Two years ago, I have started to work with the TFS and so with MsBuild and Continuous Integration. I have soon seen that I was missing some automation tasks and so I turned to SDC (.NET SDC Solution Build & Deployment Process & Tools) that was adding more or less 100 new tasks. More than enough !
Yes but in the end I was still missing some specific task and so I have started to create my owns. Here is how Jarod.Sdc.Extensions project is born ! I have decided to create a package around .NET SDC (migrated after a while to SBF - Solution Build Framework) and to create my tasks.
Here is the latest version of this library including a new task : MsTest. Redundant with the Microsoft's TestToolTask or SBF's MsTest task ?
No not really. First it allow you to work more low-level by playing directly with command lines MsTest launching, and then it allows you to "ignore Inconclusive tests".
The reason why ? In our environment, business analysts are describing or coding tests weeks or months in advance specifying for which version they will have to bi in application. To avoid loosing them or having difficulties to find them back, we don't want to use the Ignore attribute. So what ? We say they are inconclusive. (Note that we have "only" the Team Edition For Software Developpers, and so in the 2005 version, no test list manager is available).
What is the consequence, we have "ad vitam eternam" a red build because we always have some inconclusive tests. In our specific case, this is the only case we have inconclusive tests.
So this new task allow to consider that all the inconclusive tests will be passed. You will still see the good result in the test run (seeing passed and inconclusive tests) but your global build will turn green if it contains only passed tests or passed and inconclusive tests.
This task supports Visual Studio 2005 and Visual Studio 2008.
Want to have a try ? Find it here !
Note that this version has been released almost one month ago but I didn't got time to communicate sooner...