Dropping PHP files to a FTP site is as easy as it gets.

echelon · on May 5, 2020

That's an incredibly process-immature way of managing deployment.

How do you know what version you have deployed unless you copy everything you deploy to some archive somewhere?

How do you roll back?

How do you find out if you monkey-patched something?

Deploying Docker images or static binaries is vastly superior and no more difficult. It's just a new paradigm.

shrew · on May 5, 2020

I don't think I even disagree with you here, but to use arguments for version control as your arguments for docker images and static binaries seems odd.

All three of the issues you raise would be solved by involving a VCS somewhere in your FTP deployment.

Incidentally, claiming that either option is "no more difficult" than FTP upload or even using VCS is either disingenuous or at least a little blinkered. FTP can work as simply as copying files between "folders", I've successfully taught my non-techy parents to use FTP. Setting up docker images or static binaries requires significantly more understanding of what's going on but of course provide speed, consistency and scalability benefits.

ohmaigad · on May 5, 2020

"Vastly superior" how? I can have those features with a tool like deployer (written in PHP) and the only dependency is SSH.