Patterns of Enterprise Deployment: Just Copy The Binaries

This is part of the Patterns of Enterprise Deployment series.

Summary

JustCopyTheBinaries is what you do when you don’t have an enterprise deployment problem at all. The binary – or other executable files like javascript files – are simply constructed on the developer machine and copied using the file system to the machine where they will be used.

Difficulty

Very Low

Advantages

• quick
• easy
• always works; even if you have to craft a special hack on your laptop when the power is off in the server room

Disadvantages

• little or no control, auditability, repeatability
• development machines are not the place to make clean builds
• When the developer leaves the project or their box blows up, then deployment is difficult

Use when

• you don’t need anything else and you are working on an uncontrolled or or pre-alpha prototype project
• all the work is done on one machine

Don’t use

• When you are creating a real system, even for version 1.0