Re: Build/test infrastructure

[Steve Loughran <st...@apache.org>]

On 27/02/11 01:38, Eric Yang wrote:
>    Instead of ant +
> puppet combination, the patch test build structure could be simplified by
> using maven + shell scripts.


The trouble with any scripted approach vs state driven CM tooling is 
their inability to cope with a starting point that doesn't match the 
scripts assumptions.


This isn't me picking on maven -different topic- more the CM problem. 
Lots of people do use shell scripts, and if your starting point is known 
-such as a golden VM image- it mostly works. Mostly. Even RPM 
installation (remember, it's scripts underneath) ensure that if you 
kickstart install and then update a thousand servers, they will end up 
executing their scripts in different orders, and so end up in different 
final states.

Of course, the weakness of CM tools is that they often end up being 
given goals that can't be consistently satisfied, so they cycle between 
the set of sub-optimal configurations.