uPortal Vision and Roadmap (All Versions)

This page attempts to detail the current visions and roadmap for future major versions of uPortal. This is an evolving document. The current uPortal Releases document may also be of interest.

uPortal 2.6

Vision: uPortal 2.6.x has numerous established production usages. While uPortal 3.0 and later evolve from uPortal 2.x, uPortal 2.6 remains closer to uPortal's 2.x legacy than does the 3.x codebase, as is appropriate given its version numbering. uPortal 2.6, as the latest and last of the 2.x lineage, is the maintenance branch in which the uPortal project continues to support the 2.x adopters. At least one more formal patch release of uPortal 2.6 is envisioned, with more possible, especially targeted at conservative fixes maintaining the stability of this most conservative branch among active uPortal branches and at features easing upgrade from this codebase to the later and more exciting uPortal releases.

Current Status: Under Development
Current Version: 2.6.1.1
Upcoming Version: 2.6.2

Goal	Description	Interested Parties	Work Effort	Dependencies	Status
Data export capabilities	Implemented with Cernunnos, these capabilities are already present in the maintenance branch tip. The 2.6.2 release will formally make these available for download.	Andrew Wills, Andrew Petro, Johns Hopkins University, Yale University, Unicon,	Effort is largely complete. Remaining effort is release engineering. More documentation and examples of use would be welcome.	Effort is largely complete. Remaining effort is release engineering.	Pending release

uPortal 3.0

Vision: The uPortal 3.0.x framework has been available since April 2008 and is currently being adopted by a number of institutions. Bug-fix and security patches will continue to be applied to the 3.0 codebase and patch releases will be provided as necessary.

Current Status: Under Development
Current Version: 3.0.1
Upcoming Version: 3.0.2

Goal	Description	Interested Parties	Work Effort	Dependencies	Status
Performance Improvements	Unicon, UW-Madison, Pearson				Pending Release: UP-2124

uPortal 3.1

Vision: The uPortal 3.0 release included a number of core architectural changes which will allow for the development and implantation of the ideas listed here. These items are viewed as the most important for the next uPortal release to continue the trend of making the framework easier to extend.

Current Status: Under Development

Goal	Description	Interested Parties	Work Effort	Dependencies	Status
Stand-Alone Groups and Permissions Framework	Remove the GaPs framework code from the uPortal project and instead depend on an externally built and provided library. Similar to what was done with Person Directory for 3.0		Medium	None	A stand-alone version of the GaPs framework exists and has been converted to use Maven and Spring for configuration. Re-integration to uPortal is now needed.
Fluid Layout Customizer	Provide an accessible JavaScript interface for layout customization	FLUID Project, Unicon Inc., UW-Madison	Medium	None	Work is in progress by developers from the FLUID Project and other interested parties.
Identity and Attribute swapper tools	Tools to allow portal administrators to assume the identity of another user or use user-attributes from another user	UW-Madison	Medium	None	Pending Release
Performance Improvements	Unicon, UW-Madison, Pearson				Pending Release: UP-2124

uPortal 3.2

Vision: In keeping with a regular release schedule and in respect to available development resources uPortal 3.1 will not be able to contain all of the features uPortal community members are interested in. Building on the uPortal 3.1 developments to provide greater extensibility and additional interesting features for the community.

Current Status: Planning

Goal	Description	Interested Parties	Work Effort	Dependencies
Spring-Configured Rendering Pipeline	Decompose the single rendering pipeline class into components defined by well designed interfaces and configure the pipeline via Spring. This change will allow greater local flexibility in adding interesting layout related features for users		High	None
Unified Content Caching	Move all caching in the rendering pipeline to use the standardized caching framework. This will allow more direct control over layout rendering performance for differing usage patterns.	UW-Madison	Low	Spring-Configured Rendering Pipeline
Updated Administrative UIs	Update Channel, Groups and Permissions management UIs using Spring WebFlow 2 with help from the Fluid project		High