Changes between Version 4 and Version 5 of BuildBot

Timestamp:

02/15/07 03:23:48 (6 years ago)

Author:

simonmar

Comment:

--

BuildBot

@@ -2 +2 @@
 
 The GHC buildbot builds GHC on various platforms in various different ways each night, runs the test suite and performance benchmarks, and mails the results to the `cvs-ghc@haskell.org` mailing list.  We're always keen to add more build slaves to the setup, especially if you have a platform that doesn't already have a build slave, so if you'd like to join the fun, please let us know at [mailto:cvs-ghc@haskell.org].  If a platform is represented in the nightly builds, it's more likely we'll be able to identify and fix problems specific to that platform quickly.
-
+        
 To see the current status of the builds:
 
@@ -17 +17 @@
 Finally, if there is anything special that needs to be done for the client (e.g. if gcc is in an unusual place) then you'll need to let the admins know.
 
-Then you'll need to install buildbot and its dependencies on the machine that will be doing the nightly build; see the [http://buildbot.sourceforge.net/ BuildBot website] for details.  NB. if you're on Windows, you'll need to install BuildBot under Cygwin using the Cygwin Python; there are various problems getting the GHC build to work via BuildBot using the native Win32 Python, so we've given up on that route for now.
+Then you'll need to install buildbot and its dependencies on the machine that will be doing the nightly         build; see the [http://buildbot.sourceforge.net/ BuildBot website] for details.  NB. if you're on Windows, you'll need to install BuildBot under Cygwin using the Cygwin Python; there are various problems getting the GHC build to work via BuildBot using the native Win32 Python, so we've given up on that route for now.
 
 Now create and enter the directory you want the buildbot client to work in
@@ -33 +33 @@
 
 You can watch what your slave is doing by looking at the `twistd.log` file in the directory in which you're running your slave.
+
+== Automating startup: Unix ==
+
+The easiest way to make the client start up automatically is to use `cron`.  Type `crontab -e`, and add this line to your crontab file:
+
+{{{
+@reboot cd /buildbot/ghc && make start
+}}}
+
+Remember to change `/buildbot/ghc` to your buildbot directory.
+
+Cron will run the command in a minimal environment: it won't execute your normal shell startup files, so you won't have your usual `PATH` settings, for example.  To get the right `PATH` and other environment variables, we suggest adding them to the `make start` rule in the `Makefile`.  FOr example, my setup looks something like this:
+
+{{{
+start:
+        PATH=/usr/bin:/bin:/home/simonmar/bin \
+        http_proxy=http://157.58.63.38:80 \
+        twistd --no_save -y buildbot.tac
+}}}
+
+It might be a good idea to have the buildbot restarted once a day before your build is due to start, just in case it has died for any reason.  I have another line in my crontab that looks like this:
+
+{{{
+0 17 * * * cd /64playpen/buildbot && (make stop; make start)
+}}}
+
+To restart the client at 17.00, before the builds start at 18.00.
+
+It's a good idea to test that running the client via a cron job actually works, so test it: setup a temporary cron job to start the client in a couple of minutes time, check that the client is up and running, and maybe force a build via the status page to check that the build environment is working.
+
+== Automating startup: Windows ==
+
+I did it the following way.  Create a script in `<buildbotdir>/restart.sh`:
+
+{{{
+PATH=/bin:/usr/bin
+cd <buildbotdir>
+make stop
+make start
+}}}
+
+(don't forget to create the script as a Unix text file, not a DOS text file, otherwise strange things will probably happen, they did to me anyway).
+
+Create a new "Scheduled Task" via Control Panel->Scheduled Tasks.  The command you want to run is
+
+{{{
+c:\cygwin\bin\sh <buildbotdir>/restart.sh
+}}}
+
+Schedule the task to run (a) at startup and possibly also (b) once a day, before your build is due to start.  You can add multiple schedulers for a task by checking the box at the bottom of the "Schedule" page of the scheduled task settings.
 
 == Admin steps ==