Changes to Note Before Upgrading to Breadcrumb NavXT 5.0

Breadcrumb NavXT 5.0 is very close to being ready for release. Unlike a typical release, quite a bit has changed under the hood this time, hence the bump up from 4.4 to 5.0. Development for 5.0 focused heavily on making Breadcrumb NavXT easier to extend. In doing so, it had to part ways with how some things were done in the past. The following changes are the most likely to affect current Breadcrumb NavXT installs.

Move to PHP5 Object Model

This release features a move to PHP5’s Object Model, including changing the default constructor from the class name (C++ style) to __construct(). All member functions and variables are now explicitly scoped as either private, protected or public. Additionally, some member functions have been explicitly made static (to allow static calling without causing strict warnings in PHP5.4).

Organizational Changes

Several internal changes were made to reorganize the plugin. One change that will affect third party code is the move from bcn_breadcrumb_trail::trail to bcn_breadcrumb_trail::breadcrumbs. For 5.0, bcn_breadcrumb_trail::trail will exist as pointer to the same data held in bcn_breadcrumb_trail::breadcrumbs. In the future bcn_breadcrumb_trail::trail will be removed and it is recommended that existing extension plugins to Breadcrumb NavXT be updated to reflect this internal change.

WordPress Multisite Changes

Support for multisite WordPress installs has changed quite a bit in 5.0. To support the new Network Admin settings page introduced in this version, the way settings are handled in multisite installs has changed. By default the settings set in the ‘Network Admin’ settings page will take priority over individual site preferences. This is different from the pre-5.0 behavior. If you have a multisite install, please read Controlling Breadcrumb NavXT Settings From the Network Settings Page.

-John Havlik

[end of transmission, stay tuned]