Build Processes

In the past, I've struggled to explain to clients exactly why spending time putting together a build server that offers continuous integration is a good thing. The benefits seem to be highly ephemeral - it just feels to me like the process is working better.

In his blog entry The Build Process, Jeff Reese talks about the build process he's just put together. It's quite a short entry, and worth a read.

Of particular note:

The up front time investment caused some people to question whether it was worth it, but as we grew and brought on new developers the build system quickly became a key tool in helping us to consistently and reliably produce a high quality product. Our projects were always completed ahead of schedule and we always delivered more than we promised.

CVSNT, NAnt, and NUnit are great tools in their own right and work very well individually. By gluing them together with Draco.NET you get yourself a robust system capable of automating your builds, running tests, and notifying the appropriate parties. In short, you've covered the first three out of 12 items on the Joel Test (don't forget bug tracking).

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