MSDN Magazine - November 2008 - (Page 113)

BriaN a. raNdell Team SySTem Team Build 2008 Team Foundation Server (TFS) is about teams. Sure, a team of one can use it, but TFS is really all about collaboration with other humans on your development projects. Build automation is not F5. Build automation is about collecting, assembling, validating, and auditing. The idea is that you will collect all of the artifacts that comprise your solution and assemble said artifacts based upon a well-defined integration plan. Compilation is a typical task defined in the assembling phase. You use various types of automated tests, often know as build verification tests (BVTs) or smoke tests, to then validate your team’s collective work. Finally, you’ll perform some type of audit to assess the overall quality of the build. The audit helps provide data to help you answer the tough questions. For example, do the bits as of this build create a product? Is your product of high quality? Do you have any regressions? Are you on schedule? The value of build auditing is making it trivial to take the pulse of your team. In this column I will introduce you to Visual Studio 2008 Team Foundation Server Build (Team Build) and walk you through the process of creating and running a team build. I’ll also demonstrate the managed API now available that lets you program against Team Build 2008. Build automation is not F5. Build automation is about collecting, assembling, validating, and auditing. port historical trend analysis. The 2005 release of Team Build also supported multiple-build machines, build notifications, and the ability to start a build from the command line or through the Team Explorer user interface. For Team Build 2008, Microsoft did more than just spit and polish. Major enhancements include continuous integration support, build queuing, scheduled builds through Team Explorer, and a managed object model. In addition, Microsoft separated build agent definition from build definition, created a build definition editing user interface, and added better build management tools. Combined with the solid Team Build 2005 feature set, Team Build 2008 presents a compelling build automation solution. In addition, because Microsoft continues to support backward compatibility, you can upgrade your TFS installation and your Team Build servers even if your development team is still using Visual Studio 2005. Creating a Team Build About Team Build Team Build is a core feature of TFS 2008. Microsoft designed it to be an industrial-strength build automation tool. You could say it provides the F5 experience for your team. In a typical environment, you’ll install Team Build on its own dedicated server (although if you have a very small team or a tight budget, you can install Team Build on your TFS box). Unlike other portions of TFS, the 2008 release of Team Build was a major update. In the 2005 release, Microsoft created a good build automation product. Using MS-Build as its engine, Team Build 2005 supported many of the core automation features you’d expect: version control, compilation, multiple build types, unit tests, static analysis, and code coverage. In addition, it provided excellent reporting features including build reports and data updates to the TFS data warehouse to sup- To use Team Build you naturally need a TFS installation, either a single server or dual server configuration. You’ll need to have installed Team Build and properly configured your build server. The details are covered in the recently updated Team Foundation Installation Guide at go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=128347. Finally, you’ll need a team project with some code checked into the version control repository. In Visual Studio 2008 with a Team Foundation Server client installed, open the Team Explorer window with your team project loaded. In this example, let’s assume you’ve created a team project called MSDNMag using the MSF-Agile template. (If you want to follow along, download the code from this column as well as the Team System 2008 TFS and Team Suite Virtual PC image from go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=128348.) This example uses a custom workspace called MSDNMag with the trunk mapped to C:\Work in the Virtual PC image. Code download available at msdn.microsoft.com/magazine/cc135911. Send your questions and comments for Brian to mmvsts@microsoft.com. November 2008 113 http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=128347 http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=128348 http://msdn.microsoft.com/magazine/cc135911

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of MSDN Magazine - November 2008

Contents MSDN Magazine - November 2008 Toolbox CLR Inside Out Data Points Cutting Edge Security Briefs Test Your Security IQ Agile SDL Access Control Utility Spotlight RIA Test Run Wicked Code Foundations Team System End Bracket

MSDN Magazine - November 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.