Learn Your Build Tool. Well.
Many developers seem to look upon software build tools (Ant/Make/Maven/Rake/SCons/etc) with disdain. They see them as painful creatures put on the earth to gnaw at their patience. The developer just wants to get on with Real Work (coding), and not have to deal with such annoying details. This attitude arises for a few reasons:
- Someone Else’s Problem: some don’t see writing/maintaining build scripts as part of their job. They’re programmers, not build/release engineers.
- Yet Another Language: build tools (frequently) use a custom language for their scripts. Some resist having to learn Yet Another Language.
- Real Pain: writing, and particularly debugging build scripts can be a right pain. The language might be restrictive, debugging support limited, the behaviour arcane.
- It’s Good Enough: at the start of the project someone slapped together a copy-pasted build script that just, feebly, manages to output something resembling a binary. Nobody will ever bother looking at the build system again.
- Lack Of Time: improving the build system is not a customer requirement. Hence, nobody will ever get around to doing it.
I would argue that this attitude is harmful. I could even refute each point above, one by one. But it doesn’t matter. Even if all these points were valid, there is a single overriding factor: the build system is dog food you have to eat. If you don’t like the taste, why are you putting up with it? So: learn your build tool, and learn it well. Invest a day in improving the build system, and reap the benefits every day thereafter. Keep the knowledge with you, and refactor your build scripts just like your code to make everyone’s life easier.
I can remember many a time that I put off making such improvements for an age. When I finally make the change, the first thought is always: I rock! ? The next thought is: I’m a fool for not doing this sooner!
This entry was posted on Thursday, December 7th, 2006 at 1:46 am and is filed under Project Automation, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
