Trying to ride a trend, build automation tools provider OpenMake is now extending the mashup concept to the processes that it automates. The dilemma is that the constructs for software builds are often IDE-specific. While that's not an issue if all your code comes from the same version of the same IDE, in most organizations, there is typically a mix of languages and tools that makes automating software builds quite a headache.

Later this month, OpenMake will apply its so-called build mashup approach to Microsoft’s Visual Studio environments.

OpenMake’s flagship tool, Meister, is an automated alternative to the traditional practices of writing software build scripts that compile source code into binary. The idea of build mashups is providing the ability to automate this task with source code that comes from different tools and languages. That task has always been challengikng with Microsoft Visual Studio, because you can't mix softwar ebuilds from different versions, from the original .NET release to subsequent 2003, 2005, and forthcoming 2008 editions.

OpenMake, in its forthcoming Meister 7.2 build automation tool, to be released in about a month at the VSLive 2008 conference, will provide a capability to, in effect “wrapper” the build objects from the different Visual Studio versions. They are providing an interface into Microsoft Team Foundation Build, the elements of Team Foundation Server that releases software builds. In turn, Meister assembles the builds using a workflow that the developer configures.

OpenMake is also adding a few bells and whistles for its Eclipse support with new support of the Eclipse Rich Client Platform (RCP) to help developers track the versions of plug-ins at build level (that’s a level down from what Genuitec is doing with Pulse).

Having recruited Stephen King, not the writer but the guy who helped turnaround Merant as executive VP and GM, prepping it for $300 million sale to Serena, the company over the past year is trying to wean itself off OEM (where it currently has resale agreements with Serena, CA, and MKS) with a higher direct sales profile.

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