The prospect of migrating to a new version often sets off alarm bells in many a developer who may know or have heard of upgrade related horror stories here and there. Indeed, the concern is justified because major software releases constitute extensive and massive changes over previous versions that sometimes may lead to errors and glitches.

But all major releases are not created equal. Some are better than others at managing the process. CakePHP 3.0 is a good example of the latter. In line with its overarching goal of lightening the load developers carry, it has made migration to 3.0 easy and painless.

There are a number of reasons why migration to CakePHP is so different, easy, and so manageable. If you still haven't made the move to migrate to CakePHP 3, now is the time to do it!

First, the minimum requirements needed to make it work are very few and very straightforward. They include: a) PHP version must be 5.4 or above b) must have mbstring and intl extensions. Note: CakePHP also features a totally new ORM that has been rebuilt from the ground up as well as numerous other enhancements that improve upon or replace previous entities. For details, please refer to the full migration guide.

Second, a complete list of all new features and enhancements that the new version introduces is easily accessible and clearly presented.

Third and most importantly, you are provided with an upgrade tool (a console application) for tackling the more time consuming migration tasks.

What more could you ask from an upgrade? With the above in place, you have everything you need at your fingertips for a smooth and successful migration to CakePHP 3.0.

Simplicity in design, development, and implementation has always been the trademark of CakePHP as many who have used the previous versions of CakePHP will attest. It is this factor more than anything else that has earned it a reputation as a framework of choice for developers in PHP.The huge number of developers that continue to use it every year and the excellent reviews it has received over the years provide ample proof to its success in this effort.

CakePHP team, on the other hand, though thrilled at the success its hard work brought it, never took such triumphs for granted and never succumbed to complacency. Throughout the period between releases, the team has been actively soliciting feedback and diligently listening to the wish lists and concerns of developers while working very hard to make them a reality.

The result is CakePHP 3.0 – a new version that has over the past year been silently taking the software development world by storm with its rich set of highly customizable features. If you ever liked CakePHP 2.x, we guarantee you will fall head over heels in love with CakePHP 3.0! Of course no software can ever be said to be perfect but CakePHP 3.0 is one framework version that comes close by crossing as it does new frontiers in software ingenuity and simplicity that will carry you to heights you never dreamed possible.