Is there something wrong with this page?
More blog posts
Sector 9 roadmap
Sector Ecosystem
Sector Starter kit
Security
The good news upfront - the update from Drupal 8 to 9 will be much easier than major point updates in the past!
The even better news? Sector 9 is here now!
Our first Sector 9 release was in March 2021 - read the release notes for more.
Reading this really far in the future?
Our Sector 10 roadmap is out now.
Continuous upgrade path
In the past, Drupal updates between major versions have been ... painful. Code needed to be rewritten, content migrated, and structure needed to be rebuilt.
But unlike previous full point updates (Drupal 6 to 7 or 7 to 8) the update from Drupal 8 to 9 (and 10) will be continuous. In fact, Drupal 9.0 will be Drupal 8.9 with some code deprecated - that means only outdated code will be removed. If your Drupal site is well maintained, your site can be updated as-is, no need for a rebuild, no need for a content migration.
Read more on continuous upgrades between major Drupal versions on Drupal.org.
What does that mean for Sector?
Sector is not only Drupal Core - the Starter Kit and add-ons include contributed modules provided by the Drupal community. For each Drupal major and minor core release, we need to ensure that the contributed modules we use for Sector and our own Sector modules work together with the new Drupal version.
As part of our Sector 9 roadmap, the Sector team is committing to a release schedule based on the Drupal core release cycle.
Drupal 9 ready in 2020
We are getting ready for Drupal 9 now. We are reducing our technical debt further by:
- reducing the number of contributed modules delivered with the Sector Starter Kit,
- removing deprecated code,
- reviewing and updating all contributed modules for the Sector Starter Kit for Drupal 9 readiness,
- introducing automated tests using the Drupal test API.
The release dates for Drupal 8.9.0 and 9.0.0 are not yet confirmed. Drupal 8.9 is expected to be released June 3, 2020 with a Long Term Support (LTS) to November 2021. Drupal 9.0 is expected between June 3, 2020 and December 2, 2020.
Is your Sector site ready?
In a way, a continuous update path goes both ways - Drupal continuously improves and updates their solution, and site owners need to continuously maintain their sites. To update to 9.0 your site should be on 8.9. and all your contributed modules on Drupal 9 ready branches.
To keep your site secure, please also follow the Drupal security advisories.
Next to scheduled releases, Drupal publishes regular security advisories for Drupal core and contributed modules. You need to ensure Drupal security advisories are followed and update your site when and if required! Need help maintaining your Drupal sites? Contact us.