Automating Your Build Process Using FinalBuilder

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Automating Your Build Process Using FinalBuilder

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Session Overview

• Automated Builds and Continuous Integration are
  facets of eXtreme Programming (XP)
  
• Very much part of the agile approach to software
  delivery
  
• Traditional waterfall development approaches can
  still benefit
  
• Automated Builds encompass Continuous
  Integration
  
• An automated build is considered end to end,
  including pre-compile and post-compile
  activities
  
• This session will cover
• An introduction to automating your build, the
  activities that should be automated, the benefits
  of automated builds, etc.
  
• An overview of how FinalBuilder can help you with
  your automated build

Automating the Build Process Using FinalBuilder
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Disclaimer

• I have no association with VSoft, the authors of
  FinalBuilder
  
• It is a great product, I have been using it since
  version 2.x
  
• Its primary reason for being is to automate the
  build process
  

Automating the Build Process Using FinalBuilder
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Housekeeping

• Mobile phones
• Fire Exits
• Toilets

Automating the Build Process Using FinalBuilder
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About Me
XML XSLT XQuery XML Schema SOAP WML IntraWeb
Web Services C InterOp with Delphi RUP UML
TDD in C, VB.net and Delphi 8
Scrum

• 50 presentations delivered
• NRW06, NRW07
• DeveloperDeveloperDeveloper (UK Community
  Events)
  
• Scottish Developers
• Agile Scotland
• British Computer Society (BCS)
• UK Borland User Group (DDG)
• Visual Basic User Group (VBUG)
• VBUG .net Winter 2001 conference
• XML One 2001
• 60 articles published
• The Delphi Magazine
• developers magazine (Dotnet Developers Group -
  DDG)
  
• ASPToday.com (now Wiley, previously Wrox)
• ASP.NET Pro, International Developer
• CSharpCorner, DeveloperFusion

Automating the Build Process Using FinalBuilder
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Agenda

• Automating the Build
• What, Why and How?
• FinalBuilder
• Introduction Demo
• Customising FinalBuilder
• Using VBScript
• Using C
• Replicating the NUnit Action

Build Reporting FinalBuilder Server Light-he
arted look at Build Failure Wrap Up Resources,
Links
Contact Info
Automating the Build Process Using FinalBuilder
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Automating the Build What?

• Continuous Integration
• Checking in source code (version control)
• Running tests (test-driven development)
• Focus on not breaking the build
• Plenty of opinions integrate ever 2 hours is
  fairly common
  
• Pre Post CI activities
• Sending e-mail, stopping databases
• Burning CDs/DVDs, FTP, flicking switches
• McConnell, Code Complete 2
• literal continuous integration is too much of a
  bad thing
  
• Promotes the Daily Build and Smoke Test

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Automating the Build Why?

• Manual Builds
• Error prone
• Difficult to repeat, easy to miss steps
• Laborious, boring , dull
• one team member understands the whole process
• Unlikely to be run frequently
• There is more onus / reliance on deployment
  testing Catch-22!
  
• Lack of quality / low quality are big problems

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Automating the Build Why?

• Automated Builds
• Repeatable and reliable processes
• one or two clicks, no series of manual steps
• more likely to be run frequently
• ultimately improve overall quality
• less chance of human error (after testing, the
  build)
  
• Easier transfer of knowledge
• No one team member knows the build
• In XP terms Under the bus count 1

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Automating the Build How?

• Entirely manual process
• Once all development and testing is complete,
  package up the product...
  
• Use a mix of tools (partial automation) DIY
  approach can be very successful
  
• CruiseControl
• NAnt
• MSBuild
• Custom scripting
• DOS batch files
• Purchase off the shelf software, designed
  specifically to automate the build process
  
• VSofts FinalBuilder
• AutomatedQAs Automated Build Studio
• etc.

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Agenda

• Automating the Build
• What, Why and How?
• FinalBuilder
• Introduction Demo
• Customising FinalBuilder
• Using VBScript
• Using C
• Replicating the NUnit Action

Build Reporting FinalBuilder Server Light-he
arted look at Build Failure Wrap Up Resources,
Links
Contact Info
Automating the Build Process Using FinalBuilder
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FinalBuilder

• FinalBuilder is an automated build and release
  management solution for Windows software
  developers and Software Configuration Management
  professionals
• It goes beyond continuous integration
• Provides an end-to-end means of automating every
  stage of your build process

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FinalBuilder

• Standard, Professional and Server
• http//www.finalbuilder.com/feature-matrix.aspx

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FinalBuilder The Cost
Not a developer? Automise provides the power of F
inalBuilder, for the SysAdmin
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Actions
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Compilers
Configurable, uses packages to manage actions
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Version Control
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Installers
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Test Tools

• NUnit support is provided

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Toolset

• Microsoft Windows XP SP2
• FinalBuilder 5.5.0.518
• NUnit 2.4.6
• Visual Studio 2005 SP1
• ZoomIt 1.72
• Inno Setup 5.2.2
• Previously delivered this session using Windows
  Vista
  
• Recently paved this laptop with XP2 SP2 for
  corporate reasons

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REPLICATING F5 (OR F9)......AND BEYOND

• FinalBuilder

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Agenda

• Automating the Build
• What, Why and How?
• FinalBuilder
• Introduction Demo
• Customising FinalBuilder
• Using VBScript
• Using C
• Replicating the NUnit Action

• Build Reporting
• FinalBuilder Server
• Light-hearted look at Build Failure
• Wrap Up
• Resources, Links
• Contact Info

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Customising FinalBuilder

• Writing your own Actions
• Integrate your build process into FinalBuilder
• ActionStudio
• VBScript, JavaScript
• COM-based languages
• e.g. Delphi, VB6
• .NET-based languages
• e.g. C, Chrome, Visual Basic.NET

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How do actions work?
FINALBUILDER BUILD PROCESS
Valid parameters?
onValidate()
Invalid
Valid
onExecute()
Success / Failure ?
Failure
Success
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DIY NUnit integration

• Demonstrate, inside FinalBuilder
• Invoking NUnit via the command-line
• Loading TestResult.xml (created by NUnit)
• Using XPath to select attributes from
  TestResult.xml
  
• Make decisions based on the attribute value
• Common activities for any integration
• Over time, VSoft usually get around to adding
  third party tools

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INTEGRATING NUNIT

• Using FinalBuilders Features

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WRITING YOUR OWN ACTIONS USING C

• Customising FinalBuilder

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Agenda

• Automating the Build
• What, Why and How?
• FinalBuilder
• Introduction Demo
• Customising FinalBuilder
• Using VBScript
• Using C
• Replicating the NUnit Action

• Build Reporting
• FinalBuilder Server
• Light-hearted look at Build Failure
• Wrap Up
• Resources, Links
• Contact Info

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Build Reporting

• Builds by day, by day of week, by time of day
• Print and Export to Excel

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Build Reports
Tuesdays and Thursdays bad days at the office!
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Build Reports

• Demonstrate a downward trend in failed builds

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Agenda

• Automating the Build
• What, Why and How?
• FinalBuilder
• Introduction Demo
• Customising FinalBuilder
• Using VBScript
• Using C
• Replicating the NUnit Action

• Build Reporting
• FinalBuilder Server
• Light-hearted look at Build Failure
• Wrap Up
• Resources, Links
• Contact Info

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FinalBuilder Server

• Team development solution
• Centralises build projects through a web
  interface
  
• Manage multiple build projects
• All the underlying power of FinalBuilder Pro
• Builds can be started and stopped by authorised
  users
  
• Build logs and performance statistics viewable in
  a browser wide reach
  

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Agenda

• Automating the Build
• What, Why and How?
• FinalBuilder
• Introduction Demo
• Customising FinalBuilder
• Using VBScript
• Using C
• Replicating the NUnit Action

• Build Reporting
• FinalBuilder Server
• Light-hearted look at Build Failure
• Wrap Up
• Resources, Links
• Contact Info

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Build Failure Simple Red Screen

• Dr. Neil Roodyn promotes the use of an
  integration machine for the build
  
• Green screen (successful)
• Red screen (failed)

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Build Failure More complex!

• http//www.pragmaticprogrammer.com/pa/pa.html

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Agenda

• Automating the Build
• What, Why and How?
• FinalBuilder
• Introduction Demo
• Customising FinalBuilder
• Using VBScript
• Using C
• Replicating the NUnit Action

• Build Reporting
• FinalBuilder Server
• Light-hearted look at Build Failure
• Wrap Up
• Resources, Links
• Contact Info

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Conclusions

• Automating the build process entirely, is worth
  the effort
  
• For large projects, I have spent 4-5 hours inside
  FinalBuilder, but made up that time many times
  over
  
• Quality increase
• If used correctly, automated build products, such
  as FinalBuilder are to the build process what
  test-driven development (TDD) is to the test/code
  sub-process
• Reduces integration headaches (integrate often)
• An automated build tool goes beyond F5 (or F9)

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Resources

• FinalBuilder
• http//www.finalbuilder.com

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Links

• Using FinalBuilder, compiler, etc. inside a
  Virtual Machine (VM)
  
• http//lachlan.gemmell.com/2004/07/build-it.html
• Excellent approach if you need to maintain a
  whole build environment, including third party
  components
  
• Sinjin Joseph
• http//weblogs.asp.net/sjoseph/archive/2007/05/06/
  notes-on-the-software-build-process.aspx
  
• ZoomIt
• http//www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/Misc
  ellaneous/ZoomIt.mspx

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Contact Information

• Craig Murphy
• http//www.twitter.com/CAMURPHY
• Updated slides, notes and source code
• http//www.CraigMurphy.com
• http//www.CraigMurphy.com/blog

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• Questions?

Test Driven Development and Code Coverage
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