Hello DSpace Community,
As we are now into February, some of you may be wondering: "What
happened to the DSpace 6 release? Shouldn't it be out by now?"
So, I thought I'd pass along some updates of where we stand with DSpace
6, and why it isn't ready for production (quite yet).
First, it's worth mentioning we have some very exciting features coming
for DSpace 6. Some are a bit more relevant in the larger picture of our
RoadMap [1], while others are immediately gratifying.
Here's a taste of what's to come in DSpace 6:
* A major refactor of our underlying Java API (supporting UUIDs and
Hibernate) which will help ease ongoing maintenance efforts and
better support future roadmap goals. See
https://wiki.duraspace.org/display/DSPACE/DSpace+Service+based+api
* Enhanced configuration system, supporting auto-reloadable
configurations and easier management of local settings (via a
local.cfg file). See
https://wiki.duraspace.org/display/DSPACE/Enhanced+Configuration+Scheme
o Note however that not all configurations will be reloadable in
DSpace 6. But, we hope that will change in DSpace 7.
* Enhanced file (bitstream) storage plugins, including support for
Amazon S3 file storage. See
https://wiki.duraspace.org/display/DSDOC6x/Storage+Layer#StorageLayer-ConfiguringtheBitstreamStore
* Configurable site healthcheck (i.e. repository status) reports via
email. See https://jira.duraspace.org/browse/DS-2659
* REST API enhancements, including:
o Robust quality control reports for collection managers built on
the REST API. See
https://wiki.duraspace.org/display/DSDOC6x/REST+Based+Quality+Control+Reports
o Support for all authentication methods via REST (e.g.
Shibboleth, LDAP, etc)
* XMLUI enhancements, including:
o New framework for metadata import from external sources
(including out-of-the-box plugins supporting PubMed and
ScienceDirect). This concept was previously only supported in JSPUI.
o Extensible administrative control panel
o Export of XMLUI search results to CSV (for bulk metadata
editing). This feature was previously only supported in JSPUI.
I hope you'll agree, there's some exciting features for both repository
managers and repository developers/sysadmins coming in DSpace 6.
But, what may not be obvious is the amount of infrastructural/code
changes which took place in those first few bullet points. The major
refactor of our Java API involved changing 1,440 of our Java files
(refactoring them into a much more extensible, flexible Java API). The
Enhanced Configuration System touched fewer files (324), but
replaced/refactored/removed about 6,000 lines of code in order to build
a much more flexible configuration system for DSpace. These statistics
aren't meant to downplay the significance of any of those other major
features (as all are quite significant in terms of code contributions),
but just show the significance of the architectural/backend changes
coming in DSpace 6.
Simply put, DSpace 6 is where we are starting to build the *next*
DSpace. It is where we've begun to modernize our platform to allow us to
continue to provide a high-end, out-of-the-box, repository solution for
many years to come.
However, as you may have guessed, the significance of these code changes
has delayed DSpace 6 more than we would have liked. I feel confident
that DSpace 6 will be out soon, but the timeline is looking more like
March or April. Obviously, we want to ensure that DSpace 6 is
production ready (in terms of stability and performance) before we
release anything (even a "release candidate"). Nonetheless, keep an eye
out for an announcement of 6.0 Testathon dates, as I'm hoping we'll be
ready to finalize them in the coming weeks.
If you want more information on DSpace 6 in general, please visit our
DSpace 6 Status page:
https://wiki.duraspace.org/display/DSPACE/DSpace+Release+6.0+Status
If there are any questions about DSpace 6, let us know on the lists, and
we'll do our best to answer them in a timely manner.
Sincerely,
Tim Donohue
[1] DSpace RoadMap: https://wiki.duraspace.org/display/DSPACE/RoadMap
--
Tim Donohue
Technical Lead for DSpace & DSpaceDirect
DuraSpace.org | DSpace.org | DSpaceDirect.org
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