Homebrew Cask vs using dmg

Question

Just wondering what the difference/advantage is between using Homebrew/Casks vs downloading the dmg file and moving the application onto the hard drive? I understand the original Homebrew is often times building from source, but Casks it seems is just using Apple Script (or equivalent) to mount and move the dmg file. Am I missing something?

Answer 1

It's about convenience and repeatability, in the same way that regular Homebrew is (usually) just downloading a tarball ("bottle" in their lingo) and symlinking a few files into place. Some folks also use Homebrew and Homebrew Cask to deploy apps to Macs in an automated fashion, even remotely.