The Drupal world is looking forward to the “ninth edition” of the great drop. It’s going to continue Drupal’s chosen path with its API-first orientation, the latest versions of third-party libraries, advanced editor-friendliness, and much more.
The Drupal 9 release is scheduled to come on June 3, 2020. One more big step has just brought it closer — the Drupal 8.7.7 version.
This is a very special update indeed. In this blog post, we will tell you what’s new in it and why you should update to Drupal 8.7.7 as part of your site’s easy and smooth journey to Drupal 9.
What’s new in Drupal 8.7.7: a big surprise inside
Drupal 8.7.7 came on September 4. Although it’s not even a minor update — it's been called a patch release — it brought a major new feature by introducing a new core versioning system that helps websites be more ready for Drupal 9.
New core version requirement key in Drupal 8.7.7
The new core version requirement key is meant for module and theme creators to mark their project’s compatibility with Drupal core versions. This compatibility can apply to multiple versions — for example, D8 and D9. This was not possible with the old “core: 8.x” key.
Drupal core contributor Gábor Hojtsy described this feature in his blog post. He emphasized that 8.7.7 is the first release to support modules compatible with multiple major core versions.
The key is to be added to the info.yml file of the module or theme:
name: My Module Name
type: module
core_version_requirement: ^8 || ^9
Websites that update to Drupal 8.7.7 now will have another benefit. The new requirement key also allows marking the compatibility with minor and patch releases (e.g. ^8.7, ^8.8, ^8.7.7, ^8.8.0, ^8.7.23, and so on). “Such precision was never possible before!”, Gábor Hojtsy writes.
What happens to the old “core: 8.x” key?
- The old key still exists for core versions prior to 8.7.7. They do not work with the new core_version_requirement key. So web developers will need to list both types of keys in order to allow their code to work with the older and newer versions.
- If modules or themes are not supposed to work with versions older than 8.7.7, it’s enough to just use the new key.
You can read more details about the key in the drupal.org announcement. But why is marking the Drupal 9 compatibility so important, and how should an update to D8.7.7 help your website’s future? The reason comes next.
Drupal 8.7.7 is a step towards your smooth upgrade to Drupal 9
The topic of D9 compatibility for modules and themes is so hot because many D8 websites have a chance to be fully ready for Drupal 9 the day it arrives.
D9 is being built on the basis of D8, but without deprecated code and with new versions of third-party libraries. Websites that are clean from deprecated code and are kept updated will be instantly welcomed to “cloud number 9”!
So if you update to Drupal 8.7.7 now, you will be closer to D9 than ever. Thanks to the new core versioning system, your modules and themes will be ready to “jump” to the ninth Drupal as soon as it comes.
Update to Drupal 8.7.7 and prepare for Drupal 9 with our team!
Our website development services company will help you prepare for Drupal 9 easily:
- perform your website’s update to Drupal 8.7.7
- update your modules and themes
- find and replace the deprecated code
- apply the new core version requirement key
- follow all subsequent updates for your Drupal 9 readiness
- make an upgrade to Drupal 8 (if you are still with the seventh version)
The future looks really bright for websites that follow the latest recommendations. Let yours be among them!