Visual macro designer
With Automated Build Studio, your common and everyday tasks can be easily automated. You can organise simple operations such as copying files or compiling a project into macros that will automate these tasks.
Support of popular modern compilers and installation build tools
Automated Build Studio supports the most popular modern compilers and installation building tools. It also supports many other tools and utilities including products that can be used for testing, profiling and issue tracking.
Wide range of available operations
Automated Build Studio includes over 540 built-in operations that let you automate almost any task. You can extend the functionality available with the standard operations by writing scripts or by creating new custom operations. Detailed instructions on extending Automated Build Studio are included in on-line help.
Distributed build support
Automated Build Studio provides you with the ability to distribute the execution of macro operations among multiple computers. Using this feature, you can dramatically reduce the project build time, perform multi-platform builds, start automated tests on multiple computers in parallel and so on.
Concurrent execution of operations
Automated Build Studio lets you organise concurrent execution of macro operations and thus performs different tasks at the same time. This can greatly reduce the macro execution time, especially on computers with more than one CPU.
Scripts in VBScript, JScript and DelphiScript
Automated Build Studio includes a Script operation that allows you to create powerful custom script routines using one of the 3 supported scripting languages - VBScript, JScript or DelphiScript. You can use custom scripts to perform actions that can not be performed using the existing standard operations. Also, using scripts you can read and change operation properties.
Controlling macros executed on remote computers
Automated Build Studio includes special features that let you run macros on remote computers and monitor macro execution on these computers. Automated Build Studio functions both in server and client modes, so special third-party software is not needed on the server computer. Using Automated Build Studio’s Web Interface, included in the Build Studio package at no extra cost, you can even control the server through your Internet browser without installing Automated Build Studio on your computer. See Automated Build Studio Client/Server and Web Interface.
Charts displaying macro run statistics
Automated Build Studio collects information about macro runs performed on your computer or other computers within your network, and displays this information in a graphical form within the Charts panel. Using charts, you can analyse the ratio of successful and failed runs, the duration of macro runs and the frequency of macro runs over any desired period of time (day, week, month or other).
Using one macro to build different versions of your application
Quite often, it is needed to build several versions of an application from the same sources; for example, the debug, demo and release versions of the product. Using macro configurations, you can have a single macro that will generate all the desired versions. There is no need to create three macros. You can create only one macro and choose the desired configuration before the run.
Scheduled macro runs
Automated Build Studio includes the Tasks Scheduler that lets you schedule macro runs at your desire. This is a key feature for creation of automated daily builds. With the Task Scheduler you can schedule and control macro runs not only on your computer, but also on other computers in your local network.
Event-triggered macro runs (continuous integration support)
You can configure Build Studio so that it automatically runs an appropriate macro (say, the macro that builds your project and tests it) not only at specified time, but also when a definite event occurs, for instance, when a source file of your project is changed under source code control (Visual SourceSafe, Subversion, CVS or Perforce) or when a file is changed on an FTP site. This will ensure that you always have a thoroughly tested build that is compiled with the latest versions of source files and decrease the number of errors that may arise upon integrating source code modifications made by different team members.
Macro debugger
Automated Build Studio’s macro debugger includes all modern debugging features: breakpoints, stepping over operations, watches, expression evaluation, and others. Using the macro debugger, you can easily check whether your macro functions correctly or trace errors in your macro and fix them.
Advanced monitoring of macro runs
Automated Build Studio generates detailed logs of macro runs. These logs help you isolate errors that occur during the macro execution. Automated Build Studio automatically compares results of the current macro run with the last successful run, thus letting you know if something is going wrong.
Automatic notifications
Your macros can automatically notify you about the results of their execution. Automated Build Studio offers several operations that can be used for sending notifications. These operations let you send messages via the “net send" command, Windows Messenger, MSN Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, ICQ or e-mail. You can also e-mail reports with attached execution logs.
Tight integration with testing and profiling tools
Automated Build Studio is tightly integrated with AutomatedQA’s testing, profiling and issue-tracking products. For example, you can create a macro that will compile your application, then search for memory leaks and performance problems with AQtime and then call NUnit, MSTest, JUnit or TestComplete to perform unit or functional testing. If an error occurs, the macro can post a bug report to AQdevTeam and assign it to the developer who is responsible for the error.
Visual Studio integration
For developers using Microsoft Visual Studio .NET or Visual Studio 2005 or 2008, Automated Build Studio can be tightly integrated into the Microsoft Visual Studio IDE. This integration offers developers full control over the Automated Build Studio from within the Visual Studio IDE.
Assistant
Automated Build Studio includes a context-sensitive Assistant that displays commands, hints and links to help topics. If you are new to the Build Studio and not quite sure how to get started, the Assistant is the perfect place to begin. If you are experienced with Automated Build Studio, the Assistant panel is still helpful since it groups important links in one easily accessible location.
Source Code Control integration
Automated Build Studio is tightly integrated with any source control system that is compatible with the Microsoft Source Code Control API specification (e.g. Microsoft Visual SourceSafe, CVS, Borland StarTeam, and others). This lets you add the current macro to a source control system installed on your computer, check out or check in the macro, and so on, without leaving Automated Build Studio.
Run via command-line
You can execute macros without loading them into the Build Studio IDE: you can do this by specifying the desired macro name in the Build Studio's command line. Special command-line arguments can make the Build Studio run the macro, and close after that. Through the command line, Automated Build Studio can be executed in a completely hands-off fashion, within a make file, batch file, etc. In addition, the Build Studio installation includes a console executable, AutomatedMacroPlayer.exe, which simply runs macros constructed in Build Studio. When your macros are complete, you can play them back using this simple and resource-friendly utility.