Drupal Release: 7.15

TL;DR

Drupal 7.15 is a maintenance release that includes numerous bug fixes, documentation improvements, and minor enhancements. Key updates include improved entity language support, fixes for EntityFieldQuery to properly handle taxonomy and non-node entities, security improvements for AJAX dialogs, and performance optimizations for field synchronization. This release focuses on stability and developer experience rather than introducing major new features.

Highlight of the Release

• Introduction of entity language support with improved documentation
• Fixed EntityFieldQuery to properly handle taxonomy bundles and non-node entities
• Performance improvements for field synchronization that dramatically speeds up installation
• Security enhancement for AJAX alert dialogs to respect error display settings
• Added ability to remove top-level pages from books

Migration Guide

No significant migration steps are required for this maintenance release. This is a standard update that fixes bugs and improves documentation without introducing breaking changes.

To update to Drupal 7.15:

1. Back up your database and site files
2. Put your site into maintenance mode
3. Replace your existing Drupal core files with the new Drupal 7.15 files, leaving your sites directory and custom files intact
4. Run update.php by visiting http://www.example.com/update.php (replace example.com with your domain)
5. Take your site out of maintenance mode

If you're using custom modules that extend EntityFieldQuery or work with taxonomy bundles, you may want to test these thoroughly after upgrading, as this release includes fixes that could affect their behavior.

Upgrade Recommendations

This is a maintenance release containing important bug fixes, documentation improvements, and minor enhancements. While it doesn't include critical security fixes, it addresses several issues that could affect site stability and performance.

Recommendation level: Recommended

Sites experiencing any of the specific issues fixed in this release should upgrade as soon as possible. For other sites, this is a beneficial but not urgent upgrade that can be scheduled during your regular maintenance window.

Sites using EntityFieldQuery with taxonomy or non-node entities, multilingual features, or experiencing performance issues during installation will particularly benefit from this update.

Bug Fixes

Form and Field Handling

• Fixed issue where field form structure was incomplete if field_access() returns FALSE
• Fixed notice: Undefined index in image_field_prepare_view()
• Fixed form error reporting fallback to respect Drupal documentation
• Fixed issue with optional radio buttons with empty, non-NULL default values causing illegal choice errors
• Fixed form_state_values_clean() polluting form values
• Fixed missing form_id, form_build_id, and form_token when using custom #parents and #tree = TRUE

Entity and Field Issues

• Fixed EntityFieldQuery to properly handle taxonomy bundles and non-node entities
• Fixed issue with TaxonomyTermController->buildQuery() causing "Illegal string offset 'field'" error
• Fixed inconsistent results from field_has_data() that could lead to data loss
• Fixed field_ui_table_pre_render() strict warning

JavaScript and UI

• Fixed floating tableheader 'Select all' checkbox not updating
• Fixed Simpletest behaviors processing elements multiple times
• Fixed global selector in states.js breaking some scripts
• Fixed autocomplete firing on readonly fields
• Fixed autocomplete item selection in IE7
• Fixed first plural index on a page not being calculated correctly

Performance and Installation

• Improved performance of field_sync_field_status() to speed up installation
• Optimized taxonomy_update_7005() for better performance

Multilingual Support

• Fixed language detection by domain only working on port 80
• Fixed issue with searching for untranslated strings
• Added locale support for jQuery UI Datepicker

Other Fixes

• Fixed authorize.php not respecting custom session handlers
• Fixed issue with update notifications not being sent
• Fixed image_style_delete_form() not taking form_state by reference (prevented image styles from being deleted on PHP 5.4)
• Fixed trim() expecting parameter 1 to be string, array given in request_path()
• Fixed AJAX alert dialogs exposing server info by not respecting display_errors settings

New Features

Entity Language Support

Introduced entity language support with improved documentation, providing a more consistent way to handle multilingual content across different entity types.

Enhanced EntityFieldQuery

Fixed EntityFieldQuery to properly support taxonomy bundles and non-node entities, making it more versatile for developers working with Drupal's entity system.

Variable for Password Reset Link Expiration

Added a configurable variable for the timeout/expiration of user password reset links, allowing site administrators to customize security settings.

jQuery UI Datepicker Localization

Added locale support for jQuery UI Datepicker, improving the user experience for multilingual sites.

Improved Book Module Functionality

Enhanced the book module to allow top-level pages to be removed from books, providing more flexibility in content organization.

Security Updates

AJAX Alert Dialog Security

Fixed AJAX alert dialogs to respect the display_errors PHP setting and Drupal's error_level configuration, preventing exposure of sensitive server information in error messages.

Password Reset Links

Added a variable for the timeout/expiration of user password reset links, allowing administrators to configure security settings according to their requirements.

Performance Improvements

Installation Performance

Fixed field_sync_field_status() to avoid needlessly rebuilding module data, which dramatically speeds up installation processes.

Taxonomy Updates

Optimized taxonomy_update_7005() to run faster, improving performance during updates.

Testing Framework Improvements

Split setUp() into specific sub-methods to fix testing framework regressions, making tests run more efficiently.

Forum Index Optimization

Added more indexes on {forum_index} table to improve query performance for forum-related operations.

Impact Summary

Drupal 7.15 is primarily a maintenance release that focuses on bug fixes, documentation improvements, and minor enhancements rather than introducing major new features.

The most significant improvements include enhanced entity language support, fixes for EntityFieldQuery to properly handle taxonomy and non-node entities, and performance optimizations that speed up installation processes. These changes particularly benefit developers working with Drupal's entity system and multilingual sites.

Security is improved by making AJAX alert dialogs respect error display settings, preventing potential information disclosure. The addition of a configurable timeout for password reset links gives administrators more control over security policies.

For content editors and site administrators, fixes to the book module, forum functionality, and image style handling improve day-to-day content management tasks. The fix for update notifications ensures administrators stay informed about available updates.

Overall, this release enhances stability, performance, and developer experience while addressing several long-standing issues in Drupal 7's core functionality.