DSpace 7 Version numbrring

[David P. Steelman]

Hi All,

Hoping to get some insight into DSpace version numbering.

The https://wiki.lyrasis.org/dspace/releases page indicates that DSpace versions consist of [major].[minor] version numbers, and that

    "Major Releases: ... may include any or all of the following: new features, system improvements, architectural changes, bug fixes.

    Minor (Bug-Fix) Releases: ... will only include bug fixes to an existing major release"  
   
Looking through the DSpace 7 release notes (https://wiki.lyrasis.org/display/DSDOC7x/Release+Notes) it is evident that each minor version includes new features, improvements, as well as bug fixes. There have also been occasional bug fix only "patch" releases (i.e., v7.1.1, v7.2.1).

The most recent DSpace 7.4 release also included a backward-incompatible architectural change to the Angular front-end (for those customizing the front-end), specifically the removal of the "DataService" class (app/core/data/data.service.ts) and its replacement by the "BaseDataService" and "IdentifiableDataService" classes in PR #1791 (https://github.com/DSpace/dspace-angular/pull/1791).
 
So just wondering what expectations, if any, we should have in regards to DSpace version numbers, especially in relation to backward-incompatible architectural changes.

Thanks,

David

[Tim Donohue]

Hi David,

DSpace 7 is a temporary departure from those rules.  We broke those rules only for DSpace 7​ because otherwise DSpace 7 would never be "backwards compatible" with DSpace 6 and prior.  We made this decision prior to the release of 7.0, as we realized that if we require 7.0 to have all the features of DSpace 6, it'd not be out for a very long time.  So, DSpace 7.x is about bringing DSpace 6 forward into a completely new UI, and that means layering in more features in each 7.x release until this "backwards compatibility" is achieved.

You can see the reasons for the decision and all additional features still coming to DSpace 7.x here: https://wiki.lyrasis.org/display/DSPACE/DSpace+Release+7.0+Status

I fully expect that with DSpace 8 we will revert back to the existing policies (which you referenced).  The timeline for DSpace 8 is still TBD, but early notes are here: https://wiki.lyrasis.org/display/DSPACE/DSpace+Release+7.0+Status#DSpaceRelease7.0Status-Whenwill8.0planningbegin?IsthereaRoadmapfor8.0?

Tim

---

From: dspace...@googlegroups.com <dspace...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of David P. Steelman <dste...@umd.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, October 18, 2022 1:12 PM
To: DSpace Developers <dspace...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [dspace-devel] DSpace 7 Version numbrring

 

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[David P. Steelman]

Tim,

Thanks for this explanation. We appreciate all the work going into DSpace 7 and its point releases.

David