Developers Meeting on Thurs, July 9, 2026

Time/Location

09 Jul 2026 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 merger activities
     1. Merger Management Team - Asked to have merger-related PR updates shared in these Dev Meetings.  Allows them to concentrate on unified relationship model brainstorms.
  2. DSpace-CRIS Merger-related PRs for 11.0:
     1. Metadata extraction of PDFs using Grobid: https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/pull/11852 (Recent updates by Kim now require re-review and retesting)
     2. Bulk Import of metadata/files via Excel (Backend PR is approved. Frontend is waiting on cleanup)
        1. Backend: https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/pull/11968
        2. Frontend: https://github.com/DSpace/dspace-angular/pull/5135
     3. Porting of missing CRIS external authorities (ROR, OpenAIRE, ZDB): https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/pull/12473  (Is in a draft state. Needs to be moved out of draft & have clear testing instructions added to describe how to enable these features in submission form)
  3. Continuation of discussion about a "Code Conventions Guide"
     1. Backend PR: https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/pull/12739 (Any new comments or discussion prior to merger?)
     2. Frontend PR: https://github.com/DSpace/dspace-angular/pull/5938 (Draft created, invitation to review)
  4. Other Topics
     1. Add your topics here
• Recent issues marked "Needs Discussion" (if time)
  • https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/issues/12348 - Admins can generate links to share datasets with non-public metadata 
  • https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/issues/12351 - Batch Import: large uploads fail with 401 as JWT expires during upload
• Board Review:
  • 11.0 Project Board - Review PRs collaboratively or Assign new PRs to volunteers to code review and/or test.
  • Board of DSpace-CRIS Merger activities - Latest status of merger-related activities, which will complete in 11.0
  • 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 (10.x, 9.x, 8.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)
  
  • (none at this time)

Attendees

• Tim Donohue 
• Holger Lenz 
• Lia Eggleston 

• Art Lowel (Atmire) 

• Andrea Bollini (4Science)

• Giuseppe Digilio (4Science) 
• Paulo Graça
• Mark H. Wood 
• Kim Shepherd 
• Grazia Quercia (4Science)
• Stefano Maffei (4Science)
• Julian Timal (eScire) 
• Martin Walk 
• Pascal-Nicolas Becker 
• Pierre Lasou 
• Nicholas Woodward 
• Sascha Szott 
• Marsa Haoua 
• Jesiel Viana (LA Referencia) 
• Arturo Garduño Magaña
• Marcin Miłosz 
• Scholaris Team

Current Work

Project Boards

• DSpace 11.0 board: https://github.com/orgs/DSpace/projects/35
• DSpace 10.x, 9.x, and 8.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 11.0

Finish the merger of DSpace and DSpace-CRIS. Other priorities be decided by DSpace Steering Group with feedback from Leadership Group. 

Priorities listed at DSpace Release 11.0 Status. 

Goals for 10.1 / 9.4 / 8.5 

Deadline is TBD for 10.1, 9.4, 8.5.  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-8_x  are becoming more difficult to port forward.)
• Per our support policy, bug fixes are only guaranteed to be ported back to 10.x.  That said, where possible, we'll try to backport bug fixes (especially significant ones) to 9.x and 8. 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

Welcome and Program Updates

Tim Donohue welcomed attendees back to the weekly developers meeting and noted that he had just returned from vacation and had not yet caught up on Slack, mailing lists, or email. Attendees were encouraged to raise any topics that may have been missed.

There were no new updates regarding the DSpace 11 release schedule. Tim indicated that milestone dates and deadlines are expected to be drafted within the next one to two weeks, after which community feedback will be requested.

Merger Management Team Update

The Merger Management Team met during the previous week and is currently focusing on designing a unified relationship model for DSpace and DSpace-CRIS. Current work includes:

• Documenting the two existing relationship models.
• Evaluating similarities and differences.
• Designing a unified model for DSpace 11.

To provide sufficient time for this architectural work later in the year, the team agreed that merger-related pull requests will become a standing agenda item during weekly developer meetings.

The objectives are to:

• Track progress on all merger PRs.
• Recruit additional reviewers and testers.
• Resolve blockers early.
• Accelerate feature ports from DSpace-CRIS into DSpace.

Tim emphasized that the Merger Management Team is relatively small and encouraged broader community participation in reviewing and testing merger features.

Merger Pull Request: PDF Metadata Extraction (GROBID Integration)

The team reviewed the pull request that ports PDF metadata extraction functionality from DSpace-CRIS.

This feature:

• Uses GROBID to extract metadata from uploaded PDF files during submission.
• Has recently been refactored by Kim Shepherd based on feedback received during the DSpace 10 review process.

Kim explained that:

• The implementation is now considerably simpler.
• Java model classes have been removed, making code review easier.
• Testing can be performed locally using the GROBID Docker image.

Current reviewers include:

• Tim Donohue
• Maciek
• Nick

The PR now requires:

• Fresh testing
• Updated code review following the refactoring

Community members with interest in this feature were invited to participate in testing.

Merger Pull Requests: Bulk Import via Excel

The meeting next reviewed the backend and frontend pull requests implementing bulk import using Excel spreadsheets.

Tim clarified that this feature is distinct from existing CSV batch metadata editing.

Current CSV functionality:

• Primarily edits metadata
• Supports only limited metadata import
• Cannot import files

The Excel import feature:

• Uses multiple worksheets within a single spreadsheet.
• Supports metadata and file import.
• Can import files from:
  • Local directories
  • Remote HTTP/FTP locations
• Represents a true bulk import workflow.

Although there is overlap with CSV import/export, both capabilities are expected to coexist in DSpace 11. An issue has already been created to evaluate future consolidation opportunities.

Status

Backend:

• Already received two approvals from Emil (PCG) and April (Atmire).

Frontend:

• Francesco addressed outstanding review comments during the meeting.
• Emil will be notified that requested changes have been completed.
• Frontend review and testing can now resume.

Tim thanked Francesco for the quick turnaround and indicated he would help test the frontend if needed.

Merger Pull Request: Additional External Authorities

The team reviewed a draft pull request adding several external authority integrations from DSpace-CRIS.

Current blockers include:

• A CodeQL warning that requires investigation.
• Lack of clear configuration and testing documentation.

Adamo explained that the CodeQL issue may be a false positive and agreed to investigate further and document the findings.

Tim noted that CodeQL occasionally reports false positives and requested that comments be added directly to the PR to assist reviewers.

Tim and Katarina indicated they are waiting primarily for:

• Resolution of the CodeQL warning
• Clear instructions describing:
  • Configuration
  • Enabling the authorities
  • Testing procedures

Once documentation is added, review can proceed.

Future Merger Work

Lia noted that Adamo has opened a draft pull request for configurable layouts.

Adamo explained that work is still ongoing. Remaining tasks include:

• Completing the frontend implementation.
• Renaming CRIS layout terminology to "dynamic layout."

The feature will be discussed during a future meeting once it reaches a more complete state.

Backend Code Conventions Guide

The team revisited the backend Code Conventions Guide introduced during the previous meeting.

Purpose:

• Move coding conventions out of the wiki.
• Store documentation directly in the code repository.
• Improve discoverability and long-term maintenance.

Tim reported that feedback from the previous meeting had been incorporated.

Discussion focused on whether additional coding rules should be added before merging.

Consensus was to:

• Merge the initial version now.
• Continue improving the document incrementally through future pull requests.

Several additional coding conventions were suggested for future inclusion.

Mark Wood reminded contributors that several Java conventions are relatively new and deserve careful review.

Discussion also covered the new XML parsing guidance requiring developers to use XML utilities rather than direct parser implementations. Automated Checkstyle enforcement for this rule is currently under development.

Kim completed his review during the meeting, providing the second approval required for merging.

Tim confirmed the PR will be merged after the meeting.

Community members were encouraged to submit small PRs adding individual coding rules over time.

Frontend Code Conventions Guide

Lia presented the initial frontend equivalent of the Code Conventions Guide.

The document mirrors the backend structure and currently includes:

• Angular coding guidance
• Accessibility guidance
• References to ESLint rules
• References to the Angular Style Guide

Discussion focused on the appropriate balance between:

• Repository documentation
• Existing wiki documentation

Ideas discussed included:

• Keeping detailed UI guidance in the wiki.
• Using repository documentation for high-level conventions.
• Linking directly from repository documentation into relevant wiki sections.

The existing UI guidelines were also reviewed.

Several observations were made:

• Some guidance may now be outdated.
• Existing guidelines could benefit from restructuring.
• Better organization would improve discoverability.

Potential improvements include grouping guidance by:

• Buttons
• Layout
• Navigation
• Icons
• Accessibility
• Page structure

Sasha raised the need to include responsive design testing as an explicit review guideline.

Lia suggested adding a rule requiring developers to verify interfaces on small, medium, and large screen sizes.

Mark also distinguished between:

• Accessibility-focused coding practices
• User interface design decisions

These may require different forms of documentation.

The team agreed that the wiki should likely be reorganized and modernized while the new frontend conventions document serves as an entry point into that documentation.

Further discussion will continue during next week's meeting.

Other Topics

Spell Check Feature Restoration

Stefano Maffei introduced work restoring DSpace's spell check capability.

He explained that:

• The original issue had recently been automatically closed as stale.
• Most of the backend functionality already existed.
• Missing components were:
  • REST support
  • Frontend integration

Three pull requests have been created:

• Backend
• Frontend
• REST contract update

Tim thanked Stefano for reviving the work and reminded participants that stale issues can always be reopened when someone is prepared to continue development.

Eike volunteered to test the implementation.

Tim also assigned himself to review all three pull requests.

MIME Type Detection Improvements

Mark Wood highlighted a newly opened pull request that replaces file-extension-based MIME type detection with content-based detection using Apache Tika.

Current behavior:

• Determines file type solely from filename extension.

Proposed behavior:

• Detects file type by inspecting actual file contents.

Tim agreed this is a significant improvement that has been requested for many years.

Discussion noted that:

• Apache Tika is already a project dependency.
• The implementation appears relatively straightforward.
• Future backporting may also be possible.

Mark and Giuseppe volunteered to review and test the feature.

Cypress Test Modernization

Eike Löhden introduced a draft pull request updating deprecated Cypress methods used throughout end-to-end tests.

The work is intended as cleanup prior to expanding automated test coverage.

Two tests remain under investigation before the pull request will leave draft status.

Tim thanked Eike for proactively addressing technical debt and offered assistance if debugging becomes necessary.

Needs Discussion Items

Due to time constraints, the remaining agenda items were postponed.

Tim briefly highlighted two issues for future discussion:

• A feature request involving temporary access links that appears conceptually similar to Request a Copy.
• Improvements for handling very large batch uploads.

Community members were encouraged to participate in discussions asynchronously before the next meeting.

Action Items

• Tim to draft DSpace 11 release schedule within the next one to two weeks.
• Tim to merge the backend Code Conventions Guide.
• Reviewers to retest the PDF metadata extraction PR following recent refactoring.
• Emil to review updated frontend Excel import changes.
• Adamo to investigate the CodeQL warning and provide testing instructions for external authorities.
• Community members to volunteer for testing and reviewing merger-related pull requests.
• Lia and contributors to continue refining the frontend Code Conventions Guide.
• Community to evaluate restructuring and updating the frontend UI guidelines in the wiki.
• Eike and Tim to review the restored spell check feature.
• Mark and Giuseppe to review the Apache Tika MIME type detection implementation.
• Eike to complete the Cypress modernization PR after resolving remaining test failures.
• Deferred "Needs Discussion" issues to be revisited in a future meeting.