This article gives an overview over open source build tools created by smartics. It shows how we use them to automate our build process, reducing manual steps as much as possible.
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To help our users and ourselves to check how a version has been built, we add a build report using our Buildmetadata Maven Plugin.
Project Metadata
For all project metadata we do not want to attach to the main artifact, our Projectmetadata Maven Plugin will create an attached artifact. This artifact is stored side-by-side with the main, sources, and javadoc artifact.
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Exception Codes Report
smartics exceptionsExceptions is a library for Java that helps handling exception codes. Central are exception codes that identify error conditions. A report on these codes is generated by the exceptioncodes-maven-plugin.
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We are currently developing a library that makes handling configurations with Java easier. The project is called smartics propertiesProperties. Part of this project is the Properties Maven Plugin that generates reports about properties, using the metadata and Javadoc comments provided in the code.
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If you are using Hudson or Bugzilla you may consider to use the hudson-maven-plugin Hudson Maven Plugin or the Bugzilla Maven Plugin to create the project’s representation on the servers. Creating a product or updating the version information on the Bugzilla server as well as creating or deleting a Hudson job may always be effortless.
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Metadata for your projects may proof invaluable, but for some they are just an additional burden with its benefits never be used. If it happens that SNAPSHOT versions get passed around within your team – or even worse – between different teams, you may welcome metadata within the archive to track the artifact to its sources in your SVN version control system. So the Buildmetadata Maven Plugin may be a tool to use. Before you employ the Projectmetadata Maven Plugin, check if you have use cases for the data preserved. Otherwise you build process will only be slowed down without any gain.
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Using the libraries in your project is a question on another level. Due to the nature of exception design in Java, the smartics exceptionsExceptions library will leak transitively into your API. This may or may not be a problem, but it should be discussed.
smartics propertiesProperties is a relatively new project where you are on the bleeding edge. We are currently working on tighter integration into the JBoss application server and this might make it easier for some teams to integrate this tool. We will inform our users about changes on the project’s website.
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