Continuous Integration

Todd
Papaioannou
 Or,
how to build software
better, faster, cheaper
What??
 What is CI?

a development methodology

of daily developer integrations

verified by automated builds

What is it not?

nightly builds

developer branches

scheduled Integration Points

building via IDEs

Continuous
Compilation
!=
Continuous
Integration
‘Fraid Not!
Why do it?
Building software can
be a risky business
 Risk 1:
Fixing bugs late is costly

Source: http://www.agitar.com/solutions/ why_unit_testing.html

So why is most
software built Requirements
this way?
Design

Implementation

Testing
 Risk 2:
Lack of team cohesion

“Your changes to Bar are incompatible with

mine. How do we merge now?”

“When did we decided to upgrade to version

2.0-alpha of the Super library??”

“I thought you fixed that 2 months ago!”

 Risk 3:
Poor quality code base

“We have 3 classes doing the same thing??”

“Everybody knows double checked locking is

a Bad Idea!”

“Why can’t I just include Foo and not require

all of the other 13 libs?”
 Risk 4:
Lack of project visibility

“What do you mean the tests are failing?”

“What’s in version 1.2.3 of the build?”

“What’s our code coverage now?

 Risk 5:
Lack of deployable software

“It works on my machine!”

“I need a new build to test with”

“The [boss|customer|patron] is coming,

we need to demo progress asap”
 Use Continuous
Integration to reduce
the risks
 Wait!

Didn’t you say

better, faster,
cheaper?
 Better
Build better quality software
That is tested early and often
That adheres to best practices
and coding standards
 Faster
Test in parallel, not at the end
No integration points
Builds become a non event
Cheaper
Identify defects earlier
Fix when least costly
Easily repeatable testing
 So what
constitutes
a build?
Compilation
!=
A Build
 Build Ingredients
Compilation

Test execution

Database integration

Code inspection

Automated deployment

Documentation generation
 Compilation

Ensures code actually compiles

On every target platform

Test Execution

Ensures product functions

as expected
Through repeatable testing
DB Integration

Ensures DB and code in sync

Automates (re)creation of
DB and test data
Code Inspections

Ensures a healthy code base

Identifies problems early
Enforces best practices
 Automated
Deployment

Products can be released anytime

Continually demo-able state
Eliminates “works on my machine”
Documentation
Generation

Ensures documentation is current

Removes burden from developers
Produces build reports and metrics
 How do I
get started?
When do I build?

At every check-in
Every time a dependency changes
 Dependency
Graphs Matter!
How do I build?

Use a single build script

That can run from the cmdline
Do not depend on an IDE
Do it continuously

Use a dedicated CI server, not cron

Trigger on all daily check-ins
Not [only] at midnight
Pay attention
to your builds

Provide immediate feedback

Make it easily accessible
Require no developer effort
Metrics Matter

Identify key metrics and

track them visually
Act on them immediately
The 7 step
program
Learn it,
Use it!
 Step 1
Commit Early,
Commit Often
 Step 2
Never commit
broken code
 Step 3
Fix build failures
immediately
Step 4

Fail Fast
 Step 5

Act on metrics
 Step 6
Build in every
target environment
 Step 7
Create artifacts
from every build
print
me!

1. Commit Early, Commit Often

2. Never Commit Broken Code
3. Fix build failures immediately
4. Fail Fast
5. Act on metrics
6. Build in every target environment
7. Create artifacts from every build
Summary
 Continuous
Integration

can help you build better

quality software faster,
with more confidence
Start using it!
The End
Roll the Photo Credits
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24263322@N05/2403969648/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/destinme/1267500829/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/legacyalive/891467616/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tizianoj/1294103746/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/xeophin/2181342710/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/booddin/2190614236

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/176219254

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7446536@N03/430561725

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gallerisager/471366272

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mccain007/2092664145