Joachim van de Haterd
We alluded to this in our previous blog post. As per 2025, we will be numbering our major releases differently. Our new versioning scheme is a mix between semantic versioning and Ubuntu-style versioning.
As a team, we increasingly feel that the 6.X designation is a bit obsolete. 6.0 does not look remotely like 6.8 anymore, both in terms of used techniques and of look and feel. As we gradually switch to JMAP on the server side and GOUI on the client side, the distinction on when to switch major and minor versions is too blurry.
As an alternative is to use a yearly scheme: 25.0 is to be the first big release for the year 2025, 25.1 the next for the year 2025, et cetera.
Our versioning scheme will have the following structure: X.Y.Z, in which X will be the year in two digits. Y is the feature level, so if a new module is added, this value will increase. Z will refer to the patch level.
Licensing and support
Licensing will not change. Paying your yearly fee for a license will entitle a user to update to the newest version as desired. When they stop paying, no problem. They can keep using their currently installed version indefinitely.
Version support will change slightly. Whereas with our current versioning, we support the last three versions, in the future, we will be supporting the last three years. That means that in 2027, we will be supporting 25.X, 26.x and 27.x. Version 6.6 will be obsoleted as soon as 25.0 launches, whereas 6.7 and 6.8 will be deprecated in 2026 and 2027 respectively.
Long term developments
As described in our previous roadmap post, we are modernizing older parts of the application. On the server side, old modules will be entirely rewritten in our JMAP framework. Additionally, we are gradually replacing our ExtJS 3.4 code base with our own Typescript framework. Developers may be interested to see what it can do, so please look to our GOUI website.
Updated roadmap
So what did we develop during 2024 and how will our new versioning scheme impact our road map?
25.0
Our first big release for 2025 is scheduled as soon as possible. We are working out the last kinks. The new features are already listed in Merijn's previous post, but for the sake of completeness, they are listed below:
- New calendar module: Based on the JMAP protocol and more mobile friendly.
- Projects version 3: More modular and light-weight.
- Registration: Familiar but fully refactored.
- Mail server management: Rewritten from scratch with tons af new features.
25.1
Development has already started by our newest colleague. The changes in this version are more gradual, but no less exciting. A rough estimate is that this version is to be released at the end of the second quarter.
- Notes: a new frontend, rewritten in GOUI.
- Comments: one of the first core functions to be de-Extified.
- Bookmarks: another minor module to get the GOUI treatment
- Hours approval: a module that extends the registration module and allows a manager to approve and disapprove any time registrations.
But more importantly, we will reintroduce a kanban module by popular demand.
25.2
This will probably be the last release for 2025, estimated to be released in the final quarter. This release will mostly be focused on refactoring out old ExtJS code in the Group-Office core. We also intend to replace our holidays module by a somewhat broader and more flexible absence module.
26.0
This release will have our biggest JMAP project yet: replacing the E-mail module and its extensions. We will also be looking at the feature requests for E-mail that we have received over the years. The modules we specifically intend to replace in this release are:
- Savemailas, AKA link E-mails to anything and everything
- Sieve
- Sieve editor
- S/Mime
26.1 (or 27.0?)
The last major module to be replaced is to be the files module and a handful of related modules. The modules we wish to replace for this version, are:
- Files
- Document Templates
- File search
- webDAV
- Scanbox