Joomla 4.0 has been in development since 2016 and a lot of ground breaking changes have already been included in it in comparison to the current major version that is 3.x
PHP 7 will be mandatory for Joomla 4.0
The most earth-shattering change with Joomla 4.0 is the requirement of PHP 7.
It is predicted that when J4 is released, the oldest supported PHP version will have less than one year of remaining security support. Also, the statistics show a very encouraging increase of PHP 7 adoption currently which is also a nail to the coffin of PHP 5's support.
We believe that this decision is correct and we fully support it. Joomla 4 is a major version which will be around for at least another 5 years before the next one comes along. The Joomla! Project is in a position to push the technology forward and these decisions should be encouraged.
The Highlights of Joomla 4
Obviously Joomla 4 is still in development and there isn't a definite catalog of what we will end up having once it's complete.
However, there is already an Alpha version available to serve as a testing ground for both current contributors/testers and Joomla Extension Developers to test the waters with what they will need to change, if any, for their products.
Let's take a look at all the goodies that Joomla 4 will bring along!
- Redesigned Core UI with Bootstap 4.
- The next version the Joomla! Framework! Version 2.0!
- Completely refactored Event Dispatcher.
- Global dependencies management and injections will be handled by a Service Container.
- jQuery will no longer be part of the Core.
- Framework Agnostic Web Components will be introduced to make UI building less of a struggle.
- New Media Manager! Finally!
Backwards (In)Compatibility
The Joomla 4.0 will have a fair number of refactored libraries, deprecations, removals and so on. It is a requirement to adopt to the latest PHP Standards.
For instance, currently, the following two packages are completely removed from the Joomla! Framework
Especially for the logging library, you could use any PSR-3 compatible logging package instead.
All the breaks and upgrade guides will be documented in the Joomla! Framework website.
Joomla 4.0 Screenshots
With the latest Alpha release we were able to secure a few screenshots of the new and improved Backend along with the new default frontend named "Cassiopeia".
As you can see, the frontend still keeps a very minimal approach with a few contemporary touches here and there.
The Joomla 4 Dashboard has been greatly overhauled. The major point is the removal of the top horizontal bar which has been relocated at the left end of the screen sporting a menu using slide ins and outs.
The Global Configuration is relatively the same with J3 as much as the Options are concerned. Obviously the look and feel has been improved and we feel that this change gives a more compact, straight-to-the-point, look which is nice.
The Articles Manager has also received a fresh look and feel. Although, there is still space for a minor visual clutter removal.
In the Article Edit Screen we haven't seen a great deal of change apart from the slighlty changed visual layout which is already dominant in the entirety of the Joomla 4 backend.
Finally, the new Media Manager is very visually appealing! This is an incredibly welcome change knowing that the amount of images and media in general has been increasing exponentially over the years, the old Media Manager just isn't up to the task anymore.
Predicted Joomla 4.0 Release Date
Joomla 4.0 needs quite a lot of work still. It is still under development and the team is working towards a summer timeline with regular Alpha releases to help with the testing.
Do you want to help the Joomla 4.0 Development?
You can join the Joomla! Volunteer community and contribute your skills and time to help Joomla! grow. Here's how:
- Become a tester - no special skills required, but able to install test releases, and follow reporting instructions
- Translate - for those who speak English and any other language
- Document new features - for those who can write tutorials and technical documentation
- Other areas - find one that fits your skills and interests.
