Borland prepares to run Gauntlet for ALM

18.08.2006
Just because Borland Software is exiting the developer tools business does not mean the company will not be tending to enterprise application developers, says Borland's Rob Cheng, director of developer solutions. To this end, the company is getting ready to release its Gauntlet continuous building and testing automation system, with the goal of helping developers better manage the development process.

The company acquired Gauntlet in February to add to its application lifecycle management arsenal. Meanwhile, the company is proceeding with a planned sale of its Developer Tools Group so it can focus on the ALM space.

Borland Gauntlet is due by later this year. Developed by former BEA Systems technologists, the product builds software automatically to make sure errors are not introduced and assists with establishing a daily process for development. Gauntlet performs builds earlier in the process than has been the norm.

"Gauntlet helps them manage how they build their software and how they test their software," Cheng said in a meeting with InfoWorld at Borland corporate offices in Cupertino, Calif. this week.

Gauntlet accommodates the incremental release style popularized by agile development methodologies. "It gives [developers] almost continuous, real-time feedback," Cheng said. The product will integrate with version control systems including Subversion and Borland StarTeam.

Its name, Gauntlet, signifies that the technology covers a multitude of tests. "Running the gauntlet means you have to run through a bunch of tests," Cheng said.