<s>
Build	B-Application
automation	I-Application
is	O
the	O
process	O
of	O
automating	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
a	O
software	O
build	O
and	O
the	O
associated	O
processes	O
including	O
:	O
compiling	B-Language
computer	O
source	O
code	O
into	O
binary	O
code	O
,	O
packaging	B-Application
binary	O
code	O
,	O
and	O
running	O
automated	B-Application
tests	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Historically	O
,	O
build	B-Application
automation	I-Application
was	O
accomplished	O
through	O
makefiles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Build-automation	O
utility	O
This	O
includes	O
utilities	O
like	O
Make	B-Application
,	O
Rake	O
,	O
CMake	B-Language
,	O
MSBuild	B-Application
,	O
Ant	B-Application
,	O
Maven	B-Language
or	O
Gradle	B-Language
(	O
Java	O
)	O
etc	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Their	O
primary	O
purpose	O
is	O
to	O
generate	O
build	O
artifacts	O
through	O
activities	O
like	O
compiling	B-Language
and	O
linking	O
source	O
code	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
software	O
list	O
for	O
each	O
can	O
be	O
found	O
in	O
list	B-Application
of	I-Application
build	I-Application
automation	I-Application
software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
two	O
ways	O
build	B-Application
tools	I-Application
differ	O
are	O
task-oriented	O
vs.	O
product-oriented	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
build	O
servers	O
existed	O
long	O
before	O
continuous-integration	O
servers	O
,	O
they	O
are	O
generally	O
synonymous	O
with	O
continuous-integration	O
servers	O
,	O
however	O
a	O
build	O
server	O
may	O
also	O
be	O
incorporated	O
into	O
an	O
ARA	B-Application
tool	O
or	O
ALM	O
tool	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Triggered	O
automation	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
continuous	O
integration	O
server	O
running	O
a	O
build	O
on	O
every	O
commit	O
to	O
a	O
version-control	B-Architecture
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Automation	O
is	O
achieved	O
through	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
a	O
compile	B-Language
farm	O
for	O
either	O
distributed	O
compilation	B-Language
or	O
the	O
execution	O
of	O
the	O
utility	O
step	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Build	B-Application
automation	I-Application
is	O
considered	O
the	O
first	O
step	O
in	O
moving	O
toward	O
implementing	O
a	O
culture	O
of	O
continuous	O
delivery	O
and	O
DevOps	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Build	B-Application
automation	I-Application
combined	O
with	O
continuous	O
integration	O
,	O
deployment	B-Application
,	O
application-release	B-Application
automation	I-Application
,	O
and	O
many	O
other	O
processes	O
help	O
move	O
an	O
organization	O
forward	O
in	O
establishing	O
software-delivery	O
best	O
practices	O
.	O
</s>
