September 2013 Summaries

Semaphore has announced a partnership with Cloud 66 to streamline the deployment of Ruby on Rails applications across major cloud providers, creating an efficient continuous delivery pipeline. This integration allows users to easily move from code commits on GitHub to testing on Semaphore and finally deploying to servers via Cloud 66, contingent on passing tests. Users can configure this process through the Deployment tab in project settings by authorizing Semaphore with their Cloud 66 account and selecting an existing application stack. The integration supports both automatic and manual deployment options, with Semaphore tracking each deployment while Cloud 66 carries out the deployment tasks.

Capistrano is a tool used for remote server automation and deployment, typically with a single setup per application. However, the complexity of managing deployments for projects with multiple applications can be addressed by using either a decentralized or centralized multi-deployment approach. In the decentralized approach, each application's deployment configuration is separate, leading to challenges like code duplication and a difficult workflow. Conversely, the centralized approach consolidates deployment configurations into a single repository, enhancing separation of concerns, reducing code duplication, and increasing security, although it may complicate continuous delivery setups. CapHub assists in establishing a central deployment repository by generating a Capistrano skeleton for multiple applications. Additionally, when using Semaphore for centralized deployment, specific commands are used to integrate and execute the deployment processes from a central repository.

Semaphore has partnered with Code Climate to enhance test coverage services for Ruby applications, allowing development teams to improve their ability to deliver high-quality apps efficiently. This collaboration enables Semaphore users to gain detailed insights into their test suites, identifying untested or low-quality areas of their code. By integrating the Code Climate test coverage tool, developers can receive feedback and metrics through various notifications, helping them maintain a sustainable development pace. The setup involves installing a RubyGem that reports executed code lines to Code Climate, which then provides coverage information at multiple code levels. As part of this partnership, Semaphore customers receive a discount on Code Climate services, further encouraging teams to leverage these new features for improved code quality.

An update to the repository caching system has been implemented to enhance build efficiency by shifting from branch-based caching to a global caching approach. Previously, new branch builds required full git clones and bundle installations, leading to longer build times. The updated system allows repository caches to persist globally, sharing the same source across branches, which results in longer cache lifespans and reduced disk space usage. This change allows build servers to accommodate more projects and decreases the percentage of builds requiring a full setup from 100% to approximately 50%, thus speeding up the build and deploy processes for teams utilizing feature branch workflows. The platform continues to be refined for further improvements.