How would you implement an auto-update for a standalone PHP project using GitHub?

Question

My project is a collection of PHP scripts using MySQL as a database and needs to be installed locally using WAMP/LAMP/MAMP.

Previously I've been sending the users a link to a zipped archive and having them overwrite it, but since I took the plunge to GitHub, I've realized that there are far better ways; namely Service Hooks in GitHub. However, this would work fine as long as I don't alter the database in any way, which is a good possibility.

I've been toying with the idea of how I would implement this, but I can't find a clear solution. So far I've concluded with that I need to have a directory (say update/) which contains .sql files for each update. The PHP script will then check said directory for a file corresponding with the new version number (not sure how I will define a version number; I was thinking of using the commit ID, but that won't be available until after the commit, so...).

I would love some input on this!

Does the SQL file need to have both the structure and the data? — Tarek Fadel
– Tarek Fadel, Commented Sep 9, 2011 at 15:36
@TarekFadel It doesn't actually have to be an sql file. I was thinking more along the lines of a PHP file which will execute some SQL queries to update the current database with new structure, addons, fields etc. — John Doe
– John Doe, Commented Sep 9, 2011 at 16:15

Tarek Fadel · Accepted Answer · 2011-09-10 08:32:28Z

2

Here's how I would tackle this (not the most elegant or performant):

Add a flag in the DB with a version number
Add a min-version number in your DB layer PHP file
Check that the DB version is greater than the min-version
- If it is: continue about your business
- Else: Run the PHP file in update/ which would have a series of ALTER TABLE commands to be run on the DB server
  - Update the min-version number in the DB to the latest number
All done

Alternately instead of querying the DB you can have a file which is generated by your DB interface PHP file (and ignored with .gitignore) which you can just as above.

answered Sep 10, 2011 at 8:32

Tarek Fadel

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John Doe Over a year ago

This was my initial idea, but you finished my train of thought. Thank you :)

Tobias Sjösten · Accepted Answer · 2011-09-09 16:59:07Z

1

I would really recommend checking out Doctrine and its migration feature.

This does exactly what you are looking for, plus you get a very nice tool for working with all other aspects of your database handling.

answered Sep 9, 2011 at 16:59

Tobias Sjösten

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