Growing Software

Software Build Method and Timing

A software build method is the approach you use for extracting the desired versions of source files, creating one or more executable versions of the code, and then storing it in the appropriate location for use. A standardized software build method ensures that one set of source files compiles into the same program, thereby avoiding the potential errors of manual program creation. Usually, the build method interacts with the source control tool.

In small companies, software build methods often start out being ad hoc designs. Different programs have different build methods because the methods were created by different engineers, probably at different times. Ad hoc designs are often problematic, and few people know ...