What is the point of a “Build Server”? [closed]

Question

I haven't worked for very large organizations and I've never worked for a company that had a "Build Server".

What is their purpose? Why aren't the developers building the project on their local machines, or are they? Are some projects so large that more powerful machines are needed to build it in a reasonable amount of time?

The only place I see a Build Server being useful is for continuous integration with the build server constantly building what is committed to the repository. Is it I have just not worked on projects large enough?

Someone, please enlighten me: What is the purpose of a build server?

Answer 1

These machines are used for several reasons, all trying to help you provide a superior product.

One use is to simulate a typical end user configuration. The product might work on your computer, with all your development tools and libraries set up, but the end user most likely won't have the same configuration as you. For that matter, other developers won't have the exact same setup as you either. If you have a hardcoded path somewhere in your code, it will probably work on your machine, but when Dev El O'per tries to build the same code, it won't work.

Also they can be used to monitor who broke the product last, with what update, and where the product regressed at. Whenever new code is checked in, the build server builds it, and if it fails, its clear that something is wrong and the user who committed last is at fault.

Answer 2

A build server is a distinct concept to a Continuous Integration server. The CI server exists to build your projects when changes are made. By contrast a Build server exists to build the project (typically a release, against a tagged revision) on a clean environment. It ensures that no developer hacks, tweaks, unapproved config/artifact versions or uncommitted code makes it into the released code.

Answer 3

Additionally, remember that low level languages take much longer to compile than high level languages. It's easy to think "Well look, my .Net project compiles in a couple of seconds! What's the big deal?" Awhile back I had to mess with some C code and I had forgotten how much longer it takes to compile.

Answer 4

To add on what has already been said :

An ex-colleague worked on the Microsoft Office team and told me a complete build sometimes took 9 hours. That would suck to do it on YOUR machine, wouldn't it?

Answer 5

A build server gets you a sort of second opinion of your code. When you check it in, the code is checked. If it works, the code has a minimum quality.

Answer 6

It's necessary to have a "clean" environment free of artifacts of previous versions (and configuration changes) in order to ensure that builds and tests work and don't depend on the artifacts. An effective way to isolate is to create a separate build server.