Wat are the characteristics of a proper build?
- It is built off a build server, not your laptop (although now and then I break this rule with no tangible damage until today).
- The source code is then labeled.
- You can branch of the source of a build.
- The build is published somewhere, a network disk, ivy / maven repository, whatever. Just not your laptop.
- You have an administration of what is in this particular build. A bill of materials with changes, known errors and installation instructions.
- You do something with it, install it on a dev server at least.
The last one sounds pretty logical, but we have to give it good thought. It is the essence of the build. It is the sole reason to build. Someone is going to use that very build. It is not just the last box that you tick before you start working on the next build.