In the book we define a project directory structure and then add Ant build files for compiling, testing, and packaging the example DMS project. We also write a delegating Ant build file and a configuration file for CruiseControl so that builds are automatically baked on a regular interval.

If you download the code from the book, you’ll get all those files in their respective directories. That is, you’ll get a well-stocked directory structure for the example DMS project. And if you want to use this structure and its files on your next project, you might be tempted to start replacing all occurrences of dms with yourproject. Well, here’s another area where automation really shines: templating.

Megg is a simple command-line tool for generating a project directory structure from templates. And to make it easy for you to apply the directories and files from the book to your project, I’ve crafted a Megg template.

Start by downloading Megg. You’ll get a single JAR file.

Next, run Megg and point it at the online Pragmatic Project Automation template:

  $ java -jar megg-0.1.3.jar \
    http://www.pragmaticprogrammer.com/starter_kit/auto/pragauto-template.zip

(You’ll need a network connection for this to work. When you run this command the first time, the template is cached locally on your disk. If you run the same command again, Megg will use the local template.)

Megg will then ask you a few basic questions about your project:

   is a connection to the internet present? [yes/no]
    online [yes] :
      [template] expanding /Users/mike/.megg/templates/pragauto-template.zip

   the unique name for this project
    projectName [mypragauto-template] : yourproject

   Package prefix for your classes
    domainName [com.xyz] : com.yourdomain

   The first class you wish to create
    mainClassName [Main] : YourMain

  generate:
      [apply] Generating 19 file(s)

That’s all there is to it! If your project is called ‘elmo’, for example, then you’ll get the following files and directories in the elmo directory:

  BUILDING                build.xml               src/
  LICENSE                 builds/                 test/
  README                  doc/                    vendor/
  README-FIRST            package-tests.xml
  bin/                    package.xml

The README-FIRST file describes the files in the project and what you can do next. But note that this isn’t just an example project. This is your project. Megg used the answers to your questions to fill in the project template. (Go ahead, look at the package structure and project files.) This means you can immediately start managing your project just like the example in the book. For example, you can run the following Ant targets:

  ant test
  ant javadoc
  ant run
  ant -buildfile package.xml -Dversion=x_y
  ant -buildfile package-tests.xml -Dversion=x_y
  ant clean

And once you’ve installed CruiseControl, you can start building your project on a schedule simply by typing:

  $ cd builds
  $ sh cruise.sh (or cruise.bat)

Voila! Welcome to your very own pragmatic project, already compiling, passing its tests, and building what’s on the CVS head at frequent intervals. All you have to do is write the code. :-)

Have fun!