Atomic Spin :: Elements of Software

Greg and I have been working on an embedded project for one of AO’s longtime clients X-Rite. At the beginning of the project our team (X-Rite + AO) set up a dedicated build server with cruisecontrol.rb and a custom-made build status indicator.

Our build indicator is an upside-down ceiling fan globe with a small microcontroller and super powerful LEDs inside. It goes blue when newly checked-in code triggers a build, and then it displays either green for tests passing or red for tests failing at the conclusion of that build (and all of the engineering department can see it).

Just recently our X-Rite project manager Scott came over and upgraded our build status light for Halloween. We’re pretty sure it’s our automated unit and system tests that will keep evil spirits away, but every little bit helps…