Building a Build Process: Introduction

This is part of a larger series in building a proper build process. For more information and additional series links, check out the introductory post.

Why Undertake This (Plus: Look at my Presentation!)

I’ve seen too many instances in various jobs and projects where the build/integration process is not afforded due diligence (or any diligence, really).

I decided I needed to do something about it. Part experiment, part challenge, part reference guide. I’m going to see if I can put together an entire continuous integration / build process for .NET environments from scratch.

Below, you can find some slides from a presentation I gave at work (and yes, the design ideas are at times ripped directly from Zach Holman’s article as I tried to emulate his style. He’s awesome, and I’m shameless. Credit was given.) This talk highlighted the benefits of inte”great”ion and what I was about to undertake.

My Goal

In short, dear reader, my end desire is to have a completely integrated build process for .NET using (almost) free and/or open-source tools, and to share my process with you.

The build process so far will include the following:

• Subversion repository on CentOS VM
• An ASP.NET MVC Project Added to the Source control
• Trac web site connected to Subversion repository on CentOS VM
• Build Server VM (Windows Server 2008 R2)
• CruiseControl.NET running on the Build Server
• Building the Project with MSBuild via CCNet
• Building a Release build via CCNet; if successful, publishes to AppHarbor via a cloned git repository
• NUnit Tests
• NCover code coverage metrics
• SpecFlow User Acceptance Test / Feature Test coverage
• Selenium Server as a web driver to execute specflow tests
• Selenium Grid executing tests on multiple OSes / platforms
• Adding FxCop to the mix to check my coding standards
• Adding StyleCop to the mix to make sure the code is consistently written.
• Utilizing Nuget packages and Octopus to transform releases for different environments.

Hoo-boy, Here We Go

It’s a lofty goal – especially for someone who’s not a pro developer – but I’m excited for everything I’m about to learn during this process.

Onward and Upward!

Feedback Welcome!

I’d love to hear any comments on this series. Find it useful? Think there’s a better way to implement the technique or something I should have mentioned? Please drop a line in the comments to help me improve the series!