Application Deployment

The skill of Application deployment is fundamental for any professional PHP developer, encompassing all the steps required to take code from a local environment or repository and make it live on a server. This process ensures that new features and bug fixes are released to users reliably and efficiently. Roles that emphasize deployment skills are looking for developers who can manage the entire release lifecycle, from server configuration to post-launch monitoring, ensuring the application is stable, scalable, and secure.

Core Deployment Responsibilities

A developer's responsibilities in deployment include configuring web servers like Nginx or Apache, managing PHP-FPM processes, and setting up databases. Key tasks involve running Composer to install dependencies, executing database migrations to update the schema, and clearing application caches. Automating these steps through scripts is a critical aspect of minimizing manual errors and reducing downtime during a release.

Modern Deployment Tools and Practices

Modern PHP development relies heavily on automation and modern infrastructure practices to streamline deployments.

• Version Control: Using Git for source code management is standard.
• CI/CD Pipelines: Experience with tools like GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or Jenkins to automate testing and deployment workflows.
• Containerization: Knowledge of Docker and Docker Compose to create consistent and portable application environments.
• Deployment Tools: Familiarity with PHP-specific deployment tools like Deployer or general-purpose tools like Capistrano.
• Cloud Platforms: Basic understanding of deploying to cloud services such as AWS, DigitalOcean, or Heroku.