CKAN Monthly Newsletter #4

Hello fellow CKANers,

Welcome to the new edition of the CKAN Monthly Newsletter! As we look back on the previous months, it's clear that the momentum behind CKAN is stronger than ever. Let's take a moment to recap some highlights:

In our previous editions, we've celebrated the long-anticipated release of CKAN 2.10, a major update bringing various new features and improvements such as CSRF protection for frontend forms, refactoring of the authentication logic in favor of Flask-login, new CLI commands for API token management, and support for signals to allow subscriber-based features in extensions, and much more.

We were also thrilled to introduce you to the CKAN 3.0 Taskforce, a dedicated team assembled to spearhead the development of CKAN 3.0. You can learn more about their work here: CKAN 3.0 Taskforce Board.

Our recent editions spotlighted the noteworthy National Science Foundation CKAN POSE project, a strategic collaboration between the University of Pittsburgh and datHere. This initiative is aimed at fortifying the CKAN ecosystem through the support of the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Pathways to Enable Open-Source Ecosystems (POSE) program. Their efforts have been instrumental in engaging diverse roles within the ecosystem and have ignited exciting conversations and collaborations. Keep an eye to the project website to learn more.

As we forge ahead, we are eager to continue providing the CKAN community with important news and insights. So, without further ado, let's dive into what this edition has to offer. Enjoy the read!

Heighlights

• New security releases for CKAN 2.10 and 2.9 - Update your CKAN sites to the latest release to patch important vulnerabilities.

News

• Patches for CKAN versions 2.10 and 2.9 have been released
  • This is a must-apply update to secure your CKAN sites against potential vulnerabilities! This update mends a crucial vulnerability that could lead to Remote Code Execution vulnerabilities, disclosure of private data, or DOS attacks (CVE-2023-32321). Further information can be found on the official CKAN blog: https://ckan.org/blog/new-security-releases-for-ckan-210-and-29
• On the way to CKAN 3.0
  • Progress is being made towards the development of CKAN 3.0, including technical research and community discussions on the use of SQL engines. The discussion and feedback can be viewed on GitHub: https://github.com/ckan/ckan/issues/7551
  • The concept of a "Call Home" functionality was discussed during a developer meeting. This feature could be implemented in stages, from displaying a banner to registering all CKAN instances in a catalog and checking them against the latest versions. This discussion can be followed on GitHub: https://github.com/ckan/ckan/issues/7587
  • The community has been having a productive conversation about the use of graph databases. More input is welcomed and can be added to the discussion on GitHub: https://github.com/ckan/ckan/issues/7489
  • At this stage we’re actively seeking commitment from companies, teams, and individuals from the community to contribute to CKAN. If you recognize the absence of vital features and have the willingness to contribute, we highly value your thoughts and ideas. We encourage you to reach out to Alex at alex.gostev@ckan.org with your insights. He will be more than happy to coordinate the subsequent steps and guide you through the process.
  • Next steps: The next steps involve transforming the insights and feedback gathered into actionable tasks and beginning to fill out the project backlog. Technical competency is required at this stage to enable the implementation of ideas.
• Data API dialog Improvements
  • The CKAN Data API Dialog got a “facelift”, now with examples provided for curl, JavaScript, PowerShell, Python and R: https://github.com/ckan/ckan/pull/7578
• Datatables View
  • Customization of how NULL values are displayed in datatables views is now available. Previously, these values were always shown as "None". This can be seen on GitHub Pull Request: https://github.com/ckan/ckan/pull/7574

Updates

• CKAN Monthly Live
  • We are excited to announce that our next guest at CKAN Monthly Live will be Code for Africa, who manage the openAFRICA CKAN instance, the largest volunteer-driven data portal in Africa. Code for Africa is a leading figure in promoting transparency and accountability, advocating for open data, and empowering citizens through technology. Join us to hear about their journey with openAFRICA, gain insights into their work, and learn about the potential of open data in addressing social, economic, and environmental challenges.
    • When: 21 June at 13:00 UTC
    • Reserve your spot here.
  • Join the conversation: Share your project at CKAN Monthly Live! Are you interested in sharing your thoughts or experiences during a CKAN Monthly Live session? We'd love to have you! To express your interest, simply fill out this form.

Extension updates

• New ckanext-harvest and ckanext-dcat versions available with various fixes for CKAN 2.10 compatibility.

GitHub Updates

Have something to share?

As we prepare for the upcoming issue, we would like to encourage everyone to share any relevant information or updates with our team. To facilitate this process, we kindly request that you send your contributions to either Alex or Yoana. Thanks for being part of this!

Want to get involved?
We're a diverse and distributed community of 240 contributors from all over the world and diverse backgrounds, united by our mission to create the best data management system on the internet.

If you love data and python then join one of the weekly Dev Meetings. These are open to anyone so feel free to drop by and ask questions or just listen in. Maybe you can even help with issues marked as Good for Contribution or tackle some of the project's Rockstar Tickets listed here.

• Chat with us on Gitter
• Join Dev Meetings

Need help with CKAN?
If you’re stuck on anything, chances are the answers await you on Stackoverflow or in the docs. GitHub Discussions is the place to connect with the community, share your projects and ask questions or support requests about CKAN.

If you want to report a bug or an actual issue with the CKAN software or documentation, please post it on the issue tracker. For security-related issues please email security@ckan.org.

• GitHub Discussions
• Check Stackoverflow
• Create an issue on GitHub
• Chat with us on Gitter
  

Share Your Experience
Join the conversation on @CKANproject and share your experience using #CKAN! Don’t forget to subscribe to the CKAN Association YouTube Channel to receive updates!

Stay Connected
Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube and join our LinkedIn Group to get notified and be able to sign up for future sessions. You can also visit our website and blog to learn more! Our LinkedIn Page is brand new - follow us there and spread the word!

Thank you for being a part of the CKAN community, and we look forward to keeping you informed and engaged in the months ahead!

Best regards,
CKAN Project Team