Automated Build Studio Features and Benefits
Visual designer for the automated build process
Design the automated build process visually as a sequence of operations performing individual build tasks, like getting files from source control or compiling the project. Add and arrange operations via drag-and-drop and set their properties using GUI editors.
Learn more about the visual macro designer in Automated Build Studio.
750 built-in operations for automating a variety of tools
Automate a broad range of tools and tasks as part of your build, deployment, quality assurance and release processes, so that nothing is left for manual execution. Run automated builds at the push of a button and focus on more important activities while your builds run unattended.
Learn more about supported tools and built-in operations in Automated Build Studio.
Distributed and parallel builds
Distribute the automated build tasks among multiple computers in your network to speed up your builds. Perform parallel builds, deploy to multiple environments at one time, and run regression tests simultaneously to save time and get faster feedback.
Learn more about distributed builds with Automated Build Studio.
Remote build management
Manage your build server remotely and control automated builds through a web interface or desktop clients. Migrate user accounts from your Active Directory domain controller and control security through group-based and per-build permissions.
Learn more about remote build management with Automated Build Studio.
Continuous integration and automated build scheduling
Set up automatic build triggering upon developer check-ins, local, network or FTP file changes and other events or schedule automated builds to run periodically or at a specific time – to get reliable automatic daily, nightly, weekly or continuous integration builds.
Learn more about continuous integration and build scheduling in Automated Build Studio.
Debugging build macros
Run individual build operations while configuring them to verify that they are set up correctly. Check the macro consistency to locate missing parameters or incorrect flow control structures. Troubleshoot your build macros and fix problems easily using breakpoints, watches and step-through execution.
Learn more about debugging build macros in Automated Build Studio.
Automatic build notifications
Receive automatic notifications on the latest build status via e-mail, ICQ, MSN or news servers to instantly know when a new build is available or when a build fails. Have the build process export and attach the entire build log, a high-level build summary or the error list to e-mail notifications.
Learn more about automatic build notifications in Automated Build Studio.
Detailed automated build logs
Monitor the automated build progress in real time using detailed, hierarchical and filterable automated build logs and isolate problems easily. Compare the failed build summary with that of the last successful build side-by-side to quickly find out what went wrong. Export the logs to HTML, XML or text and share them with your team members.
Learn more about build logs in Automated Build Studio.
Advanced control over the automated build process flow
Conditionally execute parts of the build workflow using the If…Then…Else and Switch…Case…Else operations and repeat specific build operations using the While and For loops. Implement structured exception handling for your automated build process using Try…Catch…Finally blocks. Arrange operations to run sequentially or in parallel, or specify dependencies between operations (like in makefiles or MSBuild projects) and let Automated Build Studio determine their execution order for you.
Learn more about flow control operations, concurrent operation execution and operation dependencies in Automated Build Studio.
Scripting in VBScript, JScript and DelphiScript
Enhance your build macros with VBScript, JScript or DelphiScript code to automate custom tasks not covered by built-in operations or dynamically configure the operations. Author scripts easily in Automated Build Studio’s integrated code editor with syntax highlighting, code completion and code repository support.
Learn more about scripting in Automated Build Studio.
Charts with build metrics
Analyze the metrics of your automated build processes using interactive charts. See the duration, frequency and success/fail ratio of automated builds on your computer or a remote build server over a given time period, in total, per build or per user.
Learn more about charts provided by Automated Build Studio.
Integration with Microsoft Visual Studio and Team System
Design and manage your automated build processes directly in Microsoft Visual Studio and run one-click builds without leaving the IDE. Include Automated Build Studio build macros into your MSBuild projects, or enhance your Team Foundation builds with Automated Build Studio build macros for a more flexible, reliable and maintainable automated build process.
Learn more about Automated Build Studio’s integration with Microsoft Visual Studio.
Visual editor for MSBuild projects
Use Automated Build Studio’s integrated MSBuild project editor to visualize the project structure as a tree view and modify the targets, tasks and other elements using intuitive drag-and-drop and dialog-based UI. Maintain your existing MSBuild projects easily or create new ones from scratch without digging into XML.
Learn more about the MSBuild project editor that comes with Automated Build Studio.