creating content types with Out-of-Box vs Server Object models

Question

Are there any advantages in creating content type using out of box vs visual studios?

Answer 1

I'm assuming that by "out of the box" you mean creating them in the User Interface.

Advantages of Visual Studio

• Easy way to deploy identical content types across multiple farms
• Internal Content Type ID is the same for every deployment
• Direct control over every property/value used in creation of the content type

Disadvantages of Visual Studio

• Process is a bit more complex
• Requires a developer to make the change
• Requires a server admin to deploy the change

Advantages of the User Interface

• No deployment required so it does not require a server admin
• Changes can be made easily and quickly

Disadvantage of User Interface

• A typo made in a name when creating the type basically breaks the type as it creates a field with the wrong internal name and that cannot be changed from the UI
• Content type and all changes must be done manually and identically in all environments
• Unable to specifically set many internal key fields (i.e. ContentTypeID)