Drupal 8.0.0-rc1 released

On 7th of October the first Drupal 8 Release Candidate was released.

What does it mean?
The first release candidate for a new version of Drupal is created once the number of critical bugs issues is reduced to zero. 

Drupal 8 (like any software) will continue to have critical bugs found during the release candidate phase and after release. What is important for site owners is that the 8.0.0 release is stable enough that occasional new critical bugs can be resolved quickly, instead of adding to an extensive backlog of (as-yet undiscovered) issues that will cumulatively take many weeks to resolve. For core contributors, it is important that 8.0.0 marks the point at which issues which have been deferred to 8.0.1 can be worked on again, since this may include several hundred major bugs that could seriously affect sites in production.

To this end, the branch maintainers will monitor the rate and nature of incoming critical bugs weekly before the first release candidate and throughout the release candidate phase. To allow for a regular release candidate schedule with incremental improvements in each, they may tag release candidates with open critical issues. They will schedule an official release date for 8.0.0 a minimum of three weeks in the future when they are confident that the rate of incoming bugs has slowed enough to ensure a stable, timely release.

What`s new?
 

With more than 200 new features and improvements, the upcoming release of the world’s leading open source web content management platform will win you over.

Drupal 8 will set a new standard for ease of use, while offering countless new ways to tailor and deploy your content to the web. Easily customize data structures, listings, and pages, and take advantage of new capabilities for displaying data on mobile devices, building APIs, and adapting to multilingual needs.

With a leaner and meaner core, easier migration process from earlier versions, in-place content editing tools and loads more power for modules and themes thanks to a modern Object Oriented Programming (OOP) approach on the backend, there is something for everyone to love in Drupal 8.

Can I use Drupal 8 right now?

Yes. Drupal 8.0.0-rc1 is available for download now.

Whether you consider yourself an early adopter or a bit more conservative, choose Drupal 8 when its maturity aligns with your sense of investment and your project’s life cycle. Most people will rely at least a little bit on core usage statistics to help them choose the right time.

Here is a great presentation about Everything you need to know about the top changes in Drupal 8.

When will Drupal 8.0.0 be released?

Until the official release date for 8.0.0 when the rate and nature of incoming critical bugs has slowed enough to ensure a stable release. Release candidates of Drupal 8 will be released twice a month concurrently with the Drupal 6 and 7 release windows.