release-management

Deploying SQL Server Databases from Test to Live

I wonder how you guys manage deployment of a database between 2 SQL Servers, specifically SQL Server 2005. Now, there is a development and a live one. As this should be part of a buildscript (standard windows batch, even do with current complexity of those scripts, i might switch to PowerShell or so later), Enterprise Manager/Management ...

An executable Python app

Python works on multiple platforms and can be used for desktop and web applications, thus I conclude that there is some way to compile it into an executable for Mac, Windows and Linux. The problem being I have no idea where to start or how to write a GUI with it, can anybody shed some light on this and point me in the right direction pl...

What is a good repository layout for releases and projects in Subversion?

We have the standard Subversion trunk/branches/tags layout. We have several branches for medium- and long-term projects, but none so far for a release. This is approaching fast. Should we: Mix release branches and project branches together? Create a releases folder? If so, is there a better name than releases? Create a projects folder...

How do you update a live, busy web site in the politest way possible?

When you roll out changes to a live web site, how do you go about checking that the live system is working correctly? Which tools do you use? Who does it? Do you block access to the site for the testing period? What amount of downtime is acceptable? ...

Which is better: shipping a buggy feature or not shipping the feature at all?

Hi there, this is a bit of a philosophical question. I am adding a small feature to my software which I assume will be used by most users but only maybe 10% of the times they use the software. In other words, the software has been fine without it for 3 months, but 4 or 5 users have asked for it, and I agree that it should be there. The ...

What are some things that you do to make sure a project is ready to be released?

I was wondering what final steps developers take before they release their new project. ...

How do you remotely update Java applications?

We've got a Java server application that runs on a number of computers, all connected to the Internet, some behind firewalls. We need to remotely update the JAR files and startup scripts from a central site, with no noticeable interruption to the app itself. The process has to be unattended and foolproof (i.e. we can't afford to break t...

Getting software version numbers right. v1.0.0.1

I distribute software online, and always wonder if there is a proper way to better define version numbers. Let's assume A.B.C.D in the answers. When do you increase each of the components? Do you use any other version number tricks such as D mod 2 == 1 means it is an in house release only? Do you have beta releases with their own ver...

Release management - best practice

I work for a product development company.We first do internal releases,and then public release.I was wondering, how other product developing companies manage their release? How do you give release number? Tag the source control? ...

Free Install Wizard software

Is there something like install shield that I can use for free? ...

Tomcat deployment

Is there a way, given a war file, to deploy on a tomcat server. I want to do this without having to use the web interface. ...

Best practices for deploying tools & scripts to production?

I've got a number of batch processes that run behind the scenes for a Linux/PHP website. They are starting to grow in number and complexity, so I want to bring a small amount of process to bear on them. My source tree has a bunch of cpp files and scripts, organized with development but not deployment in mind. After compiling all the exe...

Should I include dependencies for my releases?

Should I include dependencies when I do releases for my common projects such as CommonUtils or should I simply specify which dependencies should be referenced when they are to be used? ...

Is there a perferred method to update apps that use an EJB?

I have a java app that works with an EJB, however if: The EJB gets updated, the app is broken. The app server is updated, the app is broken. Without human involvement, is there a preferred method to update the client jars for the app server and bean? If there preferred method depends on the app server, then assume jboss. ...

Visual Studio - How to remove a reference in Release mode

Hi, I'm developing a library for use in other apps and this library has lots of debugging and logging statements thanks to NLog. Is it possible to exclude the reference to NLog.dll when I switch to release mode? Cheers, ...

Keeping static files in server when deploying with Capistrano

I'm uploading files to my public/files folder of a Rails application on a constant basis through a web interface. I don't want to keep these in source control since they go for almost 2 GBs, so every time I do a cap deploy it will save those files away in releases/ and replace the directory with the pristine copy stored in the repositor...

Besides version control systems, are there any tools that support release management?

Most of the time, I've seen release management handled as a defined process with the supporting tool as the version control system (usually via branching and tagging). However, are there any tools dedicated to release management? I'm looking for both open source and closed source tools, if any exist. ...

Release early/release often for commercial software?

Are there anyone with experiences/examples on releasing early/releasing often for commercial software? Does it work? I was thinking of VMware where they have a lot of revisions release between each major version. And the installation experience was awful, sometimes they would break the existing VMs and other times the VMware Tools insid...

Best practices for new Rails deployments on Linux?

I've used straight Mongrel, I've used Mongrel clusters behind Apache, I've looked at Thin, and I'm becoming very intrigued by Passenger. I've looked at Nginx, too. I've looked at MRI, Ruby Enterprise Edition, Rubinius, and JRuby. There are a lot of options, each claiming to be the new holy grail. What is the best option out there for a ...

How do I build deployment project without un-signing my assemblies?

I'm not very experienced with builds - this may be really easy! I have a simple application with a simple deployment project. I went to the directory where the release-compiled versions of the DLLs are, signed all of them (verisign), and then went to the deployment project, chose Build (not REbuild), and it recompiled all my assemblies...