Drupal 10 is all set to release on 14 December 2022. Since Drupal 8, the Drupal community has taken a methodical approach to release new versions of Drupal. This approach allows for releasing new features within a major release and provides a clear path to update to the new major versions more seamlessly.
Drupal 10 was supposed to release in August 2022 but was pushed to December. There are 2 significant reasons for it.
Drupal 10: Why releasing in December
Drupal 10 will be using CKEditor 5 and integration to CKEditor 5 is the most crucial aspect. CKEditor 4 will be deprecated by the end of 2023.
Core developers with CKEditor teams have collaborated and invested numerous hours in integrating CKEditor 5 into Drupal. There were additional critical issues discovered with the work done and those issues need to be resolved to make CKEditor 5 stable. The issues could not be resolved by the 13 May beta deadline, and is the first reason why Drupal 10 was not released in August 2022.
The second reason is that a December release means more time for the Drupal community to stabilize CKEditor 5. Site owners can move content from CKEditor 4 to the new version in Drupal 9 securely. Drupal 10 requires PHP 8.1, and hosting providers have time to support PHP 8.1 for sites to update. PHP 8.1 will be the minimum requirement for Drupal 10 until November 2024. PHP 8.2 version will release in November 2022 and will be compatible with Drupal 10.
The whole Drupal community has worked hard to complete the Drupal 10 release date and goals. They have been working to eliminate deprecated code, update JavaScript, and prepare modules for contribution.
Drupal 10: Deprecated code removed
All core code and libraries in Drupal 9 that are identified as deprecated will be removed. Deprecated code refers to the code that is no longer used as it has been improved and enhanced. Removing the code immediately affects the functionality of a site’s custom code, hence, the code is marked ‘deprecated’ to inform that it will be removed in the next Drupal major version. The community will get sufficient time to update their code to be compatible with Drupal 10.
Some external code and libraries have end-of-life. Symfony 4, used in Drupal 9, reaches its end of life in November 2023. Drupal 10 will use Symfony 6.2, which is the latest version with bug issues resolved and improvements from Symfony 6. The Symfony framework provides major functional capabilities to websites, namely routing and handling incoming requests, and managing cookies. The entire list of deprecated code and libraries are listed on the Drupal website.
Drupal 10: Core modules removed
A few redundant core modules will be removed from Drupal and moved to the ‘Contributed Module’ for continuity. Removing modules that are not used makes Drupal core leaner and easy to maintain.
The following modules are likely to be removed.
- Activity Tracker
- Aggregator
- CKEditor
- Color
- Forum
- HAL
- QuickEdit
- RDF
According to user surveys and statistics, some of these modules were enabled by default but hardly used. In addition, some JavaScript dependencies will also be removed. Some uses of jQuery will be cleared which will reduce the past risks of jQuery and jQuery UI’s security processes.
Drupal 10: Upgrades
Upgrades enhance site performance and user experiences for all users. A few major third-party components are scheduled to update from Drupal 9 to Drupal 10.
- CKEditor: Version 4 to 5
- Composer: Version 1 to 2
- PHP: Version 7 to 8
- Symfony: Version 4 to 5/6
With Drupal 9 released in 2020, and Drupal 10 announced in 2021, site developers have a year to prepare their Drupal sites for migration. The third-party upgrades help improve the overall Drupal experience for all.
Drupal 10: What’s new
Drupal 10, a polished version, comes with some exciting new features.
Claro
The ‘Seven’ theme designed for Drupal 7 in 2009 was giving out an outdated system impression. The new ‘Claro’ theme replaced Seven and has been designed as per the latest standards.
Olivero
‘Olivero’ is the front-end theme designed to work with user-popular features, such as the Layout Builder. The Olivero theme will be compliant with WCAG AA.
Auto-Updates
The ‘Auto-Update’ feature will be available on composer-based sites and will enable the Drupal website to update automatically and securely.
Decoupled Menus
The ‘Decoupled Menus’ feature helps to build small web components that address a common use case. The feature will help to create a large repository of web components rapidly.
Project Browser
“Project Browser’ will help site builders to find and install modules from the admin dashboard. It will be available as a contributed module only at present.
Starter-Kit
The new ‘Starter-Kit’ theme will replace the ‘Classy’ theme. The new theme will not affect the production themes initially and will be easier to maintain.
Drupal 10: Built on Drupal 9
Drupal 10 is built on Drupal 9 instead of a complete codebase overhaul. New functionalities are added to the later Drupal 9 versions. Each minor release until Drupal 9.4.0 will be backward compatible and gives the community ample time to stay updated with future API changes.
This methodical approach allows Drupal to deliver new value every six months without disruption. Once Drupal 10 is released in December 2022, all deprecated code will be removed, and dependencies will be updated. The strategy is the same as the successful Drupal 8 to Drupal 9 migration strategy that helped contributed modules and extensions to become compatible with the new version much sooner.
Drupal 10: For the future
Drupal is much bigger than a CMS and has made the web much better. Each new version aims to enhance development more. Agile infrastructure is essential to deliver exceptional digital experiences and Drupal 10 promises to deliver the same.
Major brands and organizations use Drupal to boost their audience outreach capabilities. Drupal 10 with feature-rich modules will empower organizations to create unique customer experiences across all touch points. The themes and content editing experience will evolve with Drupal 10 making content creation, management, and delivery seamless and meaningful.