Drupal Release: 8.2.6

TL;DR

Drupal 8.2.6: PHP 7.1 Compatibility and Bug Fixes

This maintenance release primarily focuses on PHP 7.1 compatibility fixes, addressing several critical bugs that prevented Drupal 8.2.x from working correctly with PHP 7.1. It also includes numerous bug fixes for migration, views, outside-in editing, and other core components. This update is recommended for all Drupal 8.2.x sites, especially those planning to use PHP 7.1.

Highlight of the Release

• Full PHP 7.1 compatibility with multiple critical fixes
• Improved accessibility for outside-in editing with ESC key support
• Fixed content preview functionality
• Enhanced migration reliability from Drupal 6/7
• Improved error handling during module uninstallation
• Updated Symfony components to version ~2.8.16

Migration Guide

This is a maintenance release with bug fixes and compatibility improvements, so no specific migration steps are required beyond the standard update process:

1. Back up your database and site files
2. Put your site into maintenance mode
3. Update Drupal core codebase
4. Run the database update script by navigating to /update.php or using Drush: drush updatedb
5. Take your site out of maintenance mode

If you are planning to use PHP 7.1 with this release, you should test your site thoroughly after upgrading, especially if you use custom modules or contributed modules that might not yet be fully compatible with PHP 7.1.

Upgrade Recommendations

Priority: Medium

This update is recommended for all Drupal 8.2.x sites, especially those planning to use PHP 7.1. The release contains important compatibility fixes and bug fixes that improve stability and functionality.

Sites currently experiencing issues with content previews, migrations, or module uninstallation should prioritize this update. If you're planning to upgrade your PHP version to 7.1, this update is essential.

For sites on older versions of Drupal 8, consider updating to the latest 8.3.x release instead, which includes these fixes plus additional improvements and features.

Bug Fixes

PHP 7.1 Compatibility

• Fixed site slogan character handling in PHP 7.1
• Fixed views UI preprocessing in PHP 7.1
• Fixed MigrateExecutable for PHP 7.1
• Fixed taxonomy term tests in PHP 7.1
• Fixed temporary file handling with tempnam() in PHP 7.1
• Fixed uncaught exception tests in PHP 7.1

Migration

• Fixed path alias migration of translated nodes from Drupal 6
• Fixed rollback of configuration translations
• Fixed migration of Drupal 7 User CCK fields
• Fixed PostgreSQL issues in URL alias migration tests

Views

• Fixed incorrect namespaces in @see references
• Fixed double escaping in handler admin summaries
• Fixed config schema of argument_default plugins

Content Management

• Fixed preview functionality that was breaking destination URLs
• Fixed node preview to show "Full" instead of "Default" view mode
• Fixed contact message preview appearing at random positions after sorting fields
• Fixed content moderation tab issues

Outside-In & UI

• Fixed overlapping Edit buttons on menu sidebar
• Improved settings tray to use toolbar models to close toolbar items
• Moved off-canvas related CSS from drupal.outside_in library to drupal.off_canvas

Other

• Fixed "cannot call methods on dialog prior to initialization" JavaScript error when resizing after closing a modal
• Fixed PluralTranslatableMarkup serialization error
• Fixed field storage config mapping failures
• Fixed HAL normalizer fatal PHP errors when bundles are missing from link relation types
• Fixed feed conversion to absolute URLs when dealing with invalid XML
• Fixed autoloader position issues in DrupalKernel::initializeSettings()
• Fixed aggregator "Source feed" field to be properly required
• Fixed duplicate inline errors on child elements in module uninstall form

New Features

• Enhanced Testing Tools: The run-tests.sh script now shows file paths of all discovered tests, making it easier to identify and run specific tests.

• Improved Outside-In Accessibility: Added support for exiting edit mode using the ESC key, enhancing keyboard accessibility.

• Better Off-Canvas Handling: Improved handling of off-canvas elements at lower screen widths, providing a better responsive experience.

• Enhanced JavaScript Testing: Added better methods to validate when JavaScript activity is completed, improving test reliability.

Security Updates

No specific security fixes were mentioned in the release notes. However, updating to the latest version is always recommended as it includes the most current code base with all previous security fixes.

Performance Improvements

• Removed CURL Timeout in BTB: Eliminated CURL timeout in Batch Test Base, which can improve performance in certain test scenarios.

• Better Dependency Handling: Fixed stale dependencies passed to onDependencyRemoval(), which could result in data loss on uninstallation. This improves the reliability and performance of module uninstallation.

• Improved JavaScript Handling: Enhanced dialog handling to prevent "cannot call methods on dialog prior to initialization" errors, which improves UI responsiveness and prevents unnecessary JavaScript errors.

Impact Summary

Drupal 8.2.6 is primarily a bug fix and compatibility release that addresses several critical issues, particularly for PHP 7.1 compatibility. This update ensures that Drupal 8.2.x can run properly on PHP 7.1 environments, which is important as PHP 5.6 and 7.0 approach end-of-life.

The release also fixes several long-standing issues with content preview functionality, migration reliability, and the outside-in editing experience. These improvements enhance content management workflows and provide a better user experience for content editors.

For developers, the update includes documentation fixes, improved testing tools, and fixes for random test failures, which should make development and testing more reliable. The update to Symfony components (~2.8.16) ensures compatibility with the latest supported libraries.

Overall, while this is not a feature release, it provides important stability and compatibility improvements that benefit all Drupal 8.2.x sites.