All You Need To Know About Laravel 9

With the ever-growing popularity of PHP, many frameworks of it have popped up to help you with it. Out of all such frameworks, one of the most popular ones is Laravel. Its expressive and elegant syntax makes it a go-to web application framework for developers. Laravel web app development has risen exponentially in the last few years.

Such is the popularity of Laravel that it has been releasing an update every six months. But this time, with a delayed update of Laravel, we are seeing a major change in it with Laravel 9 - the latest Laravel version that was released on 8 Feb 2022.

Wondering what’s new in Laravel 9? Then this article is for you. But before getting there, let’s dive deeper into Laravel.

What is Laravel?

Laravel is one of the most widely used PHP frameworks that help developers easily develop complex web applications. It follows a model-view-controller (MVC) architectural pattern that makes handling code easier. Confused? I get it that you didn’t get it.

In layman’s terms, Laravel is a group of pre-written codes (library) and tools. This saves your time and effort by not having to write a code for such parts that are used commonly in many websites. So you can reuse that code for your project.

What are the key features of Laravel?

There surely has got to be a lot of great features of Laravel, given its popularity. But we will keep it to some of the most impactful ones.

1. MVC architecture support

MVC or Model-View-Controller architecture is the most commonly used architecture pattern used in frameworks these days. Why? Because it makes code easier to understand.It separates Model (backend) from View (frontend) and ensures smooth communication between client and server using a Controller.

2. Intact security

With an increasing threat to security these days, Laravel has rolled up its sleeves to protect web applications. And the good news is that Laravel itself takes care of this concern with its inbuilt web application security.

3. Unique unit-testing

Laravel allows you to flex your coding skills by helping you run several test cases. This helps you to check whether the changes you have made work as expected or not.

4. Innovative template engine

Dynamic websites have become a necessity for a business these days. And Laravel understands that! Its innovative template engine allows developers to easily create a dynamic website.

5. Authentication

You don’t need to write authentication code with Laravel! Since Laravel 5, authentication has got simpler with an inbuilt system that does the tough job for you.

What’s new in Laravel 9?

This might be the most nagging question for you on this topic. So here are some of the notable changes in Laravel 9: -

1. Brand new home page design

With the launch of the latest Laravel version, its website also has got a new and better look.

2. New PHP requirement

Laravel 9 asks for PHP 8 as a bare minimum requirement because it requires Symphony 6.0 which in turn demands PHP 8.

3. New query builder interface

The interface of query builder has just got even better. FYI, a query builder provides a drag-and-drop graphical user interface (GUI) for creating SQL queries.

4. New design for routes:list

One of the issues with the earlier versions of Laravel was the complexity of huge routes when tried viewing on the console. But it has got better this time.

What are the new features in Laravel 9?

Since this update has been made after a year as compared to a six-month gap earlier, you get many a new feature in Laravel 9. Some of them are: -

• Anonymous Stub Migrations are now the default

• PHP 8 String Functions

• Moved mailer functionality from SwiftMailer to Symfony Mailer

• Flysystem 3.x

• Controller Route Groups

• Soketi Echo Server

• Enum Eloquent Attribute Casting

• Implicit Route Bindings With Enums

• Laravel Scout Database Engine

• Laravel Breeze API & Next.js

This is not it. Laravel 9 has many more things in the bag. You can have a look here.

How to install Laravel 9?

Ok, enough of introduction to Laravel 9. Now let’s get practical and install Laravel 9 in your system so that you can start playing with it.

The first thing you need to do is to check your PHP version. Remember Laravel 9 doesn’t support anything less than PHP 8?

Done? There are a couple of ways you can install Laravel 9.

1. Using Composer

Run the following query to install Laravel 9 using composer: -

composer create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel laravel-9-dev dev-develop

Once you run this query, a new Laravel project will be created with the name “laravel-9-dev.”

2. Using Laravel global CLI

To create a new Laravel 9 project, use the following command: -

laravel new laravel-9-dev --dev

You can check the version by executing the following artisan command in the new directory.

cd laravel-9-dev
php artisan --version

...And you are done! But if you want to know more you can go to Laravel’s official site.

Why move to Laravel 9 and how will we help?

If you are thinking of developing any web application, then Laravel 9 is the way to go. Even the previous versions were loved by the developer community. And the latest update of Laravel is the icing on the cake. It has got: -

• Better security

• More simplicity

• Better interface

Need any help with Laravel 9? That’s what we are here for. We know that not everybody has a technology tooth or has time to learn and develop a project through Laravel.

Acquaint Softtech is a Laravel development company that has been in this field for many years now. You can hire Laravel developers from us to get your project started in no time.

FAQs about Laravel

1. Which is the best Laravel version?

With each update, Laravel has gotten better and better. Thus, it won’t be wrong to say that Laravel 9 is the best version to this date.

2. Which is the most stable version of Laravel?

Laravel 9 is the most stable version of Laravel as one purpose of the update is also to remove bugs and make it more stable.

3. Which templating engine is used in Laravel?

The name of templating engine used in Laravel is Blade.

4. Is Laravel still relevant?

Laravel is more relevant today than ever.

5. What does a Laravel developer cost?

An in-house Laravel developer costs multiple times higher than a remote one. You can check our pricing calculator and see for yourself the amount you can save with Acquaint Softtech for a remote Laravel developer.

6. Can I get my project done in Laravel?

Yeah sure, you can! There are a couple of pricing models for you to choose from for a remote developer like dedicated team and fixed price model.

7. Can I create MVPs in Laravel to scale in the future?

The answer to this question is generally YES but it depends on how big you want to go in the future. Laravel is an excellent PHP framework for startups and small web applications. Thus if that is what you want, go for it. However, Laravel is scalable. You can grow your web application to be more robust and powerful.