Beta Version: Digital Commerce Module

I would find a digital commerce module very useful. I’m not a big fan of encrypted files so I can’t beta test it but I’d be very interested in this module if it isn’t encrypted after buying a license. 😊

Nora,

I’m not a fan of encrypted files either. The sad truth of the matter is that all I want to do is to make sure that the module is licensed on each EE site it is installed on. EE doesn’t offer any sort of protection natively. I considered adding hooks, which is what I believe EE does, to have the module contact my server to verify the license. This isn’t an optimal solution as if my server is down, there is a chance the module wouldn’t work. Even if I didn’t worry about that, there is nothing stopping someone from simply commenting out the code that does the license check. The alternative to these things is to obfuscate the code, or write a bunch of spaghetti code to make it difficult to use the module on an unlicensed site. This, unfortunately would make the module many times more difficult to maintain.

In the absence of a better solution, I’ve left the control panel encrypted. By doing so, I’m able to create a key to lock the installation of the fully functional version to a specific site without requiring it to make calls out to verify the license. I’m really at a loss as to how to do it better, which is why I have yet to make this module available for purchase. I’m certainly open to ideas though.

As it stands, my only option is to simply continue to use the module for myself and my clients and not share it with others, and continue to look for a licensing solution that will work for myself and those who don’t want to use encrypted code. It took a months of work to create and tweak this module, so it appears that the ioncube encryption will have to suffice until a better licensing solution is discovered.

Thanks, Brad

Brad, Solspace has several paid modules/extensions and other developers do as well. I don’t believe a single one of them encrypts their add-ons.

Honestly in my opinion the use of encryption is going to hurt your sales more than piracy ever would. In any case it’s your module and your choice. Just my 2 cents.

To quickly chime in here.

We recently released a twitter app based on CodeIgniter that we are charging $30 for. We went through the whole process of trying to decide if we should encrypt it or not and basically came to the conclusion that if someone is going to steal it they are going to find a way to get it. By not encrypting it we have attracted a few sales from CI users who have purchased it just to see how it works. Really by encrypting the software all you are doing is throwing people off of wanting to develop with it as they are losing control.

If your control panel was not encrypted and I could add in a few extra features my client needs, right now we would be taking a hard look at your solution as apposed to FoxEE. You may also find that as an added benefit you will have users start developing addons or features for you…

Again, my two cents

-Lee

Can this be used for free items so we can use it to send linklocker encoded links out for PDF downloads requiring the the user’s email address

I need a solution for the above that doesn’t require them to log in each time they want a download

This is an interesting module. Have you thought about adding functionality to handle subscriptions? This module would be perfect for me if it could handle subscriptions, as I want a simple way to sell subscriptions and downloads. Paypal has some great subscriptions features….

By the way, is the module out of beta yet. It seems you’ve run in to resistance in using/testing it because of the encryption. I’d be surprised if piracy was a huge issue with EE. I’ve found some developers are supportive of each other’s work. I always buy the modules I use.

The module is still considered in beta, although I have had it in use on a site for a few months now. I intend to release the module for purchase, unencrypted, but I fear I don’t currently have the time to provide proper support. Will update this thread, or post a new one, when I feel I’d be able to provide support for it. Unfortunately, I haven’t even looked at providing support for subscriptions with the module - will put it on the list though. Thanks for the interest!

I’ve been following this thread for a few months and am interested in the development of this. Would be great if you can get a commercial version up and running shortly mate! Or if you have any live demo’s, don’t hesitate to PM me so I can take a gander at its magic!

This might be exactly what I need. Brad, is there still movement on this? I am interested in this and your LinkLocker modules.

While I have not updated this module, it has been in production use on my band’s website for many months, and has processed around 50 orders for albums and downloads. I’m currently working on a new version of the module for the new version of ExpressionEngine - the new module is at about 80% at the moment. Both versions of this module can work in conjunction with LinkLocker Pro to automatically send download links to purchasers. The module will email links either way, if you’d like, but will encrypt them only if you’re using LinkLocker Pro. I haven’t really considered pricing on this module yet though, and am kind of hesitant to release it as I don’t really have a lot of time on my hands to provide support if people had lots of questions. I guess I’m going to have to get back to you on this one - feel free to PM if you’d like to discuss further.

Thanks, Brad

Any updates on this Brad? This is the perfect solution for a project I’m working. Thanks

Hi Brad,

When I open the file mcp.digital_commerce.php the code appers to be garbled; here is the fragment of it:

if(!extension_loaded(‘ionCube Loader’)){$__oc=strtolower(substr(php_uname(),0,3));$__ln='ioncube_loader_'.$__oc.'_'.substr(phpversion(),0,3).(($__oc=='win')?'.dll':'.so');@dl($__ln);if(function_exists('_il_exec')){return _il_exec();}$__ln=’/ioncube/’.$__ln;$__oid=$__id=realpath(ini_get(‘extension_dir’));$__here=dirname(__FILE__);if(strlen($__id)>1&&$__id[1]==’:’){$__id=str_replace('\','/',substr($__id,2));$__here=str_replace('\','/',substr($__here,2));}$__rd=str_repeat(‘/..’,substr_count($__id,’/’)).$__here.’/’;$__i=strlen($__rd);while($__i–){if($__rd[$__i]=='/'){$__lp=substr($__rd,0,$__i).$__ln;if(file_exists($__oid.$__lp)){$__ln=$__lp;break;}}}@dl($__ln);}else{die('The file '.__FILE__." is corrupted.\n");}if(function_exists(‘_il_exec’)){return _il_exec();}echo(‘Site error: the file ‘.__FILE__.’ requires the ionCube PHP Loader ‘.basename($__ln).’ to be installed by the site administrator.’);exit(199); ?> ƒ(¼?6Ś”#kŌ÷‰ÆDīßUˇh÷WXāh¶=Ķ‚BUGĮ[Tņ 5=ĶīßUŻūŖ ń ˛ź*\ Ö¦§¹ėE˜ĄZš8/Z´]īėŸåaĮģ½ |ÅÖ>ī‡Ż=™2@XC` Ä Ć € l;ČH@ÄHH&²‘…EE@QQ@Į ÜĮÄ]Æ;r÷«øoWT®ß©ī˛ĢōCws}ļūŽ˙ļ÷•®Ŗs˛§NŸ:]]]Ó‹ĖÕen«}ĒŽ¯ödęo­Ÿ³§Ėå:_qé˙TWüßīO3|Ć—eū¾N”÷€ģżs9ü‹é‡S{ŗł{ŗi=]Y˛^®‰jo×`õ_2ÉDs“)i")ŖĖgÖÅž¹SȶP›^S_eōQ.ų“€o*&ŸbÖ­ø9ŹĆ§P¹vĄŖ—ļ»eĆĶ¹Ŗzü½ģ…UŁ.Ģ.©(¸ŌE{gGĖ#ÅŃŖģŖčüŚhuMuvŸ¢Sfe÷źRļS²ūōéŻÆvIyvY¤²GqÉģ’šĀŅ‚HEYY´*ķQ9§Ņ5bZ˛kLł‚ĀŅ’āŒY%Ń“†,HėžĘ/Š—~sĪ5·eUģ “¸īNŅ÷¦9%d+ˆTĘw©…ƒBkŖæšŻ+ū_äū¬’ŗes—«1U•U—ĢZ-+,)­v©Ć» é}2„Æ›ļɊī¾C”éJ3MėżŽ¤Ļźķō4½,t椔ė­ōœJ)W«öäz«=¯(ż•|ˇVć™ä­ńM­ńņ×xQ9ĖSKņ˛)õ !mg°ŗĄ3JYBuKƒœAJ¹ŚRO˛w©g¼©gms)Q R©ŠņrĀ.÷äSš¾Ü”»Cžåz} ®źł˛^ÉēSŻ Ņ]į §®šäP~(mVxDÆųØ,R8}…ɱB×R¬¢ü*ŹÆ”ÜE˛É”šSŹņ\Lõ«=S(¨÷Æ&ūVėå”JAJ#ÕÕ¤)ķóuŪ\Jy”‚”ŗŖkČ®5$[G¶¬#ŸÉ¦¬ó4|–ērOv…ē4ļ¤%Ł|eŻ6œ~iß•˛¹ŹÓv°*äW“ W“

When I open the file mcp.digital_commerce.php the code appers to be garbled

I believe Brad has kept the encryption in the control panel file for “security” reasons. That may be the reason for garbled text. Does the module work as expected?

The beta version of this module was encrypted. I’ve decided not to release a version for EE v1.x. I have, however, completed a version for EE2.0 that I’ve been using in production for months. This version is not encrypted, but I have not yet decided on a price point for the module. Once I have, I will create a post for the module and update this thread with a link to the new post.