Automated Build with Phing

Abstract

If version control is one side of the coin, then automated build is the other. Version control allows multiple developers to work collaboratively on a single project. With many coders each deploying a project in her own space, automated build soon becomes essential. One developer may have her web-facing directory in /usr/local/apache/htdocs; another might use /home/bibble/public_html. Developers may use different database passwords, library directories, or mail mechanisms. A flexible codebase might easily accommodate all of these differences, but the effort of changing settings and manually copying directories around your file system to get things working would soon become tiresome—especially if you need to install code in progress several times a day (or several times an hour).