GitLab 15.0 GitLab Kickoff, 15 Apr 2022

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From YouTube: Enablement:Global Search - GitLab 15.0 Kickoff

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https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/search-team/team-tasks/-/issues/93

A

Hi, I'm john mcguire and I'm with the global search group, I'm going to take you through some of the changes that we're really excited about coming up in the major release for get lab 15-0.

A

So the first thing we're looking at with 15-0 is a um a pretty big change for us. We've been working on getting the elasticsearch and open search versions compatible with gitlab, uh since they were since elasticsearch 8 recently came out. uh The focus for this and the priority is, is first to get elasticsearch 8x versions working with gitlab, so we have started through this process. We expect to finish in the 15-0 time frame and um terry. Do you? Would you like to invite us a little bit about?

A

What's some of the challenge we've had with uh trying to get elasticsearch 8 working with with git lab with gdk.

B

Yeah, I think some of that was around the removal of like the document types from uh the support for elasticsearch 8.. I think we were able to get away with not dealing with that, because we are just having warnings in version 7.x, but once you move to 8.x those are not warnings anymore. um Part of the process of moving to 8 means that we would need to deprecate 6.8 from what we support and that did require a lot of code changes a lot of those.

B

The document type support code that I mentioned was because of this us needing to support 6.8.

B

So that was a lot of code removal which we were happy to do, um and I, I think also we worked on upgrading the elastic search, client version to a newer version to allow us to support elasticsearch.

B

Just recently, we were able to get that working in some of the ci tests. um We are continuing to work through some of the issues that we've seen there, but right now it's looking really great for fifetino.

A

That's a that's actually also serves a really good reminder, so we um we are deprecating. This note has gone out in the last release, but we are deprecating elasticsearch 6.8. This is a planned deprecation. Removal uh that we were expecting when elasticsearch came out currently today.

A

Elastic doesn't uh support elasticsearch 68, so if any of the patches and changes need to come up, everything's going to be in a later version, um it's also important to note that uh when it, when elastic comes out with their patches, they only do it for the last two minor versions.

A

So if you want to keep up with all the security updates and changes that are out there, it's definitely recommended to keep your elastic search uh deployments within the the most recent two minor versions, um and that takes us into another piece which is last year: aws had forked elastic search code and renamed it with open search and open search is used by a lot, or at least wants to be used by a lot of customers wanting to use open, search with aws.

A

They have a lot of things running in aws um currently because of a client it doesn't. It doesn't work with gitlab.

A

uh We are, we've heard lots of comments from our customers and are working with them, and the plan is to also get this working for 15.00 a lot of the same similarities with what it took to get elasticsearch 8 working with the addition of a client change, and that is uh something I know that a lot of our customers that run in aws are really looking forward to and have definitely had a lot of comments about.

A

Going into that, there is another thing that we are deprecating as we we do with major versions: um we're removing the old, advanced search, migrations and uh terry. Can you tell us a little bit about why we remove those migrations.

B

Yes, so um for this is the second time that we're we're doing this since the advanced migration event search migrations were introduced, we decided at every major release. We would deprecate any old, advanced search migrations.

B

I believe we do them for one. We keep the ones that are in from like the one release prior, so anything that was created prior to 14, 10 uh will be deprecated and any advanced search, migrations that were created during the 1410 release would still stay in place. That allows people to follow an upgrade process for gitlab. That brings them up to the latest release prior to 150 and then do the major release upgrade.

B

The reason why we want to do this is kind of we have a lot of checks in the code to say when this migration is done.

B

Kind of you know go this route versus going to other, which is great for allowing us to continue to make changes to gitlab as we introduce new migrations and make different different updates to the code into the elastic search index.

B

But we want to try to reduce those if statements all of the checks that we have to put in the code, so taking the migrations and deprecating them allows us to remove all of that code and make our code base a little bit simpler to read. So I would say: that's a big push for that and we're happy to be able to do this as part of the 15-0 release. It just makes everything more.

A

And so so kind of drilling down into that just a little bit right. So we have, um you, know gitlab 14.9 and anything that is 49 or older will be.

A

You know it won't be compatible and migrate into 14, 10 or 15, oh right, because those will be removed by 15 0, so you'll need to upgrade before you do that right.

B

Yeah, I believe the upgrade process that we recommend is they need to come up to 1410.

A

B

Everything and all of the migrations need to be completed then, once that happens, they can move to 15l and, of course, anyone that installs 150 will get. They will have. You know just the migrations that are that are not deprecated great.

A

Yep makes a lot of sense, yeah, absolutely okay, um going into the next item. We're going to have a couple really exciting front. End changes, so we've um we've been really wanting to make some more front-end changes to the search experience and really start to improve it. We're really starting to to make that point now where we actually see changes that are coming up every milestone, every other milestone.

A

So one of the more useful features that we've had, but a lot of customers, a lot of users weren't really familiar with it, or it was kind of difficult to reference. How to go and use it was our advanced search, syntax.

A

It's really helpful, especially when you're looking at code search, but it is helpful for all of the search. This is available through advanced search.

A

So once you have the elastic search, integration or open search piece in then you'd be able to to use these the special syntax to filter down your search by an inline query, and we are going to make this more obvious. So what we are looking at um today, it's it's hidden away in a document, uh you're gonna see syntax options appear right above the search bar and then that will launch out a a pop-out page.

A

It gives you a quick instruction of of what these actual changes look like or how not change look, but what the actual syntax is uh with examples and links, if you, if you'd, want to use them to actually demonstrate it and see how to use that syntax.

A

And so the next change we're looking at is one of our most visible changes, because it's going to be on almost every page, we get lab and it's actually expanding the search bar out. So you you do see this on other sites today that when you, when you actually um click into the search bar, uh you will see it expand out and give you more room to type and actually have uh details about like what what you're trying to specify. So this will um be in 150 as well.

A

uh It will adapt to the size of the screen, and um that is tomas. Do you have anything else to add for that.

C

uh Yeah exactly so so now we will have more room um for to add uh additional information into that search bar, so you can adjust uh type your search, but you will also have easier time to see additional uh information that will help you with your search.

A

C

That's a good point.

A

That's a good point, so it actually expands out on what you can see for um the autocomplete options.

A

You have more space to kind of display what can actually show underneath it, uh and one of the things that we're going to do with that space is. Is our next change right.

C

Exactly yeah so we're the first thing that we're gonna add into that. uh um Real estate is going to be indication of the scopes which we we have now, but it's not as uh as nice and clear as it's gonna, be in the expanded uh search bar.

A

Yeah so right in the search bar uh it'll not be as much of a mystery as it used to be on what the scope you're searching in is.

A

You can also see, in this view, the kind of cleaner layout that gives more space to show additional auto-complete items like the recently viewed issues or recently viewed items it doesn't require as wrapping as much, which definitely makes it a lot easier to read. So we're really excited about that. I think it's actually going to increase the search usage and help users find information across gitlab a lot easier, uh and that is what we're looking at for 15 0. So it's really exciting stuff we have coming up.

A

Regarding you know some really good front-end changes to the nav bar, getting our migration pieces completed a couple deprecations and then adding elasticsearch at open search compatibility.

A

Great. Thank you.