Re: [buckminster-dev] iX CeBIT Forum 2010 Talk

[Thomas Hallgren <thomas@xxxxxxx>]

Hi Carsten,
The question that always pops up is "How does this compare with Maven?".

The short answer is that Buckminster builds your workspace using Eclipse builders, i.e. exactly the same as when you 
work with your IDE. All compiler settings apply. Internal builders will execute etc. This is because Buckminster is 
built on top of the Eclipse internal build system.

Maven is an external build system with a plug-in framework of its own. It cannot work directly with the eclipse bundles 
for team sharing, compilers, PDE build, p2, etc. Maven builds 'the maven way' and is not in any way dependent on Eclipse 
technology. This is an advantage if the code is maintained using other IDE's then Eclipse. Several projects provide 
bundles that enables Maven functionality in the Eclipse IDE.

Buckminster can call on maven and has built in support for transitive dependency resolution from maven repositories. We 
would like to do more with Maven and we have had a couple of Maven people as committers on the project. But at the end, 
intellectual property issues (Maven is not IP approved by the Eclipse EMO) and different main objectives made it hard 
for them to contribute.

Another question that might pop up is now Buckminster relate to b3. b3 is more model centric then Buckminster. It 
convergers all aspects of the build into one single model. The textual representation of that model is based on xText 
and much nicer then XML. We foresee that b3 will replace both Buckminster and PDE build eventually. A smooth migration 
path will be provided.

Other then that, people usually ask where they can find documentation and examples. How to build RCP applications for 
instance.

Good luck!

Regards,
Thomas Hallgren


On 2010-01-08 14:35, Carsten Reckord wrote:
> Hi,
>
> iX, a popular German IT magazine, organizes an annual forum on the
> CeBIT. This year one focus is on experience reports for agile software
> development processes.
>
> I was asked to submit a talk on our (obviously positive :)) experience
> with setting up a Continuous Integration server with Buckminster and the
> Hudson plug-in. Without having prepared the talk yet, the idea is to
> present an introduction of Buckminster and the Hudson plug-in followed
> by (or mixed in with) our lessons learned and some best practices and
> maybe finishing with a brief overview of some more advanced topics like
> coverage, obfuscation or "Composing for Updatability" your product the
> Buckminster way.
>
> I'd like to ask if, from your experience with other talks so far, there
> are any typical questions that keep coming up or typically difficult
> points or misconceptions that should be cleared preemptively? And if you
> have any other suggestions or comments, of course feel free to fire
> away, too.
>
> Best regards,
> Carsten