for the database" performance metric displayed along with the
538 other MDL_PERF vars; the change affects both the error logs and the vars displayed in
540 * Changes in the tag API. The component and contextid are now saved when assigning tags to an item. Please see
541 tag/upgrade.txt for more information.
545 * Use new methods from core_component class instead of get_core_subsystems(), get_plugin_types(),
546 get_plugin_list(), get_plugin_list_with_class(), get_plugin_directory(), normalize_component(),
547 get_component_directory() and get_plugin_list_with_file(). The names of the new methods are
548 exactly the same, the only differences are that core_component::get_plugin_types() now always returns
549 full paths and core_component::get_plugin_list() does not accept empty parameter any more.
550 * Use core_text::* instead of textlib:: and also core_collator::* instead of collatorlib::*.
551 * Use new function moodleform::mock_submit() to simulate form submission in unit tests (backported).
552 * New $CFG->localcachedir setting useful for cluster nodes. Admins have to update X-Sendfile aliases if used.
553 * MS SQL Server drivers are now using NVARCHAR(MAX) instead of NTEXT and VARBINARY(MAX) instead of IMAGE,
554 this change should be fully transparent and it should help significantly with add-on compatibility.
555 * The string manager classes were renamed. Note that they should not be modified or used directly,
556 always use get_string_manager() to get instance of the string manager.
557 * The ability to use an 'insecure' rc4encrypt/rc4decrypt key has been removed.
558 * Use $CFG->debugdeveloper instead of debugging('', DEBUG_DEVELOPER).
559 * Use set_debugging(DEBUG_xxx) when changing debugging level for current request.
560 * Function moveto_module() does not modify $mod argument and instead now returns the new module visibility value.
561 * Use behat_selectors::get_allowed_text_selectors() and behat_selectors::get_allowed_selectors() instead of
562 behat_command::$allowedtextselectors and behat_command::$allowedselectors
563 * Subplugins are supported in admin tools and local plugins.
564 * file_packer/zip_packer API has been modified so that key functions support a new file_progress interface
565 to report progress during long operations. Related to this, zip_archive now supports an estimated_count()
566 function that returns an approximate number of entries in the zip faster than the count() function.
567 * Class cm_info no longer extends stdClass. All properties are read-only and calculated on first request only.
568 * Class course_modinfo no longer extends stdClass. All properties are read-only.
569 * Database fields modinfo and sectioncache in table course are removed. Application cache core/coursemodinfo
570 is used instead. Course cache is still reset, rebuilt and retrieved using function rebuild_course_cache() and
571 get_fast_modinfo(). Purging all caches and every core upgrade purges course modinfo cache as well.
572 If function get_fast_modinfo() is called for multiple courses make sure to include field cacherev in course
574 * Internal (noreply and support) user support has been added for sending/receiving message.
575 Use core_user::get_noreply_user() and core_user::get_support_user() to get noreply and support user's respectively.
576 Real users can be used as noreply/support users by setting $CFG->noreplyuserid and $CFG->supportuserid
577 * New function readfile_allow_large() in filelib.php for use when very large files may need sending to user.
578 * Use core_plugin_manager::reset_caches() when changing visibility of plugins.
579 * Implement new method get_enabled_plugins() method in subplugin info classes.
580 * Each plugin should include version information in version.php.
581 * Module and block tables do not contain version column any more, use get_config('xx_yy', 'version') instead.
582 * $USER->password field is intentionally unset so that session data does not contain password hashes.
583 * Use core_shutdown_manager::register_function() instead of register_shutdown_function().
584 * New file packer for .tar.gz files; obtain by calling get_file_packer('application/x-gzip'). Intended initially
585 for use in backup/restore only, as there are limitations on supported filenames. Also new packer for
586 backups which supports both compression formats; get_file_packer('application/vnd.moodle.backup').
587 * New optional parameter to stored_file::get_content_file_handle to open file handle with 'gzopen' instead
588 of 'fopen' to read gzip-compressed files if required.
589 * update_internal_user_password() and setnew_password_and_mail() now trigger user_updated event.
590 * Add thirdpartylibs.xml file to plugins that bundle any 3rd party libraries.
591 * New class introduced to help auto generate zIndex values for modal dialogues. Class "moodle-has-zindex"
592 should set on any element which uses a non-default zindex and needs to ensure it doesn't show above a
594 * $CFG->filelifetime is now used consistently for most file serving operations, the default was lowered
595 to 6 hours from 24 hours because etags and x-sendfile support should make file serving less expensive.
596 * Date format locale charset for windows server will come from calendar type and for gregorian it will use
598 * The library to interact with Box.net (class boxclient) is only compatible with their APIv1 which
599 reaches its end of life on the 14th of Dec. You should migrate your scripts to make usage of the
600 new class boxnet_client(). Note that the method names and return values have changed.
601 * Settings pages are now possible for Calendar type plugins. Calendar type plugins that require a settings page to
602 work properly will need to set their requires version to a number that is equal to or grater than the 2.6.1 release version.
603 * The admin/tool/generator tool was overhauled to use testing data generators and the previous interface to create
604 test data was removed (it was not working correctly anyway). If you were using this tool you will probably need to
608 Various previously deprecated functions have now been altered to throw DEBUG_DEVELOPER debugging notices
609 and will be removed in a future release (target: 2.8), a summary follows:
612 * get_context_instance() -> context_xxxx::instance()
613 * get_context_instance_by_id() -> context::instance_by_id($id)
614 * get_system_context() -> context_system::instance()
615 * context_moved() -> context::update_moved()
616 * preload_course_contexts() -> context_helper::preload_course()
617 * context_instance_preload() -> context_helper::preload_from_record()
618 * context_instance_preload_sql() -> context_helper::get_preload_record_columns_sql()
619 * get_contextlevel_name() -> context_helper::get_level_name()
620 * create_contexts() -> context_helper::create_instances()
621 * cleanup_contexts() -> context_helper::cleanup_instances()
622 * build_context_path() -> context_helper::build_all_paths()
623 * print_context_name() -> $context->get_context_name()
624 * mark_context_dirty() -> $context->mark_dirty()
625 * delete_context() -> $context->delete_content() or context_helper::delete_instance()
626 * get_context_url() -> $context->get_url()
627 * get_course_context() -> $context->get_course_context()
628 * get_parent_contexts() -> $context->get_parent_context_ids()
629 * get_parent_contextid() -> $context->get_parent_context()
630 * get_child_contexts() -> $context->get_child_contexts()
631 * rebuild_contexts() -> $context->reset_paths()
632 * get_user_courses_bycap() -> enrol_get_users_courses()
633 * get_courseid_from_context() -> $context->get_course_context(false)
634 * get_role_context_caps() -> (no replacement)
635 * load_temp_role() -> (no replacement)
636 * remove_temp_roles() -> (no replacement)
637 * get_related_contexts_string() -> $context->get_parent_context_ids(true)
638 * get_recent_enrolments() -> (no replacement)
641 * get_course_participants() -> get_enrolled_users()
642 * is_course_participant() -> is_enrolled()
645 * current_theme() -> $PAGE->theme->name
646 * skip_main_destination() -> $OUTPUT->skip_link_target()
647 * print_container() -> $OUTPUT->container()
648 * print_container_start() -> $OUTPUT->container_start()
649 * print_container_end() -> $OUTPUT->container_end()
650 * print_continue() -> $OUTPUT->continue_button()
651 * print_header() -> $PAGE methods
652 * print_header_simple() -> $PAGE methods
653 * print_side_block() -> $OUTPUT->block()
654 * print_arrow() -> $OUTPUT->arrow()
655 * print_scale_menu_helpbutton() -> $OUTPUT->help_icon_scale($courseid, $scale)
656 * print_checkbox() -> html_writer::checkbox()
659 * print_navigation() -> $OUTPUT->navbar()
660 * build_navigation() -> $PAGE->navbar methods
661 * navmenu() -> (no replacement)
662 * settings_navigation::
663 get_course_modules() -> (no replacement)
665 Files and repositories:
666 * stored_file::replace_content_with() -> stored_file::replace_file_with()
667 * stored_file::set_filesize() -> stored_file::replace_file_with()
668 * stored_file::get_referencelifetime() -> (no replacement)
669 * repository::sync_external_file() -> see repository::sync_reference()
670 * repository::get_file_by_reference() -> repository::sync_reference()
672 get_reference_file_lifetime() -> (no replacement)
673 * repository::sync_individual_file() -> (no replacement)
674 * repository::reset_caches() -> (no replacement)
677 * add_event() -> calendar_event::create()
678 * update_event() -> calendar_event->update()
679 * delete_event() -> calendar_event->delete()
680 * hide_event() -> calendar_event->toggle_visibility(false)
681 * show_event() -> calendar_event->toggle_visibility(true)
684 * filter_text() -> format_text(), format_string()...
685 * httpsrequired() -> $PAGE->https_required()
686 * detect_munged_arguments() -> clean_param([...], PARAM_FILE)
687 * mygroupid() -> groups_get_all_groups()
688 * js_minify() -> core_minify::js_files()
689 * css_minify_css() -> core_minify::css_files()
690 * course_modinfo::build_section_cache() -> (no replacement)
691 * generate_email_supportuser() -> core_user::get_support_user()
694 * session_get_instance()->xxx() -> \core\session\manager::xxx()
695 * session_kill_all() -> \core\session\manager::kill_all_sessions()
696 * session_touch() -> \core\session\manager::touch_session()
697 * session_kill() -> \core\session\manager::kill_session()
698 * session_kill_user() -> \core\session\manager::kill_user_sessions()
699 * session_gc() -> \core\session\manager::gc()
700 * session_set_user() -> \core\session\manager::set_user()
701 * session_is_loggedinas() -> \core\session\manager::is_loggedinas()
702 * session_get_realuser() -> \core\session\manager::get_realuser()
703 * session_loginas() -> \core\session\manager::loginas()
705 User-agent related functions:
706 * check_browser_operating_system() -> core_useragent::check_browser_operating_system()
707 * check_browser_version() -> core_useragent::check_browser_version()
708 * get_device_type() -> core_useragent::get_device_type()
709 * get_device_type_list() -> core_useragent::get_device_type_list()
710 * get_selected_theme_for_device_type() -> core_useragent::get_device_type_theme()
711 * get_device_cfg_var_name() -> core_useragent::get_device_type_cfg_var_name()
712 * set_user_device_type() -> core_useragent::set_user_device_type()
713 * get_user_device_type() -> core_useragent::get_user_device_type()
714 * get_browser_version_classes() -> core_useragent::get_browser_version_classes()
717 * moodle-core-notification has been deprecated with a recommendation of
718 using its subclasses instead. This is to allow for reduced page
719 transport costs. Current subclasses include:
726 Event triggering and event handlers:
727 * All existing events and event handlers should be replaced by new
728 event classes and matching new event observers.
729 * See http://docs.moodle.org/dev/Event_2 for more information.
730 * The following events will be entirely removed, though they can still
731 be captured using handlers, but they should not be used any more.
732 * groups_members_removed -> \core\event\group_member_removed
733 * groups_groupings_groups_removed -> (no replacement)
734 * groups_groups_deleted -> \core\event\group_deleted
735 * groups_groupings_deleted -> \core\event\grouping_deleted
736 * edit_module_post_actions() does not trigger events any more.
740 * New get_course() function for use when obtaining the course record from database. Will
741 reuse existing $COURSE or $SITE globals if possible to improve performance.
745 * The database drivers (moodle_database and subclasses) aren't using anymore the ::columns property
746 for caching database metadata. MUC (databasemeta) is used instead. Any custom DB driver should
747 apply for that change.
748 * The cron output has been changed to include time and memory usage (see cron_trace_time_and_memory()),
749 so any custom utility relying on the old output may require modification.
750 * Function get_max_file_sizes now returns an option for (for example) "Course limit (500MB)" or
751 "Site limit (200MB)" when appropriate with the option set to 0. This function no longer returns
752 an option for 0 bytes. Existing code that was replacing the 0 option in the return
753 from this function with a more sensible message, can now use the return from this function directly.
754 * Functions responsible for output in course/lib.php are deprecated, the code is moved to
755 appropriate renderers: print_section(), print_section_add_menus(), get_print_section_cm_text(),
756 make_editing_buttons()
757 See functions' phpdocs in lib/deprecatedlib.php
758 * Function get_print_section_cm_text() is deprecated, replaced with methods in cm_info
759 * zip_packer may create empty zip archives, there is a new option to ignore
760 problematic files when creating archive
761 * The function delete_course_module was deprecated and has been replaced with
762 course_delete_module. The reason for this was because the function delete_course_module
763 only partially deletes data, so wherever it was called extra code was needed to
764 perform the whole deletion process. The function course_delete_module now takes care
765 of the whole process.
766 * curl::setopt() does not accept constant values any more. As it never worked properly,
767 we decided to make the type check stricter. Now, the keys of the array pass must be a string
768 corresponding to the curl constant name.
769 * Function get_users_listing now return list of users except guest and deleted users. Previously
770 deleted users were excluded by get_users_listing. As guest user is not expected while browsing users,
771 and not included in get_user function, it will not be returned by get_users_listing.
772 * The add_* functions in course/dnduploadlib.php have been deprecated. Plugins should be using the
773 MODNAME_dndupload_register callback instead.
774 * The signature of the add() method of classes implementing the parentable_part_of_admin_tree
775 interface (such as admin_category) has been extended. The new parameter allows the caller
776 to prepend the new node before an existing sibling in the admin tree.
777 * condition_info:get_condition_user_fields($formatoptions) now accepts the optional
778 param $formatoptions, that will determine if the field names are processed by
779 format_string() with the passed options.
780 * remove all references to $CFG->gdversion, GD PHP extension is now required
781 * Formslib will now throw a developer warning if a PARAM_ type hasn't been set for elements which
782 need it. Please set PARAM_RAW explicitly if you do not want any cleaning.
783 * Functions responsible for managing and accessing course categories are moved to class coursecat
784 in lib/coursecatlib.php, functions responsible for rendering courses and categories lists are
785 moved to course/renderer.php. The following global functions are deprecated: make_categories_list(),
786 category_delete_move(), category_delete_full(), move_category(), course_category_hide(),
787 course_category_show(), get_course_category(), create_course_category(), get_all_subcategories(),
788 get_child_categories(), get_categories(), print_my_moodle(), print_remote_course(),
789 print_remote_host(), print_whole_category_list(), print_category_info(), get_course_category_tree(),
790 print_courses(), print_course(), get_category_courses_array(), get_category_courses_array_recursively(),
791 get_courses_wmanagers()
792 See http://docs.moodle.org/dev/Courses_lists_upgrade_to_2.5
793 * $core_renderer->block_move_target() changed to support more verbose move-block-here descriptions.
794 * Additional (optional) param $onlyactive has been added to get_enrolled_users, count_enrolled_users
795 functions to get information for only active (excluding suspended enrolments) users. Included two
796 helper functions extract_suspended_users, get_suspended_userids to extract suspended user information.
797 * The core_plugin_manager class now provides two new helper methods for getting information
798 about known plugins: get_plugins_of_type() and get_subplugins_of_plugin().
799 * The get_uninstall_url() method of all subclasses of \core\plugininfo\base class is now expected
800 to always return moodle_url. Subclasses can use the new method is_uninstall_allowed()
801 to control the availability of the 'Uninstall' link at the Plugins overview page (previously
802 they would do it by get_uninstall_url() returning null). By default, URL to a new general plugin
803 uninstall tool is returned. Unless the plugin type needs extra steps that can't be handled by
804 plugininfo_xxx::uninstall() method or xmldb_xxx_uninstall() function, this default URL should
805 satisfy all plugin types.
807 Database (DML) layer:
808 * $DB->sql_empty() is deprecated, you have to use sql parameters with empty values instead,
809 please note hardcoding of empty strings in SQL queries breaks execution in Oracle database.
810 * Indexes must not be defined on the same columns as keys, this is now reported as fatal problem.
811 Please note that internally we create indexes instead of foreign keys.
814 * M.util.help_icon has been deprecated. Code should be updated to use moodle-core-popuphelp
815 instead. To do so, remove any existing JS calls to M.util.help_icon from your PHP and ensure
816 that your help link is placed in a span which has the class 'helplink'.
820 * Pagelib: Numerous deprecated functions were removed as classes page_base, page_course
821 and page_generic_activity.
822 * use $CFG->googlemapkey3 instead of removed $CFG->googlemapkey and migrate to Google Maps API V3
823 * Function settings_navigation::add_course_editing_links() is completely removed
824 * function global_navigation::format_display_course_content() is removed completely (the
825 functionality is moved to course format class)
826 * in the function global_navigation::load_generic_course_sections() the argument $courseformat is
828 * New component and itemid columns in groups_members table - this allows plugin to create protected
829 group memberships using 'xx_yy_allow_group_member_remove' callback and there is also a new restore
830 callback 'xx_yy_restore_group_member()'.
831 * New general role assignment restore plugin callback 'xx_yy_restore_role_assignment()'.
832 * functions get_generic_section_name(), get_all_sections(), add_mod_to_section(), get_all_mods()
833 are deprecated. See their phpdocs in lib/deprecatedlib.php on how to replace them
836 * moodle-enrol-notification has been renamed to moodle-core-notification
837 * YUI2 code must now use 2in3, see http://yuilibrary.com/yui/docs/yui/yui-yui2.html
838 * M.util.init_select_autosubmit() and M.util.init_url_select() have been deprecated. Code using this should be updated
839 to use moodle-core-formautosubmit
841 Unit testing changes:
842 * output debugging() is not sent to standard output any more,
843 use $this->assertDebuggingCalled(), $this->assertDebuggingNotCalled(),
844 $this->getDebuggingMessages() or $this->assertResetDebugging() instead.
848 Database layer changes:
849 * objects are not allowed in paramters of DML functions, use explicit casting to strings if necessary
852 * DDL and DML methods which were deprecated in 2.0 have now been removed, they will no longer produce
853 debug messages and will produce fatal errors
857 * send_stored_file() has changed its interface
858 * deleted several resourcelib_embed_* functions from resourcelib.php
862 removed unused libraries:
863 * odbc, base32, CodeSniffer, overlib, apd profiling, kses, Smarty, PEAR Console, swfobject, cssshover.htc, md5.js
866 * new admin/tool plugin type
867 * new context API - old API is still available
868 * deleted users do not have context any more
869 * removed global search
875 * basic suport for restore from 1.9
876 * new mobile devices API
883 * new DML API - http://docs.moodle.org/dev/DML_functions
884 * new DDL API - http://docs.moodle.org/dev/DDL_functions
885 * new file API - http://docs.moodle.org/dev/File_API
886 * new $PAGE and $OUTPUT API
888 * new theme API - http://docs.moodle.org/dev/Theme_changes_in_2.0
889 * new javascript API - http://docs.moodle.org/dev/JavaScript_usage_guide
891 * new local plugin type
892 * new translation support - http://lang.moodle.org
893 * new web service API
900 * new backup/restore API
903 * improved plugin support (aka Frankenstyle)
904 * new registration and hub API
905 * new course completion API
908 * new text editor API
909 * new my moodle and profiles API
