Question

You might have heard the term hack or kernel hack used by other users of eZ Publish. Well what is a kernel hack in eZ Publish?

Description

An eZ Publish 'Hack' or 'Kernel Hack' is considered any modification to any files or directories outside of the following directories.

• settings/override/
• settings/siteaccess/
• extension/
• var/ *

Meaning and meant as a general rule as long as you keep your modification to eZ Publish within the above directories; Inside these directories is acceptable and not a hack. Anything within the 'extension' directory is considered an extension, separate and not a hack; even if you don't activate it or use it like a traditional extension.

* Note: 'var/', modifications are allowed and often required. eZ Publish Packages relies on storing package contents within the var/ directory. For example, eZ Publish Site Design Packages, relies storing package contents like css in the var/ directory for design modifications.

Example Directories

• bin
• cronjobs
• design
• doc
• kernel
• lib
• packages
• share
• support
• update

Exceptions

I'm sure there are extensions to these general rules and guidelines. This document is a guide not an absolute.

Patch extensions

Extensions which contain kernel patches where required to impliment a feature that must be added to the kernel. This is rare that most people need to do this but it is known to exist.

References

• Kernel Hacking