Some time ago I purchased an update to Automated Build Studio. I whish I never did. I was pretty happy with the previous version, but encountered a problem (or wanted a feature - can't remember) that was solved/available in the new version only. Since I was very happy in the past I never thought twice about purchasing the update.
From the word go I ran into problems. I got access violations and had problems with search paths that were used when compiling Delphi software. It took me some intensive emaling with the support department before I got our most important projects compiling again. The access violations still happen intermittedly and a solution was never provided.
Now, I started using a new component pack some time ago (VideoLabs) and the problems with the search paths were back again. Things compile fine using the IDE or from the command line, but using AutomatedBuildStudio I get some unexplainable errors. I emailed support a couple of time, but they all seem to be on holiday: I can't get a reply.
So, I'm thinking about switching to another tool. Even though I have created a workaround (calling a batch file compiling the projects, using another tool to update the version numbers of my software), I don't want that as a permanent solution on my build system.
I found quite a lot of praize about FinalBuilder. It seems pretty affordable too (maybe there's even a competetive upgrade prize available if I ask).
What's your experience? What build systems can you recommend?
Thanks for letting me know.
Bye,
Bart
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
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10 comments:
I have been using FinalBuilder for a couple of years now, and couldn't be happier!!!!
Once set up, it just does what it's supposed to, with no surprises or strange errors.
I can highly recommend FinalBuilder!!!
+1 for Final builder
We're also very happy with FinalBuilder. We have a reasonably complicated build which does configuration file parsing, source code check out, builds projects in multiple languages using a dynamic list of projects built from the configuration file, executes static analysis and unit tests, does deployment, check in, and executes other builds. FinalBuilder handles all of this, and is very stable in terms of not having showstopper bugs.
We have a dedicated build machine with FinalBuilder installed on it. Originally I was the only one who used it, but later other developers would use Remote Desktop to connect to this machine and edit the build script. When other developers started using FinalBuilder, we contacted the company to see if we needed to upgrade our license from a single user to a multiple user license. Amazingly, they said no. Because we have the software installed on only one machine and no two developers can use it concurrently, they were fine with us having a single user license, even though it is a "named user" license. So, for us, FinalBuilder is even cheaper than the website might lead you to believe, even though the prices on the website are already quite cheap.
We also use final builder and have had no problems at all...heck I even have it compiling the installation scripts, and sending email to the QA department that its ready for testing...when they are done they copy the file to a "release" folder and my final builder script automatically FTP's the changes to our website.
Absolutely go for FinalBuilder. I use it since years and never ran into a problem that wasn't been solved in less than a day - outstanding support.
+1 for Final builder...We use it since many years! In combination with CruiseControl.net it runs at a Continous Integration Server and also builds complete Releases on manual request (using CCTray).
FinalBuilder is so great, that it leaves you no other choice!
+1 for FinalBuilder.
It pays for itself the second time you run your build script. Awesome product and I've never had a crash and have been using it since version 3.
Have been using it since version 1 (in 2001) for all my software builds, for my real-time worldwide public holidays website, and subscription newsletters to hundreds of financial, logistics and government agencies ... and it runs flawlessly. Support is also great (same guys answering emails since 2001 ... they must be doing something right).
Ok, FinalBuilder it is. I finally got an answer from the support guys (are they reading this blog???) but that wasn't helpful I'm afraid. I cannot afford to waste any more time and have my customers wait for delivery.
I just installed FinalBuilder and the first screen I got already made me smile. I was presented with a wizard in wich I can check what products/development environments I use (probably to limit the choices later on). That's one thing that annoyed me with ABS: I had to spend a lot of time removing all the things that I didn't use. I only use a couple of tools (Delphi, Visual Studio, Wise, SVN, that's it) and don't want the thousand other tools presented.
So, here we go with FinalBuilder. Everybody thanks for letting know about your experiences
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