Keeping your apps up to date is the best way to protect them from vulnerabilities and ensure that you’re using a recent version. With some exciting new features in Laravel 9, it’s worth updating for these reasons!
Let’s read.
Why do you need to upgrade to the latest Laravel version?
Laravel 9 was released on 8th February 2022 with upgraded features. This latest version of Laravel has brought several essential updates that can be useful for Laravel development. Remember that Laravel 9 will require PHP 8.1 + version to run.
This blog post will look at some reasons to upgrade your application. In addition, here are instructions on how to do it quickly & easily.
The reasons to upgrade your application are as follows:
#1 Symfony Mailer
Symfony Mailer replaces Swift Mailer as the internal mail library, providing consistency to your application. This is a significant reason to upgrade to Laravel 9.
If you haven’t updated their mailer after November 2021 will no longer be able to use Swift Mailer and will have to switch to Symfony Mailer.
#2 Flysystem 3x
The latest version of Laravel 9 has migrated from Flysystem 1.x to 3.x, which powers file manipulation methods. The updated Laravel version will make the process of developing websites with Laravel much smoother.
#3 Improved Eloquent Accessors / Mutators
In Laravel 9.0, eCommerce sellers will have improved access to eloquent accessors and mutators, allowing sellers to manipulate data more efficiently, making it easier to work with sellers’ data.
#4 Controller Route Groups
The controller method defines a common controller for every route included in the group, making route definition clear enough to be readable and accessible.
#5 Full-Text Indexes/ Where Clauses
Laravel 9 when using MySQL or PostgreSQL, now includes the full-text method to generate full-text indexes.
The Full-Text method is transformed into the appropriate SQL for the underlying database system by Laravel 9.
#6 Scout Database Engine
Laravel Scout is a driver-based solution that lets you search your Eloquent models for text. Previously, you required Laravel Development services like Algolia or MeiliSearch to complete and execute the indexing and search.
To make this work, you need to be using either MySQL or PostgreSQL. Luckily, Laravel Scout provides an easy solution.
#7 Rendering a Blade String
Laravel 9 now allows rendering a blade string into its HTML equivalent.
The render method allows you to approve a blade template string, and also provides you with the option to include data that will help with the creation of the template.
#8 Bootstrap 5 Pagination Views
Laravel 9 has now included a pagination view that uses Bootstrap 5. Previously, the tailwind views were obtained by default, but with the Laravel 9 upgrade, you can now use the useBootstrapFive method for pagination. This ensures that your pagination looks better and uses the latest Bootstrap features.
#9 New Helper Functions
Laravel 9 now incorporates a global str helper function. This means it is now pretty easy to use the function rather than implementing the confusing string helper function that PHP provided.
#10 Implicit Route Bindings with Enums
In laravel 9, the ability to type-hint an Enum is added to your route definition.
The framework will only call the route if it has a valid value in the URI. If it doesn’t, then the HTTP 404 response will automatically return.
Here’s a quick guide on how to upgrade to Laravel 9
There are two parts to the Laravel framework.
- The core framework code is stored in this repository.
- The skeleton framework that uses the core framework is stored in this repository.
They usually get updated at different times, so it’s necessary to check on both of them when trying to make an upgrade.
Steps to upgrade laravel 8 to 9
Removing the previous version and starting a new installation is better.
First, check your composer.json file to see if the required section is listed below.
Look for laravel/framework and nunomaduro/collision
Change `laravel/framework package from ^8.12 to ^9.0
Change nunomaduro/collision from ^5.0 to ^6.1
change facade/ignition to “spatie/laravel-ignition”: “¹.0”
Then run. composer update
Bingo! You are now ready to use Laravel 9!
Wrap Up
The creators of Laravel 9 want to provide the best solutions for their users and make it convenient to develop web apps with this new PHP framework. This 12-month release cycle will allow them to bring out new features and improvements frequently.
Laravel is a popular web app development framework. With its latest version, it will be easier to create your dream app with just one click! Hire experienced Laravel developers today if you want an expert who can help get things done quickly and efficiently. They are even well-versed in designing beautiful websites too.
Thanks for reading 🙂