Created: 2017.03.31
The 'modern' way: Using Composer with WordPress:
The Composer way is to specify dependencies in composer.json and composer.lock files. Dependencies are then installed via Composer when deploying or working on the site.
The author of this post describes himself as:
... a full-stack web developer who's trying to drag WordPress into 2017 and help people modernize their development workflow.
I appreciate that Composer is an established dependency management system, but that doesn't mean that it's a good fit for WordPress.
The well-established WordPress way is to use the built-in updating mechanism.
The TGM Plugin Activation PHP class integrates with WordPress to allow users to install dependencies - or not - depending on what they need or prefer.
And it's not just limited to WordPress plugins either. It can also install plugins from a public repository or other source (but it is limited to plugins, although one could possibly build a plugin which wraps Bower dependencies).
From what I know so far, I prefer the WordPress way, because it doesn't overcomplicate things or force a certain software development paradigm onto an established WordPress workflow. In other words, it's not a new way just for the sake of having a new way - that some developers prefer.
Options including setting a Text Domain, for translations. These needs to match the theme slug.
For this reason, a fresh copy TGP Plugin should always be generated from the Download page, when creating a new theme, child theme, or plugin.
The TGM developers provide several distribution options, which are detailed in a table.
Warning: More than one text-domain is being used in this theme. This means the theme will not be compatible with WordPress.org language packs. The domains found are wp-theme-boilerplate, tgmpa
No error is generated.
I also stumbled across the WPCore Plugin Manager. This also uses a configuration file, but the file is stored on an external server, which rings alarm bells for me, as I've seen many well-meaning services come and go over the years.
WPCore also promotes a community aspect, where people can share plugin collections.
Specific plugins have specific rules:
