Commercial Java developers have many choices available to them when it comes to the procedures, practices, and tools necessary to build, release, and maintain a program. So far, no single software solution offers everything necessary for total project management, but if you combine some tools, you can hack together an efficient solution. That's the basis for IBM Rational ClearCase, Ant, and CruiseControl, which shows you how to combine high-end commercial IBM development products with free software applications to design the perfect project development infrastructure.

Writing analysis

IBM Rational ClearCase, Ant, and CruiseControl is easy to read and follow. Every term is clearly defined and included in a glossary in case you need to look it up again. References to product manuals and other texts are included in a bibliography, and the book is also indexed to make it more easily searched.

The author assumes that you, the reader, are a project manager in charge of developing, releasing, and maintaining a commercial Java application, though any member of a management or development team will also benefit from IBM Rational ClearCase, Ant, and CruiseControl if any or all of the following tools are used in their work environment:

• IBM Rational ClearCase
• IBM Rational ClearQuest
• Apache Ant
• JUnit
• ThoughtWorks CruiseControl

The book does not officially recommend an integrated development environment (IDE), but there are a few tips specific to Eclipse here and there. The author doesn't touch the subject of actual coding, though some of the tools the book covers are specific to or originally designed for the Java language.

Putting the book to the test

Since IBM Rational ClearCase and ClearQuest are not generally available to people like me (they're part of "enterprise installations" according to the author), I couldn't really test the procedures in the book. The best I can do is tell you that IBM Rational ClearCase, Ant, and CruiseControl has directions that are easy to follow, diagrams that make sense, and if you're following along in the book while creating or converting your own development project, you should end up with a highly organized environment for building and releasing Java programs.

Rational ClearCase is presented in the book as the center of the project development environment. Serving in satellite roles are Ant, Rational ClearQuest, JUnit, and CruiseControl. The book shows you how to customize this stack for your individual project needs, and for the needs of each individual developer involved with the project. The author walks you through all of the necessary configuration files, but only to the extent necessary to prove the examples. In other words, he shows you how to initially configure the software for your project, but doesn't explain every setting and option available. There are product manuals for that, and the book lists each and every one of them where appropriate.

IBM Rational ClearCase, Ant, and CruiseControl is more than a tutorial; you're not just shown how to set up the software environment, you're also told why it's important to do it that way. This is just as much a guide to proper software project management as it is to customizing and using the build and release environment. Just reading the book gives you a good understanding of how commercial software should be developed.

Summary

This book is more of a guide than a manual. If you're developing Java programs and can afford the $4100 per user license fees for IBM Rational ClearCase, and you plan on using all of the (apparently outstanding) build and release management tools that the book recommends, IBM Rational ClearCase, Ant, and CruiseControl could be the best non-fiction book you've ever read. The further you drift from those qualifications -- developing in another language, using different project management and development tools -- the less useful the book will be. At the very least, IBM Rational ClearCase, Ant, and CruiseControl is an excellent introduction to project management in software development.

If you're a manager who has inherited a Java development project that can best be described as a "train wreck" in terms of organization, developer collaboration, build automation, testing, and release engineering, I don't think there is a more appropriate book for you than IBM Rational ClearCase, Ant, and CruiseControl.

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Copyright 2006 Jem Matzan.