Steve, I'm in partial agreement with you.

For issue #1 (SQL patch vs auto-installer), my preference is the auto-installer because

  • It allows a plugin to easily add, remove or change its configuration on subsequent releases.
  • It keeps the plugin's configuration in-sync with the plugin's current processing


While each of those could be accomplished via a SQL Patch, separating the plugin's configuration from its processing can add complexity to a plugin since the plugin can no longer be sure that the configuration matches its current processing.

I'm a big fan of test sites for staging changes, with periodic database refreshes from the live site. When a SQL-patched plugin is being tested, then I've got to remember to re-run that SQL patch each time I do a database refresh on the test site ... I can't tell you how many hours I've lost trying to figure out why a plugin is no longer working after a refresh!

For issue #2 (install file self-deletion), I'm in violent agreement as that processing presents the same test-site issues as a SQL patch.