Happy Birthday Drupal 8

Daniel Schiavone — Sun, 19 Nov 2017 21:26:57 +0000

Happy Birthday Drupal 8

By Daniel Schiavone on November 19, 2017

Drupal 8 turns 2

Drupal 8 was released two years ago on November 19, 2015 but the latest version really came of age in 2017. Before this year, building on Drupal 8 was an adventure filled with custom code, limited contributed modules, and dependency roadblocks. Every Drupal release is followed by several months when contributed modules are catching up - but Drupal 8 changed the way we code.

Post release jitters

As of today there are 1,496 modules with stable releases for Drupal 8. But until recently there have been some notable omissions. Back in April when the community was sprinting at DrupalCon Baltimore there was still a lot of work to be done with Media and we didn’t have a working release for Rules. Essential modules like these are installed on most Drupal sites. Building without these modules necessitates custom code or less desireable solutions. We’re just getting to the point where the most popular modules have caught up.

Updating contrib modules has also been made more complicated by some major changes introduced in recent point releases. Each of the last two major point releases has introduced APIs that other modules depend on. For example, the 8.3 release included a Layout API that supplies the underpinnings for popular modules like Display Suite, Panelizer and Panels. Though the capabilities introduced by the new Layout API propel Drupal into a whole new level of functionality, the update also sent a waves of updates into the contributor community. For more about Layouts see Dries’ post “An update on the Layout Initiative for Drupal 8.4/8.5”.

Similarly, the inclusion of Media API in the Drupal 8.4 release this October opened a floodgate of changes needed for Media related modules. Many Media module maintainers are just catching up with necessary adjustments. The new release schedule makes module updates more complicated than what we’re used to.

What’s in a version number

There were many big changes in Drupal 8 but in many ways the most dramatic change was the move to a semantic versioning. And as we’ve seen with the last two point releases major functionality and APIs are getting introduced regularly. For site owners this means a constant flow of new capabilities and functionality. But this also means more complicated point updates necessitating additional testing and patches for modules. The trade off is well worth the steady advancement were seeing. In 2017 we all had to learn to step into point releases cautiously and budget time accordingly.

It's time for Drupal 8

When a major Drupal release arrives those of us who build on the platform immediately find ourselves trying to answer questions like, “When should I upgrade?” or “Should I build this new site with the latest Drupal”. Until this year the answers to these questions have depended on specific information about a project. How complex is the project? How long will the project take? Back in November 2015 I even posted a Drupal upgrade decision tree. For new sites the decision is simple: Build in Drupal 8. The decision to upgrade Drupal 7 is still a bit complicated.

How much time does Drupal 7 have?

Drupal 7 will be supported for a while yet. Historically, version support has been tied to Drupal releases but this is likely to change as evidenced by the discussion on the release cycle page. Back in November 2015 in my post, “When will support end for Drupal 6?”, I estimated end of life for Drupal 7 would occur at the beginning of 2019. That date seems too soon now. Right now there’s not a lot of chatter about Drupal 9. Besides, there’s too much work being done on the Drupal 8 ecosystem anyway. And even if a new version could be released in two or three years, support for Drupal 7 is likely to continue for some time after that. There’s just too large of an installed base. We don’t know when we’ll have to upgrade Drupal 7 sites but it’s not going to be soon.

If you’re ready to move to Drupal 8 you’ll be happy to know that there’s a lot of work being done on making upgrades easier. Check out the tools and processes we already have for upgrading Drupal 6 and 7 sites to Drupal 8. We’ll be ready when the time comes.

Drupal 8

Upgrading

Drupal Upgrade Decision Tree (infographic)

Daniel Schiavone — Wed, 04 Nov 2015 12:26:46 +0000

Drupal Upgrade Decision Tree (infographic)

By Daniel Schiavone on November 4, 2015

Drupal upgrade decision tree

SHOULD YOU UPGRADE TO DRUPAL 7 OR DRUPAL 8?

With the announcement that Drupal 8 will be released on November 19th you might be asking whether you should upgrade to Drupal 7 or jump right to Drupal 8. Drupal 8 offers a lot of benefits like state of the art authoring tools and improvements in mobile support, accessibility, APIs, performance along with better multilingual support. But until contributed modules have matured, the decision needs to be based on your specific situation. If the modules you’ll be using support Drupal 8 or if your project will run into the later part of 2015, then jumping straight to Drupal 8 will likely make the most sense. Many modules already have dev or alpha releases and many of those will have full releases shortly after the Drupal 8 release date. A large Drupal project will take time to gather requirements and plan. By the time discovery and planning are complete many contributed modules will be available. Add in months of development and you'll be on solid ground building with Drupal 8. If you need to get a site up quickly or you’re depending on a lot of modules that aren't yet available for Drupal 8 then building with Drupal 7 is a safe bet.

ARE YOU USING DRUPAL 7?

If you’re using Drupal 7, then you’ll have support for at least years to come. Support typically runs until the release after next. So support will run at least until the Drupal 9 release. But you may want to update your design (called a Theme in Drupalspeak). A redesign ensures that you’re reaching tablet and mobile users and offers an opportunity to improve usability and effectiveness. Design is not subjective. Your existing site offers a window into user behaviour and points to what’s worked and what hasn’t - insights that will make your website more valuable.

The Drupal 8 Decision Tree uses these major factors to outline the decision to upgrade. But you may want to consult with a knowledgeable Drupal professional to take a closer look at your specific situation.

Drupal 8

Upgrading