Developers Meeting on Thurs, September 4, 2025

Time/Location

04 Sep 2025 from 14:00-15:00 UTC

Location: https://lyrasis.zoom.us/my/dspace?pwd=RTk4QUhISnhPRi9YenVrTFJKbDllQT09 (Meeting ID: 502 527 3040).  Passcode: dspace

• More connection options available at DSpace Meeting Room

Agenda

• Discussion Topics - If you have a topic you'd like to have added to the agenda, please just add it. 
  1. DSpace & DSpace-CRIS potential merger discussions
     1. DSpace and DSpace-CRIS Planning Groups - wiki pages to follow along with ongoing discussions.
     2. DSpace-CRIS and DSpace Differences  - List of known feature/architectural differences between DSpace 8 and latest version of DSpace-CRIS
  2. Other topics
     1. Add your topic here or PR / issue ticket to discuss.
• Board Review:
  • 10.0 Project Board - Review PRs collaboratively or Assign new PRs to volunteers to code review and/or test.
  • Backlog Board - Are there any tickets here stuck in the "Triage" column?  We'd like to keep this column as small as possible.
  • Maintenance Board (9.x, 8.x, 7.6.x) - Known bugs can be found here, along with any backported bug fixes.
• Upcoming Topics: (Let us know if there are topics you want to discuss in future weeks)
  
  • Updates on Nx / modularization discussion. Prototyping Nx vs Angular CLI Workspaces?
    • Preparation PR (preparing for possible Nx migration): https://github.com/DSpace/dspace-angular/pull/4629
    • Original PR (example full migration): https://github.com/DSpace/dspace-angular/pull/4019
  • Restore Angular dynamic decorators: https://github.com/DSpace/dspace-angular/pull/4528  (somewhat dependent on Nx / modularization discussions)
  • Follow-up on "aggressive bot" discussion:  https://github.com/DSpace/dspace-angular/issues/4565
    • PR to update our built-in "rate limiter": https://github.com/DSpace/dspace-angular/pull/4620

Attendees

• Tim Donohue 
• Holger Lenz 

• Art Lowel (Atmire) 

• Andrea Bollini (4Science)

• Giuseppe Digilio (4Science) 
• Paulo Graça
• Mark H. Wood 
• Grazia Quercia (4Science)
• Julian Timal (eScire) 
• Martin Walk 
• Melissa Anez 
• Oliver Goldschmidt 
• Pascal-Nicolas Becker 
• Pierre Lasou 
• Kim Shepherd 
• Nicholas Woodward 
• Sascha Szott 
• Marsa Haoua 
• Jesiel Viana 
• Scholaris Team

Current Work

Project Boards

• DSpace 10.0 board: https://github.com/orgs/DSpace/projects/32
• DSpace 9.x, 8.x and 7.6.x maintenance board: https://github.com/orgs/DSpace/projects/29

To quickly find PRs assigned to you for review, visit https://github.com/pulls/review-requested  (This is also available in the GitHub header under "Pull Requests → Review Requests")

Goals for 10.0

To be decided by DSpace Steering Group with feedback from Leadership Group. 

Priorities listed at DSpace Release 10.0 Status. 

Goals for 9.2 / 8.3 / 7.6.5

Deadline is TBD for 9.2, 8.3 and7.6.5.  Bug fix releases do not have fixed/scheduled deadlines. Instead, the developer team will determine when to create a release based on the significance of the issues to solve. (e.g. If major issues are fixed, then a bug fix release will occur more rapidly.  If minor issues are found, then a bug fix release may be delayed until sufficient fixes have been made to warrant a release)

• Bug/security fixes only.  These minor releases will not include any new features.
  • New "themeable components" (for dspace-angular) are allowed in bug fix releases, provided that they don't significantly modify component behavior or similar.
  • Accessibility fixes are also allowed in bug fix releases, provided they don't significantly modify component behavior or similar.
• Bug fix PRs should be created against "main" branch where possible. The "main" branch has the most strict code style rules. (i.e. PRs created against dspace-7_x  are becoming more difficult to port forward.)
• Per our support policy, bug fixes are only guaranteed to be ported back to 9.x.  That said, where possible, we'll try to backport bug fixes (especially significant ones) to 8. x and 7.6.x.

Try "Pull Request Trading" for a quicker review

Do you have a PR stuck in "under review" that you really want to see move forward?  Or maybe it's someone else's PR but you want to get it more attention?

See Trading reviews on Pull Requests for how to get immediate attention to that PR!

Notes

Merger Discussions

• No major new developments.
• Q&A webinar scheduled for September 30, 2025 with registration details forthcoming.
• Technology group working on a potential roadmap (how to merge code, timelines, review processes).

Modularization (NX vs Angular CLI)

• Art Lowel delegated initial prototyping to Yury; Art to continue next week.

• Preparation PR: may be useful regardless of final decision (NX or Angular CLI). Needs multiple reviews and tests.

• Tim to test; Art/Yury to review and give feedback.

• Rename PR for broader relevance.

Aggressive Bot Mitigation

• Please use this discussion ticket on GitHub to share best practices and feedback

• Fedora-led webinar series also exploring solutions (AI Showcase Series).

  • Showcasing institutions' attempts to deal with aggressive bots; first sessions held last week

• Existing PR: upgrade to rate limiter (default: 500 hits/IP); please share feedback if you have experience with changing the limiter

PRs and Issues Raised

• Metadata Import Script:

  • Refactored for modularity and customization.

  • Reviewers: Kim (confirmed), Tim (tentative).

• Key Code vs Key Character Handling:

  • Fix for keyboard input inconsistencies.

  • Art to test and merge after meeting.

• Audit Trail Feature:

  • Large PR; requires multiple reviewers.

  • Planned demo on September 25, 2025 meeting.

• File Upload/Download Fix:

  • Bug due to symbolic links and canonical paths.

  • Small PR; Tim to review/merge soon.

• Archival Information Packages (AIP):

  • Proposal: include groups/people at collection/community level (not just site).

  • General agreement: useful for restoration flexibility, despite duplication.

  • Concern: performance issues for large repositories. Ticket needed.

• JPEG Orientation Fix:

  • Correct rendering of thumbnails with EXIF rotation metadata.

  • Needs more tests and JavaDocs.

Other Notes

• Emphasis on bringing PRs/tickets to meetings for feedback.

• Project board still has a large backlog; more reviewers/testers needed.

Action items

• Art/Yury: Continue NX vs Angular CLI prototyping; review preparation PR.

• Community: Share aggressive bot mitigation tips in discussion ticket.

• Kim: Review metadata import refactor; Art to test and merge key character PR.

• Stefano: Present Audit Trail feature demo on September 25.

• Tim: Review/merge symbolic link fix; test AIP duplication changes; ensure ticket created for large-repository AIP performance.

• Contributors: Add tests/JavaDocs for JPEG rotation fix.