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Joe Berkovitz

VP Engineering

Allurent, Inc.

Continuous Integration with Flex, FlexUnit, and Ant

2007 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved.2

Is your build process like a Rube Goldberg contraption?

Manual

Fragile

Missing

Current Build Process

Image Source: http://mousetrapcontraptions.com/rube-cartoons-2.html

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Goal of this talk is to introduce tools and techniques to create a continuous integration based build process.

Centralized

Automated

Self-Testing

Ideal Build Process

Image Source: http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-105/images/contact105_medium.html

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Continuous Integration is a software development practice where members of a team integrate their work frequently.

Each integration is verified by an automated build and test that detects integration errors as quickly as possible.

Continuous Integration

Source: http://www.martinfowler.com/articles/continuousIntegration.html

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Continuous Integration Cycle

Source: http://www.methodsandtools.com/archive/archive.php?id=42

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Build Failure Notification

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Build Log

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Project Dashboard

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Project Distributions

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Continuous Integration Cycle

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Build Process

Source Code

Build File

Generated AssetsBuild Tool

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Project View

Project

Build File

Generated Assets/bin

/src Source Code

Build Tool

/

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Build Automation Tool

Widely Used

Extensive Documentation

Cross Platform

Robust

XML Based

Ant

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Project

Tree governed by a set of automated jobs or "targets"

Ideally corresponds 1-to-1 with real projects

XML defines targets

Key Ant Concepts

Property

• Holds a constant textual value or file location

• Accessed with ${xyz} syntax

• Environment or custom defined

Target

• Logical chunk of work

• Can depend on other targets

• Works like a script

Task

• Individual command

• Accepts arguments to control behavior

• Used in targets

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Ant Hello World Demonstration

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<project name="HelloWorld" default="build">

<property name="message" value="Hello World!"/>

<target name="init" description="Initialize the build">

<tstamp/>

</target>

<target name="build" depends="init" description="Build the Hello World project">

<echo message="${message} Today is ${TODAY}"/>

</target>

</project>

Hello World Build Script

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Hello World Build Script Output

Executed build file

Name of target being run

Name of target being run

Task name and output

Result of the build

Diagnostic information

Buildfile: build.xml

init:

build:

[echo] Hello World! Today is September 17 2007

BUILD SUCCESSFUL

Total time: 0 seconds

17

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Ant mxmlc Demonstration

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<!-- Using the Flex Ant Tasks provided by Adobe Labs -->

<project name="SampleApplication" default="build">

<taskdef resource="flexTasks.tasks" classpath="${basedir}/flexTasks/lib/flexTasks.jar"/>

<property name="FLEX_HOME" value="C:/Talk/Flex2.0.1HF2"/>

<target name="build">

<mxmlc file="src/${ant.project.name}.mxml" output="bin/${ant.project.name}.swf">

<load-config filename="${FLEX_HOME}/frameworks/flex-config.xml"/>

<source-path path-element="${FLEX_HOME}/frameworks"/>

</mxmlc>

</target>

</project>

Compiling an Application

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Keep source and output separated

Don’t do work you’ve already done

Provide reasonable defaults

Centralize behavior

Predictability

Build Practices

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Build Templates

Source Code

Build File

Generated AssetsBuild Tool

Build Templates

User Specific

Overrides

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Build Templates

Encapsulates Best Practices

Handles Flex Applications, Libraries, and Documentation

Cross Project Dependencies

Multiple Project Builds

Antennae

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Antennae Demonstration

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<project name="SampleApplication" default="build">

<property name="root.dir" location="../"/>

<property file="${root.dir}/build-user.properties"/>

<import file="${root.dir}/tools/build-imports.xml"/>

<path id="flex2.lib.path"/>

<target name="build" depends="init,flex2-application" description="Build the application" />

</project>

Antennae Build Script

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Flex Builder can invoke Ant to compile a Flex project

Flex Builder can use Ant targets…

to do all build work

just to do the non-compilation steps

Using Ant and Flex Builder together

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Continuous Integration Cycle

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Build Verification

Supports Flex and ActionScript

Asynchronous Testing Facilities

Graphical Test Results

FlexUnit

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FlexUnit Test Results

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FlexUnit Demonstration

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FlexUnit Automation

Test Suite Generation

Test Filtering

Actionscript to Java Result Reporting

Antennae

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Antennae Demonstration

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<project name="SampleTestApplication" default="test">

<!-- Shared imports -->

<import file="${root.dir}/lib/build-assets.xml" />

<path id="flex2.lib.path">

<pathelement location="${flexunit2.swc}"/>

<pathelement location="${arc-flexunit2.swc}"/>

<!-- Include asset under test here -->

</path>

<target name="build" depends="init,flex2-test-application" description="Build the test application"/>

<target name="test" depends="build,test-flexunit2" description="Run the test application"/>

</project>

Automated Test Script

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Continuous Integration Cycle

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Ant Demonstration

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Complex Project Demonstration

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Complex Project View

SubProject1

Assets/bin

/srcSource Code

assets

SubProject2

Assets/bin

/srcSource Code

imports

Project

Build File

/proj2

/proj1

/

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Many small projects keep dependencies under control

But… Flex Builder is very slow when building many Library Projects

Solution: Create single Flex Builder "super-project" that has multiple source paths in multiple projects.

Building Complex Projects with Flex Builder

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Continuous Integration Cycle

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Key Concepts Source code repository

Clean build machine

Runs after every commit

Popular platforms CruiseControl

Apache Continuum

Many others

Continuous Integration

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Ant http://ant.apache.org/

FlexUnit http://code.google.com/p/as3flexunitlib/

Antennae http://code.google.com/p/antennae/

Continuous Integration Matrix http://docs.codehaus.org/x/gCk

Flex Ant Tasks http://labs.adobe.com/wiki/index.php/Flex_Ant_Tasks

Resources

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Q & A