Why Should You Upgrade from Laravel 8 to 9?
With a popularity of 9.45% among developers worldwide in 2022, Laravel is a rapidly used web framework. Since its introduction in 2011, Laravel has witnessed multiple updates.
Each of these updates tends to resolve bugs and security patches and effectively enhance the PHP framework performance. The latest Laravel upgrade was released in February 2022 and has brought significant improvements to its predecessor.
Laravel upgrade 8 to 9 or from other older versions proves fruitful to the software development in multiple ways. However, before you explore the Laravel upgrade, it is crucial to note the following aspects of its latest version:
- It was initially planned to be released in September 2021 but was delayed to ensure Symfony 6 integration.
- PHP 8.0 is a must-have to leverage Laravel 9.
- Minor patch releases will now be available as frequently as every week.
Note: PHP 8.0 has become a must-have as Laravel 9 comes with Symfony 6 integration which itself is dependent upon the PHP 8.0 version.
Let us now explore what’s new in Laravel 9 and what makes the Laravel upgrade a must-have on your bucket list.
Top 10 Reasons For Leveraging Laravel Upgrade 8 to 9
Symfony Mailer – Adding Consistency to the Application
Laravel upgrade 8 to 9 comes with the integration of Symfony mailer, which is a significant shift from the SwiftMailer. Symfony Mailer provides more consistency to the application as it comes with wholesome Laravel support for multipart messages, Twig integration, CSS inlining, file attachments, etc.
Overall, Symfony Mailer is a giant leap for Laravel users as it acts like a powerful CMS for maintaining emails for businesses. However, to ensure 100% compatibility with Symfony mailer, you will need to work on the following aspects of your application:
- Symfony/mailgun-mailer & symfony/http-client composer packages are critical necessities.
- You need to transfer wildbit/swiftmailer-postmark with symfony/postmark-mailer and symfony/http-client.
- It is critical to Access Symfony\Component\Mailer\SentMessage via getSymfonySentMessage
- Different undocumented SwiftMailer documents get a new name to their Symfony Mailer counterparts.
- Symfony Mailer creates Message-ID based on the sender and does not rely upon using the mime.idgenerator.idright configuration option. So the process is automated.
- Transport reconnections are no longer forced as Symfony Mailer automatically tries for reconnection.
- Symfony Mailer requires the definition of appropriate options directly within the configuration in case they lack support.
- Missing methods codes proxied to SwiftMailer in the Laravel version 8 must be updated with responsible Symfony Mailer counterparts.
Flysystem 3.x – Facilitates Seamless Development
The Laravel upgrade provides Flysystem 1.x to 3.x migration which facilitates file manipulation methods. It makes the development process more straightforward for the programmers as the team will experience the following benefits:
- Automated overwriting of the files with Write operations.
- Elimination of exception when the Write operation fails.
- Zero support for cached adapters facilitates cache key elimination from the disk configuration.
Straightforward Accessors/ Mutators – Smoothes Attributes Setup
Laravel upgrade 8 to 9 provides a convenient non-prefixed method for declaring model prefixes into the application. Laravel Developers can simply leverage Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Casts\Attribute to define the accessors and the mutators.
Thus a simple method is now available to classify the attributes. Moreover, it gives the added benefit of caching object values when defining accessors.
Controller Route Groups – Declare Common Controller
Programmers can now leverage the powerful controller method for defining a standard common controller. The common controller will apply to every route in the group, which is bound to enhance route definition with significant readability levels.
Full-Text Indexes/ Where Clauses – Faster Full Text Index Generation
Laravel upgrade provides smooth full-text generation even while using MySQL or PostgreSQL. With a “fulltext” approach, programmers can instantly generate full-text indexes.
The Laravel upgrade 8 to 9 provides the whereFullText process, effectively transforming itself into the appropriate SQL for the underlying database system.
Scout Database Engine – Eliminates the Dependencies on Algolia/MeiliSearch
Laravel upgrade 8 to 9 successfully says goodbye to traditional indexing as necessary with Algolia or MeiliSearch. The Scout database engine lets you perform a full-text search over the eloquent models as it is a driver-based solution and defaults to the model’s toArray() method.
Blade String Rendering – With HTML Equivalence
The latest Laravel upgrade allows users with blade string rendering into its HTML equivalent. The process allows the blade template string and an optional array of data to provide the template.
The approach facilitates rendering the concerned class components without having to invoke the component instances corresponding to the method.
The Laravel upgrade 8 to 9 comes with @checked and @selected blade components. However, you must note that they work out under specified conditions only.
Bootstrap 5 with Pagination Views
Laravel upgrade comes with pagination views via Bootstrap 5. Under the older versions of Laravel, the framework sets the default views at tailwind. However, the Laravel 9 upgrade lets you experience the useBootstrapFive approach for pagination views.
New Helper Functions
Laravel upgrade provides users with a global str helper function. It effectively eliminates the use of the string helper function, which is confusing for the users.
Under the Laravel upgrade, the returned value will be a boolean value under the “ when and unless” methods.
Implicit Route Bindings with Enums
PHP version 8.1 supported Enums originally. The laravel 9.x provides the ability to type-hint an Enum over the route definition.
However, it is essential to note that the latest Laravel version invokes the route only when it has a valid Enum value in the URI. When the Enum value is not valid, HTTP 404 response returns automatically.
Business Benefits of Laravel 9
Using the upgraded version of any web development framework makes your application more secure and enhances performance. The business benefits of using Laravel 9 for your web application provide you with the following:
Easy email management with Symfony mailer is a proven powerful CMS for advanced email management.
Flysystem 3.x provides a seamless development environment with automated overwriting files via write operations.
It ensures faster development cycles with direct accessors, a standard controller, upgraded helper functions, etc.
Wrapping Up
Unlike other Laravel versions, the Laravel 9 will come with an upgraded version every year as it comes with semantic versioning. Upgrading from Laravel 8 to 9 or from other older software versions requires expertise in this PHP framework as minor errors can lead to significant data loss and unanticipated glitches in your application.
Hiring a dedicated Laravel developer from us lets you make the most of your application software update. Our experienced Laravel experts ensure zero data loss and minimum downtime while upgrading your software architecture from an older version to Laravel 9.