Update DSpace 7 to 8

[Olivier Rubinger]

Hi Tech Team,

Is it possible to update DSpace from version 7.x to 8.x without losing the customizations and modifications we've made over the years?

We've been using DSpace 7 in court for years now, and many changes have been made in the past years. 

Thanks!

[DSpace Technical Support]

Hi,

This is very difficult to answer, as it depends on the "many changes" you've made.  Generally speaking, most sites should be able to follow the Upgrade Guide or Migration Guide to upgrade from 7.x to 8.x.  

However, if you've made major code changes to either the backend (Java code) or frontend (Angular code), then you may need to upgrade that code to be compatible with DSpace 8.x.  In particular, you need to be aware of the "Breaking Changes" in 8.x: https://wiki.lyrasis.org/display/DSDOC8x/Release+Notes#ReleaseNotes-BreakingChanges   You'll need to make sure you keep those "Breaking Changes" in mind if you have a lot of custom code (e.g. custom Java code *must* be updated to Jakarta EE / Java 17, and custom Angular code *must* be updated to Angular 17, which requires "standalone components).

Overall, the less you customize DSpace, the easier future upgrades will be.  So, it's easier to upgrade if your customizations are mostly at the theme level...but much more complex, if you are adding larger amounts of custom Java code or custom Angular code.

Hopefully that helps,

Tim

[Olivier Rubinger]

Hey Tim,

Thanks for the reply!

Just to clarify, most of our customizations are theme-related and mainly on the front-end. So would the solution just involve updating the Angular version, or is there more to it?

Let me know!

Cheers,

Olivier

[DSpace Technical Support]

Hi Olivier,

You should be able to follow the upgrade guide (or the migration guide, depending on your preference) that I linked to in my prior message.

Your custom theme may require changes during the upgrade (as some areas of the UI may be refactored slightly).  You could try using your existing theme in DSpace 8, and see if it works.  If it doesn't then you will need to update the code in your theme.

At this time we do not have a theme upgrade guide, but essentially you'd want to look at which components you've modified (in your theme directory), and see if there were any updates to those components between 7.x and 8.x.  If there were, pull those updates into your theme to ensure your theme has the latest code.  If you are primarily just changing the styles (CSS) in your theme, then it's very possible that your older theme will mostly "just work" (as I'm not aware of any significant CSS changes between 7.x and 8.x)

Hopefully that helps,

Tim