IQSS / IQSS/dataverse

Suggestion: TSV - better management of display order and versioning

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Type: Suggestion
Dominant language
Java
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Merged PRs (30d)
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Description

Hi there :)
For the sake of easier code reviewing and file modification, I propose to use the display order a little smarter by incrementing current numbers with a 100 multiplicator.
This won't change the background mechanism but will help to identify changes the display order inside TSV files.
Ex:

field1 100
field2 200
field3 300

could change to

field1 301 or 310
field2 200
field3 300

and new field could be added flawlessly

field1 310
field2 200
field4 210
field3 300

This way it will be easier to see code differences (git diff) either done by Dataverse or compare (diff/meld) with a customized TSV by a Dataverse instance.

Currently, adding a new field in between field forces to rewrite whole ids of the file, for argument sake this is the kind of diff that breaks my heart : https://github.com/IQSS/dataverse/commit/e1383d77d3304418ebf3decfd257ca0610994ce1#diff-9a87ef9131a9320671e94ee2b06991ee64d8ae37ddad2bff052215c55e2ddb10

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Research direction

The issue concerns display-order values in TSV files, with examples of preserving gaps when fields are inserted. Start by locating the Java code that reads and writes these TSV display orders, then determine how existing ordering is maintained. Done means new fields can be inserted without renumbering unrelated fields and the resulting diffs remain focused.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
java
Domain
backend
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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