The dominance and popularity of PHP in the web development sector need no elaboration. A majority of websites you have seen are made using some derivatives of PHP. Over the years, several frameworks based on PHP have been realised, and they have become quite popular too. Among these, Laravel deserves a place of importance. It has been used by top-notch companies hailing from various niches for developing dynamic and interactive web applications. The release of version 9 has generated enough buzz in the web development arena.
Laravel, the popular PHP web application framework known for its expressive, elegant syntax and MVC architecture, has got a new release in 2022, after months of wait. The team behind Laravel used to unveil a new version every six months, but from version 9, that will not be the case. Now, a new version will be released per year so that it keeps in sync with Symfony, with which Laravel shares a lot of components. Laravel v 9 was unveiled in February 2022, even though the original release date was set in late 2021.
Laravel 9 is said to be the first LTS version. It will get three years of security fixes and 2 years of bug solutions. The new version will offer momentum to the Laravel web application development sector.
Installing Laravel 9 for development and testing is not very different from the previous versions, and you should face any serious hiccup in the process. However, keep in mind that it requires a PHP v8 engine only. So, check which version of PHP you have. After installing Laravel 9, use the artisan command for version checking.
Every Laravel version ships with some useful features, and version 9 is no exception. It comes with a set of new and useful features. This will make things better for the Laravel framework development professionals and agencies.
For most Laravel developers, especially those stuck with version 7 or older, the answer is definitely yes. However, those using version 8.3 may feel like sticking to that edition as it shares several features with version 9. Eventually, they will have to upgrade too.
While a section of the Laravel development veterans have said the 9th iteration is not a major upgrade, there is no way you can deny the nifty additions in version 9 that make Laravel packages development faster and hassle-free. However, to gain from the new features, you will have to hire a capable Laravel developer or agency. Given the fact there are plenty of Laravel development entities, you will have to assess the contenders carefully and pick the right one thereafter.
Here are the things that you should look for:
Laravel 9 brings some handy features and polishes some of the existing features to make the task of developers easier. It is going to get security and bug updates for a long time, and be an LTS version. It will remain in the scene for longer. So, it is a worthy upgrade.