Neutral build
Encyclopedia
In software development
, a neutral build is a build
that reflects the current state of the source code
checked into the source code version control system by the developers and done in a neutral environment, that is in an environment not used for development.
A nightly build is a neutral build that takes place automatically. These typically take place when no one is likely to be working in the office so that there are no changes to the source code
during the build. The results of the build are inspected by the arriving programmers, who generally place a priority on ensuring the recent changes to the source code have not broken the build process or functionality of the software.
When someone says a developer "broke the build", they are effectively saying that a developer checked in code which might very well have compiled (and hopefully also run properly) in their account, but does not compile (and therefore, cannot be run) in anyone else's account. This is typically due to additional developer-specific changes that were either not checked in, or (in the case of environment variable
s, etc.) were modifications to systems not under revision control. One of the most common cases is remembering to check in all modified files, but forgetting to add newly created files to the repository. If the other developers check out the new code without being aware of the problem, their work may grind to a halt while they wait for the problem to be fixed (or try to fix it themselves, which can be even more problematic, if multiple developers attempt to fix the issue at the same time). This naturally can result in a significant loss of productivity.
Neutral builds are important for software development
processes running at high loads with short schedules (see extreme programming
, startup
); not having them means that any build that needs to be created for the software quality assurance
department has to be created using code which may be in the middle of major modifications, and which would best be left out of a build for testing (particularly a build being evaluated for possible release).
Neutral builds can be done on a machine which is also used for active development if enough caution is taken, but it is safer to dedicate a machine to that purpose because an issue in the build process could cause the machine to become unstable.
Software development
Software development is the development of a software product...
, a neutral build is a build
Software build
In the field of computer software, the term software build refers either to the process of converting source code files into standalone software artifact that can be run on a computer, or the result of doing so...
that reflects the current state of the source code
Source code
In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
checked into the source code version control system by the developers and done in a neutral environment, that is in an environment not used for development.
A nightly build is a neutral build that takes place automatically. These typically take place when no one is likely to be working in the office so that there are no changes to the source code
Source code
In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
during the build. The results of the build are inspected by the arriving programmers, who generally place a priority on ensuring the recent changes to the source code have not broken the build process or functionality of the software.
When someone says a developer "broke the build", they are effectively saying that a developer checked in code which might very well have compiled (and hopefully also run properly) in their account, but does not compile (and therefore, cannot be run) in anyone else's account. This is typically due to additional developer-specific changes that were either not checked in, or (in the case of environment variable
Environment variable
Environment variables are a set of dynamic named values that can affect the way running processes will behave on a computer.They can be said in some sense to create the operating environment in which a process runs...
s, etc.) were modifications to systems not under revision control. One of the most common cases is remembering to check in all modified files, but forgetting to add newly created files to the repository. If the other developers check out the new code without being aware of the problem, their work may grind to a halt while they wait for the problem to be fixed (or try to fix it themselves, which can be even more problematic, if multiple developers attempt to fix the issue at the same time). This naturally can result in a significant loss of productivity.
Neutral builds are important for software development
Software development
Software development is the development of a software product...
processes running at high loads with short schedules (see extreme programming
Extreme Programming
Extreme programming is a software development methodology which is intended to improve software quality and responsiveness to changing customer requirements...
, startup
Startup company
A startup company or startup is a company with a limited operating history. These companies, generally newly created, are in a phase of development and research for markets...
); not having them means that any build that needs to be created for the software quality assurance
Software quality assurance
Software quality assurance consists of a means of monitoring the software engineering processes and methods used to ensure quality. The methods by which this is accomplished are many and varied, and may include ensuring conformance to one or more standards, such as ISO 9000 or a model such as...
department has to be created using code which may be in the middle of major modifications, and which would best be left out of a build for testing (particularly a build being evaluated for possible release).
Neutral builds can be done on a machine which is also used for active development if enough caution is taken, but it is safer to dedicate a machine to that purpose because an issue in the build process could cause the machine to become unstable.
Hazards
Some noteworthy obstacles to a reliable neutral build process are:- Getting a consistent set of makefiles and other project control files. This step tends to expose consistency problems between various development machines, particularly with respect to directory structures, compiler and linker options, and environment variables.
- Having the same operating systemOperating systemAn operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
and tools setup as the development machines. Again, this step tends to expose differences between the machines in use by different developers. - Having an automated checkout procedure that completely cleans out the target directory first, and gets all files required. Ideally, however, the system doesn't waste time with large files that aren't required.
- Integrating with the version control system, particularly if encryptionEncryptionIn cryptography, encryption is the process of transforming information using an algorithm to make it unreadable to anyone except those possessing special knowledge, usually referred to as a key. The result of the process is encrypted information...
, authenticationAuthenticationAuthentication is the act of confirming the truth of an attribute of a datum or entity...
, or both are being used (see SSHSecure ShellSecure Shell is a network protocol for secure data communication, remote shell services or command execution and other secure network services between two networked computers that it connects via a secure channel over an insecure network: a server and a client...
). This must be done with care, as it is typically very easy to make it "work" without being secure, and the temptation or pressure to just "fix it later" may be strong. - Ensuring all materials come from the correct directory. It is strongly recommended that there be only one copy of the source tree on the neutral build machine.
- Problems with version numbering.
- Decoupling the build process from specific IDEsIntegrated development environmentAn integrated development environment is a software application that provides comprehensive facilities to computer programmers for software development...
. This is tough to convince some people to do, but in the end, it leads to cleaner build processes. Trouble usually arises in areas such as EJBs (especially with IBM's WebSphereWebSphereIBM WebSphere refers to a brand of computer software products in the genre of enterprise software known as "application and integration middleware". These software products are used by end-users to create applications and integrate applications with other applications...
product which requires the use of one of their IDEs to generate some binary files). - Getting adequate feedback from the build system so that you can tell what is broken when something breaks. The worst kind of feedback is simply a lack of linked binary files; the best identifies not only compilation failures, but linker failures, missing source materials, missing include directories, and so on.
- Understanding the difference between branching and releasing. Releasing software requires a branch whose state can be returned to. A release is usually a tag on a branch or mainline like the HEAD. A branch can be used for parallel development or for patch releases to a release. A branch is not necessarily a release.
- Ensuring developer environments are easy to set up and get into a useful state. The varied state of machines and software installations can make this task quite daunting.
- Convincing management of the benefit of automated buildsBuild AutomationBuild automation is the act of scripting or automating a wide variety of tasks that software developers do in their day-to-day activities including things like:* compiling computer source code into binary code* packaging binary code* running tests...
.