Do you build your binaries once?

In his article, Paul Stovell discusses the software delivery process for applications developed using compiled languages, emphasizing the decision between building binaries once or prior to each deployment. Building binaries once, according to Stovell, reduces the risk of deployment inconsistencies caused by environmental changes such as updates to libraries, compilers, or operating systems, which can lead to discrepancies between test and production environments. He highlights the importance of deployment automation in enhancing the reliability and frequency of software releases and acknowledges that while building binaries once necessitates artifact storage, it offers the advantage of having easily accessible previous versions for potential rollbacks. Stovell uses the example of differences between .NET framework versions to illustrate the potential pitfalls of compiling before each deployment, suggesting that maintaining consistency through single builds can lead to smoother production deployments.