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| <org.eclipse.epf.uma:PracticeDescription xmi:version="2.0" |
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| xmlns:epf="http://www.eclipse.org/epf" epf:version="1.5.0" xmi:id="-CtyoBMfPzn2SCjU-fK3ehg" |
| name="continous_integration,_rJNiMB4rEd2bS8fFOQ7WWA" guid="-CtyoBMfPzn2SCjU-fK3ehg" |
| changeDate="2008-07-04T09:27:04.515-0400" version="7.5.0"> |
| <mainDescription><h3>
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| The Essence of Continuous Integration
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| </h3>
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| <p>
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| The essence of continuous integration may be described by the following activities:
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| </p>
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| <ol>
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| <li>
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| Developers make small changes to the latest integration tested implementation in their workspace, and unit test
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| them, prior to making the changes available to the team.
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| </li>
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| <li>
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| Change sets from all developers are integrated in an integration workspace and tested frequently (at least daily,
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| ideally any time a new change set is available).
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| </li>
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| </ol>
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| <p>
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| The first activity ensures that changes are made to a known-good configuration and tested prior to making the changes
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| available.&nbsp; The second activity identifies integration issues early, so they can be corrected while the change is
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| still fresh in the developers mind.
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| </p></mainDescription> |
| <additionalInfo><h3>
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| Books and Articles<br />
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| <br />
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| </h3>
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| <table width="100%" summary="layout table" border="0">
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| <tbody>
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| <tr>
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| <td colspan="2">
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| Martin Fowler&nbsp;2006. <i>Continuous Integration.</i>&nbsp; <a
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| href="http://www.martinfowler.com/articles/continuousIntegration.html"
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| target="_blank">http://www.martinfowler.com/articles/continuousIntegration.html</a>
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| </td>
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| </tr>
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| <tr>
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| <td width="10%">
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| </td>
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| <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px" width="78%">
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| Seminal paper on Continuous Integration.&nbsp;&nbsp;Great overview of&nbsp;the benefits and practices of
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| continuous integration.
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| </td>
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| </tr>
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| <tr>
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| <td colspan="2">
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| Paul&nbsp;M. Duval with Steve Matyas and Andrew Glover 2007. <i>Continuous Integration: Improving Software
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| Quality and Reducing Risk.</i> Addison-Wesley.
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| </td>
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| </tr>
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| <tr>
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| <td width="10%">
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| </td>
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| <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px" width="78%">
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| Comprehensive guidance on the practice, and sub-practices of continuous integration. Great overview of
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| motivation and benefits of the practice. Detailed discussion of more than forty CI related sub-practices
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| with example scripts and code segments. Appendix provides an overview of tools available to support the
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| practice.
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| </td>
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| </tr>
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| </tbody>
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| </table></additionalInfo> |
| <problem><h3>
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| Why Adopt this Practice?
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| </h3>
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| <p>
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| The effort required to integrate a system increases exponentially with time.&nbsp; By integrating the system more
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| frequently, integration issues are identified earlier when they are easier to fix and&nbsp;the overall integration
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| effort is reduced.&nbsp; The result is a higher quality product and more predictable delivery schedules.
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| </p>
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| <p>
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| Continuous integration provides the following benefits:
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| </p>
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| <ol>
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| <li>
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| Improved feedback. Continuous integration shows constant and demonstrable progress.
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| </li>
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| <li>
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| Improved error detection. Continuous integration enables you to detect and address errors early, often minutes
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| after they’ve been injected into the product. Effective continuous integration requires automated unit testing with
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| appropriate code coverage.
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| </li>
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| <li>
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| Improved collaboration. Continuous integration enables team members to work together safely. They know that they
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| can make a change to their code, integrate the system, and determine very quickly whether or not their change
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| conflicts with others.
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| </li>
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| <li>
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| Improved system integration. By integrating continuously throughout your project you know that you can actually
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| build the system, thereby mitigating integration surprises at the end of the lifecycle.
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| </li>
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| <li>
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| Reduced&nbsp;number of parallel changes that need to be merged and tested.
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| </li>
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| <li>
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| Reduced number of errors found during system testing. All conflicts&nbsp;are resolved prior to making new change
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| sets available, by the person who is in the best position to resolve them.
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| </li>
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| <li>
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| Reduced technical risk. You always have an up-to-date system against which to test.
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| </li>
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| <li>
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| Reduced management risk. By continuously integrating your system you know exactly how much functionality that
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| you’ve built to date, improving your ability to predict when and if you’re actually going to be able to deliver the
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| necessary functionality.
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| </li>
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| </ol></problem> |
| <application><h3>
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| How to Read this Practice
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| </h3>
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| <p>
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| The best way to read this practice is to first familiarize yourself with its overall structure -- what it is in it and
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| how it is organized.&nbsp;
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| </p>
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| <p>
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| Begin by reviewing the key concepts to understand the terminology used.&nbsp; Then review the task <a
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| class="elementLink"
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| href="./../../../practice.tech.continuous_integration.base/tasks/integrate_and_create_build_6191BF5D.html"
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| guid="_kkZBgJOKEdyaRbFYa4AN4A">Integrate and Create Build</a> to understand what needs to be done. Finally, review the
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| associated guidelines for&nbsp;more information on the overall workflow.
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| </p>
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| <p>
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| For step-by-step instructions on how to adopt this practice, see&nbsp;<a class="elementLink"
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| href="./../../../practice.tech.continuous_integration.base/guidances/roadmaps/how_to_adopt_continuous_integration_DBC46C5D.html"
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| guid="_4qbzQPnTEdyLA5PXdgVJXw">How to Adopt the Continuous Integration Practice</a>.
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| </p></application> |
| </org.eclipse.epf.uma:PracticeDescription> |
