DSpace 7 Release Goals

Overview of 7.x Release Process

Because of the complex nature of recreating an entirely new User Interface (and REST API), the DSpace v7.x will adopt a slightly different release plan (than seen in v5.x or v6.x).

• Staged Beta Release Process for 7.0
  • We will be releasing v7.0 features over several months in a staged Beta release process (see goals below). 
  • Individual Betas will not be "feature complete". Instead, each Beta release will layer additional features on the previous Beta. 
  • Betas will be announced publicly & available for download or via Docker.
  • Community members are encouraged to test each Beta and report back any issues so that they can be resolved in a subsequent Beta (prior to the final 7.0 release)
• Some lower priority features may be delayed for 7.1 or 7.2.
  
  • Because of the complexity of merging features of two UIs (XMLUI and JSPUI) into one, and the desire to make 7.0 available as soon as possible, we have chosen to release 7.0 as soon as the highest priority features (those deemed most widely used) are completed. This means that, if lower priority features have not yet been completed, they may be rescheduled for 7.1 or 7.2.  However, to retain backwards compatibility, every 6.x feature will be completed in a 7.x release.
  • For a list of prioritized features/tasks (and their tentative release schedule) see our DSpace 7 GitHub Project Boards.  Keep in mind, this schedule is fluid. For example, if additional community developers volunteer to implement a lower priority feature, then that feature might still be released in 7.0 even if it is tentatively scheduled for 7.1 or 7.2.

Milestones

DSpace 7.0 will be the largest release in the history of DSpace. It is the culmination of strategic planning by DSpace Governance in response to community feedback, use cases and needs (for additional details see Strategic Planning)

Achievement	More details
(2014-15) Governance creates a Strategic Plan for modernizing & refreshing DSpace for the future. A key goal of this plan is a "single, out of the box user interface" to replace the aging XMLUI and JSPUI.	DSpace 2015-18 Strategic Plan
(2015-16) Community competition for different UI prototypes. Nine were reviewed / analyzed for inclusion as the single, future DSpace UI.	DSpace UI Prototype Challenge
(2016) Formal selection of Angular as new UI framework, replacing both the XMLUI and JSPUI. New Angular UI that is modern, responsive, and built using a Bootstrap theme for easy customization.	"Introducing the new DSpace User Interface" talk at OR2016 DSpace 7 UI Project Plain Language Summary
(2017) Adoption of a standards based REST API to maximize exposure of all DSpace features for integration purposes: A completely redesigned REST API that is self-documenting and human browsable.	"On the Road to DSpace 7 : Angular UI + REST" at OR2017 DSpace 7 UI Project Plain Language Summary
(2017-19) Redesigned submissions and workflows  featuring a one page submission process with a drag-and-drop interface & a searchable MyDSpace.	Configuration changes in the submission process
(2017-19) Configurable entities, an optional new item type inspired by the DSpace-CRIS project that allows for complex linked relationships between items. For example, Items can now represent a Person (Entity) to provide a way to support "researcher profiles", and link that person to the works they authored.	Initial Investigation WG: DSpace Entities Working Group (2017-18) Implementation WG: DSpace 7 Entities Working Group (2018-19)
(May 2019) Preview release, including Entity demonstrator and associated data set	DSpace 7 Preview Release
(2019-20) Docker installation and deployment procedures	Try out DSpace 7 ("Install via Docker" section)
(Jan 2020) Established a new Staged Beta Release Process for 7.0, spacing out major features over a series of smaller Beta releases & delaying some low priority features for later 7.x releases. Paid/funded development began.	DSpace Release 7.0 Status
(March 2020) Beta 1 released	Beta 1 Release Notes
(April 2020) Beta 2 released	Beta 2 Release Notes
(July 2020) Beta 3 released	Beta 3 Release Notes
(Oct 2020) Beta 4 released	Beta 4 Release Notes
(April 2021) Beta 5 released	Beta 5 Release Notes
Testathon	April 19 - May 7, 2021
OR2021 Talks / Workshop	June 7-10, 2021
Final bug & accessibility fixes prior to 7.0 release	See 7.0 work board
(Aug 2, 2021) 7.0 release	DSpace 7 Press Release Release Notes
(Nov 1, 2021) 7.1 release	Release Notes
(Feb 7, 2022) 7.2 release	Release Notes
(June 27, 2022) 7.3 release	Release Notes
(October 10, 2022) 7.4 release	Release Notes
(February 20, 2023) 7.5 Release	Release Notes
(June 26, 2023) 7.6 Release	Release Notes
(November 15, 2023) 7.6.1 Release	Release Notes
7.6.x Ongoing Maintenance: With the release of DSpace 7.6 in June 2023, the 7.x platform has moved into maintenance mode. This means that all future 7.x releases will only include bug or security fixes and will adopt a "7.6.x" numbering scheme.	RoadMap

How you can help

• Development: If you are a developer & wish to get involved with the 7.x development process, get in touch with Tim Donohue or join one of our weekly DSpace 7 Working Group meetings.
  • We especially have a need for developers willing to help with testing Pull Requests and Code Reviews (Java or Angular).  This is a good way to "get your feet wet" and better understand the platform before doing development.
• Translations: If you are interested in helping create translations of the new UI, see DSpace 7 Translation - Internationalization (i18n) - Localization (l10n)
• Documentation: If you are interested in helping us improve our documentation (especially user-facing documentation) for 7.x, we could use some volunteers to help "comb" through the old docs and update/improve examples based on the new User Interface.  See DSpace 7 Documentation for more info, or contact Tim Donohue.
• Try out DSpace 7 early! As we move forward in the 7.0 Staged Beta Release process, we really need community testers!  If you ever want to try out the latest & greatest code, we have a guide to do so at Try out DSpace 7.  If you notice any issues or bugs, please feel free to report them to us!  See the section on Reporting Issues on that same wiki page.