I somehow missed this (I rarely look at the GEDCOM changelog), but 3-4 weeks ago, GEDCOM 7 was updated to GEDCOM 7.0.15. The date in the accompanying PDF file shows “27 August 2024” but it looks like the file specs were released earlier this month. I am not sure if this constitutes a “major” or “minor” release of the genealogical specification, but it’s the first release in over 7 months (going back to early February). It looks like it’s mainly clearing up some inconsistencies/documention
For most of us reading this, it doesn’t mean a lot – this is more for developers who will incorporate any and all changes into their import/export part of their genealogy software.
If you want to do a deep dive into it:
https://gedcom.io/specifications/FamilySearchGEDCOMv7.html
The changes are listed below, and you can download the specs/information from GitHub:
https://github.com/FamilySearch/GEDCOM/releases/tag/v7.0.15
| GEDCOM 7.0.15 – 27 August 2024 |
Clarified that FORM.MEDI describe the original medium, not the derived medium, when used with derived files. |
Clarified the meaning of the WWW structure, which previously only mentioned its payload datatype. |
Clarified PLAC to both define “jurisdiction” and document its meaning in the absence of a PLAC.FORM. |
Clarified what the term “principal date” means in different contexts in the definition of g7:DATE. |
Updated NICK to no longer suggest that some names are “improper” and to document the diversity of views in what a “nickname” is. |
| Removed confusing reference to superstructures in the meaning of a documented extension tag. |
| Added ABNF for more datatypes and updated DIGIT’s capitalization for compatibility with more ABNF toolchains. |
| Various typo corrections. |
I dont understand. The current modern version of Gedcom is 5.5.5.
Why dwell on this homophobic fantasy ‘Gedcom’ version that is not even Gedcom compatible? All the good bits are stolen from the 5.5.5 standard, the rest is embarrassingly bad.