What distinguishes D9 from D8 or D7?
D9 has all the functionality found in D8, but with a cleaner, more concise codebase. D9 will use this ground-breaking technology to carry on D8's tradition of constant growth, with new features launched every 6 months.
What can be expected with an upgrade to D9?
The migration from D8 to D9 is a straightforward big version upgrade (possibly the easiest in 10 years). Some D8 modules are compliant with D9 already. If you're using D8, your hosting already complies with D9's minimum specifications, and your contributed themes and modules are D9 compliant too so the upgrade should take around 30 minutes.
If you're using an older version of D8, or if you're using modules and themes that aren’t compatible, naturally it will take longer.
Do you need to be a Drupal developer to use D9?
No, actually!
Drupal is becoming increasingly user-friendly with each version, so its made great strides since its first launch in 2009. This latest release is no different. D9 improves accessibility to make Drupal's immense technological capability even more available to everyday people.
Many of D8's accessibility updates are included in D9, including, Layout Builder, editorial workflows and management of media, to name a few. Drupal is dedicated to providing a positive user interface, so whether you're a content developer, a website designer, or an IT support professional, you should expect Drupal to continue to improve usability in the future.
What big new features have been added lately, and what’s on the horizon?
API-first architecture, including the JSON: API, which allows the advancement of stable decoupled and headless apps; and the Media Library, which simplifies the management of images, video, and other services.
Among the upcoming features that will emphasise accessibility are an improved admin interface, a new default theme, an emphasis on automated upgrades.
What is D9’s differentiator compared to other content management systems?
For large-scale immersive activities, D9 is here. Drupal is fantastic for enabling users to build robust immersive interactions using cutting-edge web technologies, whereas other CMS frameworks rely on out-of-the-box models or industry-specific implementations. Beyond the fact that it has ready-to-use themes, Drupal's true power lies in its simplicity and richness.
What factors should I consider when deciding whether Drupal is the best for my project?
Because of features like multi-channel publishing, reusable content and personalisation, Drupal is a fantastic option for creating the ideal web environment for consumers.
What are the device specifications for D9?
The Drupal code specifications documentation guide goes through all of D9's device criteria in detail.
What has been the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on the D9 rollout?
Despite the chaos, D9 was launched on schedule in June 2020. This remarkable achievement exemplifies Drupal's community.
We wrote more on the impact of the pandemic on the end of life of D7 and 8 in this article.
Can D9 be used in a GDPR-compliant environment?
GDPR is a regulation on data protection and privacy in the EU and EEA, but it extends to data in all EU and EEA members, regardless of whether the individual or service in question is physically located in the EU or EEA.
Drupal is often used in GDPR-compliant ways. Drupal is used to fuel a significant portion of the European Commission's website. It's important to note that GDPR enforcement is largely a business decision problem, not a technical one. GDPR doesn’t stipulate a set of technical requirements to be met, but rather instructions to be followed.
How soon do you think the D9 contributed module and theme environment will be available?
Most of Drupal's top 200 contributed modules have already been upgraded to D9, and upgrading a framework or theme to D9 is a fairly straightforward method. The maintainer of a contributed project must correct their documents and delete obsolete code from their module or theme. Updates to render D9 modules compliant can also be contributed by community developers in the form of a Yml package.
There are some resources available to assist you in identifying obsolete code.
How do we know when a contributed module is D9-ready?
When browsing for compatible modules, make sure to filter for D9 compatibility. When browsing a Drupal project tab, a compatibility message appears next to module updates.
What will happen to D7 now D9 is here?
D7 will receive ongoing community assistance, including security upgrades up to November 2022. Users that aren’t able to upgrade to D9 after November 2022 can enrol in the D7 Extended Support kit, which will be valid until 2024. There are a few places where you can get a subscription to this show.
What will happen to D8 now D9 is here?
D8 will receive ongoing community assistance, including security upgrades, until November 2021. D8 users will need to upgrade to D9 after November 2021 to continue providing assistance. D8 (and later) is dependent on third-party libraries such as Symfony, and Drupal's support cycle is aligned with theirs.
Since they share the same fundamental architecture, updating from D8 to D9 is the simplest it's been in nearly ten years.
What does it mean that Drupal 10 will be released in 2022?
Drupal 10 will be launched in 2022 to coincide with the lifecycles of closely related third-party projects such as Symfony and Twig.
The upgrade to Drupal 10 would be simple for D9 users, requiring just a little extra attention to obsolete code and redesigned libraries.
What about multilingual support in D9?
When upgrading to D9, all of D8's comprehensive multilingual features are retained, and no re-architecture is needed. Future updates to Drupal's multilingual capability will be available in D9 and older only, so get on board now!