Salesforce - How to Deploy between Environments (Sandboxes, Live etc)

Question

We\'re looking into setting up a proper deployment process.

From what I\'ve read there seems to be 4 methods of doing this.

1. Copy & Paste -- We don\'t w

Answer 1

From the docs:

A package must be managed for it to be published publicly on AppExchange, and for it to support upgrades. An organization can create a single managed package that can be downloaded and installed by many different organizations. They differ from unmanaged packages in that some components are locked, allowing the managed package to be upgraded later. Unmanaged packages do not include locked components and cannot be upgraded. In addition, managed packages obfuscate certain components (like Apex) on subscribing organizations, so as to protect the intellectual property of the developer.

Advantage to managed package would be that it allows you to easily version and distribute things across multiple SFDC organizations.