Description: The Drupal Migration API is a powerful tool designed to facilitate the transfer of data between different systems. It allows developers to efficiently import, export, and transform data, ensuring that information remains consistent and structured during the migration process. This API is particularly useful in situations where content needs to be moved from one site to another, or even from external platforms to a Drupal-based site. The Migration API is based on a modular approach, meaning that specific migrations can be created and customized according to project needs. Additionally, it provides a set of tools that allow developers to define how data fields should be mapped between the source and destination, as well as manage the migration process in a controlled and secure manner. Its relevance lies in the growing need for organizations to update their systems and platforms without losing valuable data, making it an essential solution for content management in various ecosystems.
History: The Migration API was introduced in Drupal 8, released in November 2015. This release marked a significant shift in Drupal’s architecture, as it was based on the Symfony framework and improved data migration capabilities compared to previous versions. Before the Migration API, developers relied on contributed modules that offered limited functionalities and often required considerable manual work. With the arrival of this API, the migration process was standardized, allowing developers to perform more complex and efficient migrations.
Uses: The Migration API is primarily used to transfer content from one site to another, as well as to import data from external systems, such as databases or CSV files. It is also useful for updating content structures when migrating from earlier versions of Drupal to Drupal 8 or higher. Additionally, it allows for data transformation during the migration process, meaning developers can modify the structure or format of the data as needed.
Examples: A practical example of the Migration API is migrating a Drupal 7 site to Drupal 8, where content types and custom fields from the old site can be mapped to the new structure. Another case is importing data from an external content management system, such as WordPress, where posts and users can be extracted and loaded into a new Drupal site using the Migration API.
