Better than a trilogy: SilverStripe 4.0.0 alpha4 released with new GraphQL API

SilverStripe 4.0 Alpha4 is now out. Get a copy in the 'pre releases' section of our download page and tell us what you think about it!

The Open Sourcerers team has been hard at work (and partying hard for the Christmas break) to get 4.0.0 alpha4 out to you. Many things have changed since the release of 4.0.0 alpha3. We’re proud to present the new features and APIs that have been added to help make development easier and user experience more fluent.

As an alpha release we would not recommend using this build for production websites, but it’s getting close to ready. You are, however, welcome to give this release a try, check out the changelog, and let us know if you encounter any issues. With your input we will be able to release our code as bug-free as possible.

GraphQL
The most exciting development of alpha4 has been the addition of a GraphQL API through the silverstripe/graphql module. This is now actively used in the “Files” area to browse and update files. The API is still new and continually being improved on. It offers a different paradigm and yet much more powerful API than what REST offers, particularly for rich front-end apps such as React apps. We’re all very excited to present this as part of alpha4, and we hope that you are too!

Files area

Search functionality
You are now able to find files easily through a quick search bar, which can be expanded to refine your search.

New list view type
Want to see your files more clearly in columns, alongside sortable properties like their modification dates? That’s exactly what the new list view is for!

History for a file
We’ve brought the history view for pages over for files, so now you can see what changes have been made to a file and when the changes happened.

Replace existing file
We’ve added the ability to replace a file, so if you’ve cropped an image or taken a better photo but you want it to use the same file link rather than a new link. This feature will add a new history entry against your file, so you can still view the older image – maybe for nostalgic reasons?

Inserting images for WYSIWYG
You can now use the shiny new “Files” interface when inserting images and documents into your page content as well.

New upload field changes
The upload field got shifted to the asset-admin module, and gave it a facelift while we’re at it.

Mailer to SwiftMailer
The aged Mailer class has been upgraded to the much more popular SwiftMailer. This means that sending emails with SilverStripe is now easier than ever when using different services by utilising the list of “Transports” available for SwiftMailer.

Refresh button styles to Bootstrap 4
We say goodbye (mostly) to gradient styled buttons of the noughties and welcome the cleaner flat colour look of the modern age (the tenties?!?)!

What's coming next?

Overall, 4.0.0 alpha4 is a lot like previous alphas – lots more cleanup for the code side and even more additions to the feature side. We do recommend trying it out yourself and tell us what you think!

There is still more work to be done, and we can’t wait to show it all to you. Some of the upcoming features include:

• An improved config system bringing increased performance
• A new translation backend
• Separating forms from controllers

Stay tuned for more releases to come, and please let us know of any bugs you may find so we can squash them together!