When I first accepted this mission I was so excited I imagined my self doing a happy dance, it was a Latin dance because maracas are cool. I thought this was going to be great! I am going to have an automated build process that hooks into source control so it will build the latest check in, run unit test, and then give you feed back on how every thing worked out. I was not in the least bit intimidated by the complexity of how all that may be because well all shops should have this, it can’t be any harder than installing Visual Studio, right? After about an hour of research my head exploded.

I have a lot of learning to do but I have found some references that will hopefully lead me in the right direction.

Reference:

• Ci Factory – This looks interesting but I don’t like the idea of having to conform to its way of doing things its also in beta :(
• Dnrtv on CI factory
• DotNetRocks with Eric Sink and Martin Woodward on CI and Source Control
• Martin Fowler on Continuous Integration
• CruiseControl.NET
• NAnt
• MSBuild
• Eirc Sink Source Control HOWTO
• How to setup a .NET Development Tree Wrapup by Mike Roberts
• A Recipe for Build Maintainability and Reusability by Jay Flowers
• NantContrib - more tasks and tools for nant like the MSBuild task
• .Net Development Trees Posted by Brig Lamoreaux

    I was at school the other day talking to a class mate he was admitting to me that some thing big needs to change in his life. He was about to graduate with a BS in Software Engineering and he all ready has his AAS in Software Application Programming, but he still did not have confidence in his abilities as a programmer. This made me think; we started school at the same time with about the same skill level. Why has my skill and confidence in them surpassed his? I believe it has to be because I strive to find and consume knowledge in multiple ways.
    I regularly listen to podcasts and watch webcast. I am also subscribing to multiple blogs from people I believe to be successful and knowledgeable programmers. I always have at least one book that I am reading that is related to the field. I attend classes on programming as well as try to instruct others on techniques through my blog as well as in person. On top of my work, I always have a side project going on that allows me to practice new and interesting technologies. That seems like a lot and it is, but I enjoy it. I guess that is the real answer, you have to enjoy it to be proficient at it.

I feel like a recovering crack addict who fell off the wagon. I have an addiction problem with MMOs, I was stuck on World of Warcraft for about a year I could not stop playing it, it wasn't until my computer had a melt down and I was forced to take a break that I acutely was able to quit the Wow habit. I was clean for almost a year, I focused on school and learning more programming, but I found my self a new drug it is called The Lord of the Rings Online, I am ashamed to say that it is eating my sole all ready. I love Middle-Earth and the amount of lore these guy put into it is amazing, wondering around this immense world really makes you feel like you are adventuring in the same one as Bilbo and Frodo. I am trying my best to limit my fanatic zeal for playing this game but my attempts are weak and you can probly find me online I am on the server Arkenstone, and my name is Grubz hope to see you in game.