Build and Version Numbering for Java Projects (ant, cvs, hudson)

Question

What are current best-practices for systematic build numbering and version number management in Java projects? Specifically:

• How to manage build numbers sy

Answer 1

Here is my 2 cents:

• My build script creates a build number (with timestamp!) each time I build the app. This creates too many numbers but never too few. If I have a change in the code, the build number will change at least once.

• I version the build number with every release (though not inbetween). When I update the project and I get a new build number (because someone else did a release), I overwrite my local version and start over. This can lead to a lower build number which is why I've included the timestamp.

• When a release happens, the build number is committed as the last item in a single commit with the message "build 1547". After that, when it's an official release, the whole tree is tagged. This way, the build file always has all tags and there is a simple 1:1 mapping between tags and build numbers.

[EDIT] I deploy a version.html with my projects and then, I can use a scraper to simply collect an accurate map what is installed where. If you're using Tomcat or similar, put the build number and timestamp in the description element of web.xml. Remember: Never memorize anything when you can have a computer do it for you.