How much time do you spend maintaining project build scripts? Probably much more than you'd expect or would like to admit. It doesn't have to be such a painful experience. Development automation expert Paul Duvall uses this installment of Automation for the people to demonstrate how to improve a number of common build practices that prevent teams from creating consistent, repeatable, and maintainable builds.
When starting new projects, most of us plan to review code before actually releasing it into production; however, when delivery schedules supersede other factors, reviews tend to be the first practice thrown out. What if you were able to perform a portion of these reviews automatically? In this first article of the new series Automation for the people, development automation expert Paul Duvall begins with a look at how automated inspectors like CheckStyle, JavaNCSS, and CPD enhance the development process and when you should use them.
With so many Continuous Integration (CI) servers to choose from, it can be difficult to decide which one is right for you. In the second article of the series Automation for the people, development automation expert Paul Duvall looks at a handful of open source CI servers, including Continuum, CruiseControl, and Luntbuild, using a consistent evaluation criteria and illustrative examples.