The Buildmeister's Guide: Achieving Agile Software Delivery Review

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The Buildmeister's Guide: Achieving Agile Software Delivery ReviewThe whole build and release space is getting lots of attention these days. There seem to be many different vendors coming out with "automated frameworks", many different "best practices" and a wealth of opinions. This book is a nice introduction to the space and should help you to make sense of it all.
I liked the clear definitions of the build process, patterns, frequencies and how they apply to different processes (Agile/Enterprise) and language (Java/.NET/C++) environments. The book documents a number of common sense tips (a la the Pragmatic Programmers books) and they would certainly be good to keep in mind if you are implementing or improving a build process. There is really little technical content, i.e. how can I use Apache Ant, GNU Make etc... but the author states that this is not the purpose of the book - although some examples would have been nice to back up the tips!
A lot of the information has already been published on the auhtors portal: [...], so I would go there first to see what type of information is included in the book. I believe the book is being helped to fund the maintenance of this site - so if you like it you can keep it going by purchasing a copy - you can decide!
In summary The Buildmeister's Guide is an easy and enjoyable read about a relatively new space. It is by no means perfect but I would recommend it if your were a "buildmeister", developer or integrator on a project.The Buildmeister's Guide: Achieving Agile Software Delivery OverviewHow to design and implement the right software build and release process for your environment.The Buildmeister's Guide researches and documents the build process in detail. It's aim is to increase awareness of the build process and to raise the level and quality of discussion that occurs around it. The book looks at how the build process affects and is affected by different software development languages and methods, and what intrinsic value a "well defined" build process can bring to an organization. It defines the set of skills and capabilities that implementers of the build process should posses, and also a framework for a generic best practice build process with tips and guidelines on how to implement it.Whether you are a software developer, manager or integrator, this book will help you understand the importance of the build process to your organization and what role you will need to play in it.

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Configuration Management Best Practices: Practical Methods that Work in the Real World Review

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Configuration Management Best Practices: Practical Methods that Work in the Real World ReviewGreat book! It's not really technical, it doesn't have script examples, and doesn't enter into the use-this-tool vs. that-tool debate. It's not specific to a particular set of tools, which is great. The value of this book is that it focuses more on establishing approaches to SCM. Items include how to attack SCM problems, items to consider, and even how to approach things from a people perspective. Often we get so focused on the technical side we may miss the people side. I will be using what I've learned from this book.
Configuration Management Best Practices: Practical Methods that Work in the Real World OverviewSuccessfully Implement High-Value Configuration Management Processes in Any Development EnvironmentAs IT systems have grown increasingly complex and mission-critical, effective configuration management (CM) has become critical to an organization's success. Using CM best practices, IT professionals can systematically manage change, avoiding unexpected problems introduced by changes to hardware, software, or networks. Now, today's best CM practices have been gathered in one indispensable resource showing you how to implement them throughout any agile or traditional development organization. Configuration Management Best Practices is practical, easy to understand and apply, and fully reflects the day-to-day realities faced by practitioners. Bob Aiello and Leslie Sachs thoroughly address all six "pillars" of CM: source code management, build engineering, environment configuration, change control, release engineering, and deployment. They demonstrate how to implement CM in ways that support software and systems development, meet compliance rules such as SOX and SAS-70, anticipate emerging standards such as IEEE/ISO 12207, and integrate with modern frameworks such as ITIL, COBIT, and CMMI. Coverage includesUsing CM to meet business objectives, contractual requirements, and compliance rules Enhancing quality and productivity through lean processes and "just-in-time" process improvement Getting off to a good start in organizations without effective CM Implementing a Core CM Best Practices Framework that supports the entire development lifecycle Mastering the "people" side of CM: rightsizing processes, overcoming resistance, and understanding workplace psychology Architecting applications to take full advantage of CM best practices Establishing effective IT controls and compliance Managing tradeoffs and costs and avoiding expensive pitfallsConfiguration Management Best Practices is the essential resource for everyone concerned with CM: from CTOs and CIOs to development, QA, and project managers and software engineers to analysts, testers, and compliance professionals.Praise for Configuration Management Best Practices"Understanding change is critical to any attempt to manage change. Bob Aiello and Leslie Sachs's Configuration Management Best Practices presents fundamental definitions and explanations to help practitioners understand change and its potential impact."–Mary Lou A. Hines Fritts, CIO and Vice Provost Academic Programs, University of Missouri-Kansas City"Few books on software configuration management emphasize the role of people and organizational context in defining and executing an effective SCM process. Bob Aiello and Leslie Sachs's book will give you the information you need not only to manage change effectively but also to manage the transition to a better SCM process."–Steve Berczuk, Agile Software Developer, and author of Software Configuration Management Patterns: Effective Teamwork, Practical Integration"Bob Aiello and Leslie Sachs succeed handsomely in producing an important book, at a practical and balanced level of detail, for this topic that often 'goes without saying' (and hence gets many projects into deep trouble). Their passion for the topic shows as they cover a wonderful range of topics–even culture, personality, and dealing with resistance to change–in an accessible form that can be applied to any project. The software industry has needed a book like this for a long time!"–Jim Brosseau, Clarrus Consulting Group, and author of Software Teamwork: Taking Ownership for Success"A must read for anyone developing or managing software or hardware projects. Bob Aiello and Leslie Sachs are able to bridge the language gap between the myriad of communities involved with successful Configuration Management implementations. They describe practical, real world practices that can be implemented by developers, managers, standard makers, and even Classical CM Folk."–Bob Ventimiglia, Bobev Consulting"A fresh and smart review of today's key concepts of SCM, build management, and related key practices on day-to-day software engineering. From the voice of an expert, Bob Aiello and Leslie Sachs offer an invaluable resource to success in SCM."–Pablo Santos Luaces, CEO of Codice Software"Bob Aiello and Leslie Sachs have a gift for stimulating the types of conversation and thought that necessarily precede needed organizational change. What they have to say is always interesting and often important."–Marianne Bays, Business Consultant, Manager and Educator

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Ant: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition Review

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Ant: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition ReviewThis book is exactly what it's title says: a *guide* to using Apache Ant, particularly for Java development. Note, though, that it is *not* a *reference*. It does not describe each Ant task in detail, nor does it document all the allowable Ant XML elements.
That's why I was disappointed with this book, and only gave it three stars. O'Reilly has an unfortunate habit of giving the same type of title to any of its books on a subject, regardless of their real content. Thus, "HTML and XHTML: The Definitive Guide" is a both a *guide* and a *reference*, and pretty much the only HTML book you need.
"Ant", on the other hand, really needs a companion reference for more experienced Ant users. Anyone who uses Ant soon realizes that the online documentation is less than stellar.
This book is a necessary starting point for Ant; now we need more! Ant, after all, is worth documenting, since it's *much* better than any alternative out there.Ant: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition Overview
Soon after its launch, Ant succeeded in taking the Java world by storm, becoming the most widely used tool for building applications in Java environments. Like most popular technologies, Ant quickly went through a series of early revision cycles.With each new version, more functionality was added, and more complexity was introduced. Ant evolved from a simple-to-learn build tool into a full-fledged testing and deployment environment.

Ant: The Definitive Guide has been reworked, revised and expanded upon to reflect this evolution.It documents the new ways that Ant is being applied, as well as the array of optional tasks that Ant supports.In fact, this new second edition covers everything about this extraordinarybuild managementtool from downloading and installing, to using Ant to test code.Here are just of a few of the features you'll find detailed in this comprehensive, must-have guide:

Developing conditional builds, and handling error conditions
Automatically retrieving source code from version control systems
Using Ant with XML files
Using Ant with JavaServer Pages to build Web applications
Using Ant with Enterprise JavaBeans to build enterprise applications
Far exceeding its predecessor in terms of information and detail, Ant: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition is a must-have for Java developers unfamiliar with the latest advancements in Ant technology.With this book at your side, you'll soon be up to speed on the premiere tool for cross-platform development.
Author Steve Holzner is an award-winning author who s been writing about Java topics since the language first appeared; his books have sold more than 1.5 million copies worldwide.


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