Laravel has simplified web development, making it easier for PHP developers to build modern and scalable web applications. With every new version, Laravel introduces new features and excludes outdated ones. In the same way, Laravel 10, the latest version, comes with advanced features, updated tools, and developer-friendly enhancements that simplify web development. That is why many businesses choose to hire Laravel developers who help them build high-performing applications using the latest tools.
In this blog, we’ll find the top features and improvements that were introduced in Laravel 10 to improve the developer experience and performance of web applications.
Laravel 10: Official Release Date & Lifecycle
Laravel, a popular open-source PHP framework, launched Laravel 10 on February 14, 2023. Until Laravel 9, a new version was launched every 6 months. But after Laravel 10, makers decided to introduce a new version to Laravel developers annually. This change to an annual release cycle ensures businesses and developers have time to modify new features and schedule upgrades.
Support time offered by Laravel 10 is August 6, 2024, for bug fixation and February 14, 2025, for security updates, which is a reliable time in case you want to hire Laravel developers for constant web development.
Core Features of Laravel 10 That You Should Know
Let’s see which top 8 features of Laravel 10 are developer-friendly and help them to speed up the development process:
1- Native Type Declarations
It is the most developer-friendly feature of Laravel 10, which uses PHP native type hints in method arguments and return values across the codebase of Laravel. It is beneficial in the following ways:
- Upgrade code quality
- Supports advanced PHP 8.1 +
- Provides type checking, which reduces bugs
- Improved auto-completion
Additionally, it allows developers to work confidently on the same codebase and promotes team collaboration, especially when businesses hire remote Laravel developers.
2- End of Support for PHP 8.0
Laravel 10 does not support PHP version 8.0. Developers should have PHP 8.1 version minimum to set up and use Laravel 10. This also supports Laravel developers to use advanced PHP features, which will help them in the following ways:
- Provides access to newer language features like enums, readonly properties, and intersection types
- Increase performance as new PHP versions provide better speed
- Provides a cleaner codebase that is easy to manage
- Upgrade security by reducing the chance of hacking
However, the immediate jumping to the latest version of PHP might affect the whole project, so it is recommended to do testing side by side and move step by step.
3- Latest Process Function
Laravel 10 has launched a new process( ) function which acts as a helper for developers by running system-level commands more easily. It is done by writing a simple code like:
use Illuminate\Process\Process;
$result = Process::run('ls -la');
It is helpful by automating tasks, providing a simple code structure, and improving debugging. Also streamlines the communication of the Laravel app and its system.
4- Default Invokable Validation Rules
Now Laravel developers do not need to write extra code by using an invokable class, which is also known as a single-function class. Unlike Laravel 9, developers do not have to add the _invoke( ) method manually because Laravel 10 does it automatically. This makes it easier to write and understand custom validation rules. For example, if developers want to check invalid numbers, they can simply use this invokable validation rule with this simple code:
class ValidPhoneNumber implements Rule { public function __invoke($attribute, $value, $fail) { if (!preg_match('/^\d{10}$/', $value)) { $fail('The :attribute must be a valid 10-digit phone number.'); } } }
So, later this code will automatically detect invalid phone numbers when required.
5- String Password Generator
The new str::password( ) makes development easy by generating strong passwords just by writing a single line code. Developers can produce secure passwords efficiently by using code like this:
use Illuminate\Support\Str;
$password = Str::password(12); // creates a 12-character password
Moreover, it also allows users to write personalized code by changing the length and adding numbers, characters, or letters of their own choice.
6- Profile Function for PHPUnit Testing
To make unit testing easy, Laravel 10 has introduced the profile( ) function. This helps developers detect the test, which is slow, and also resolves the issue by fixing the slow part. This is beneficial because it increases testing speed and improves debugging, which will consequently lead to rapid deployment of the project.
7- Laravel Prompts
The newly discovered feature of Laravel 10 is that it makes users easily interact with the Artisan Command Line Interface (CLI). It is capable of making the CLI more interactive and user-friendly. Rather than writing plain questions, developers can now add simpler and styled prompts that can ask users to add value, select options, or confirm actions.
It provides a smoother developer experience, rapid input, and decent code, which is best for building custom Artisan tools.
8- Laravel Pennant
It easily manages feature flags by letting developers turn on or off the feature without changing the written code. Laravel developers find Laravel Pennant helpful in the following cases:
- Test of new feature before launching it live
- Test the new feature on some targeted users
- Cover uncompleted features
It provides harmless testing and flexible targeting without integrating with third-party tools.
Ecosystem Updates in Laravel 10
There are new tools added to the Laravel ecosystem with Laravel 10 updates. The following tools are
Laravel Breeze and Jetstream
Both of these are authentication tools supported by Laravel 10. Breeze allows developers to choose how they want their front-end; if simple, it uses Blade (Laravel’s built-in templating engine). And if developers want to build interactive applications, they can go for Inertia + Vue/React. On the other hand, Jetstream is more modern and allows developers to use ready-made features like email verification, two-factor authentication, and team management.
Laravel Sail
Developers use Laravel Sail as a powerful tool to set up Laravel’s development environment using Docker. In Laravel 10, it has been updated in the following manner:
- It can work with PHP 8.1 or higher
- Provides faster development
- Good option for beginners and local developers
In simple words, it is the right tool for those who want to start coding immediately, without installing heavy tools.
Laravel Pint
It is the perfect tool for those who want to provide quality code. This automatically structured your code by fixing code spacing, formatting, and indentation. There is no proper installation required because it is based on PHP-CS-Fixer.
Laravel Vite
It is a front-end management tool with the help of which Laravel developers manage CSS, JavaScript, and images. However, Laravel 10 has made more improvements to it by making it more rapid. It saves developers time by updating and creating the frontend of Laravel’s application.
All the improvements in these tools ensure that Laravel is still the best PHP framework and make it essential to hire Laravel developers from a trusted agency like Devace Technologies to fully leverage the new features and implement these powerful tools to enhance code quality.
Conclusion
Laravel 10 is not just an improvement and update made in Laravel 9, but it also takes PHP development towards advancement. From native type declarations, new process and profile functions to strong password generator-like features from Laravel 10 have made development easier for Laravel developers. Moreover, Laravel 10 has also upgraded the ecosystem by improving tools that need developers less time and effort in building high-performing and scalable applications.
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