Are you prepared to take a chance with Experimental Modules?
Lately, a lot of our attention has been dedicated to Drupal modules. We have explored the most popular ones and the best for Drupal 8. But we will not stop here. We’ll also look at the experimental modules, which may confuse some Drupal users. As you will see, there is also some risk in having them.
What are the experimental modules?
As stated on the official website of Drupal, experimental modules are modules that are included in Drupal core but are for testing purposes, so they are not (yet) fully supported. This new approach was introduced in Drupal 8. New experimental modules can only be added in minor releases. They may change between patch releases, while still being experimental. That differs them from the other features. Experimental modules allow site builders and core contributors to receive feedback and test out functionality that might eventually be supported in an upcoming minor release and might be included as a stable part of Drupal core. However, not any module can be experimental, because they too have to meet the minimal standards.
Alpha, Beta, Release candidate …
There are different stability levels of the experimental modules. Alpha experimental modules are still under development. They are, however available for testing, but may include bugs, security issues and the developers should not rely on their APIs. Betaexperimental modules are, on the other hand, considered API and feature complete. They are still not fully supported and may still have bugs. If critical bugs are removed, the experimental module can become a release candidate, which means that it is release-ready. Once they are judged as stable, they are labelled as stable core modules. But they can become so only in minor or major releases.
