Promoting code using configuration plans

Promoting code refers to the activity of taking code from one environment, such as the development environment, and deploying it to the next one, such as the test environment. A typical software development promotion lifecycle sees code moving from development to test to QA (quality assurance) to production. As code is successfully tested in one environment, it is deployed to the next.

Why we need configuration plans

Unlike Java applications, SOA composite applications do not rely on property files to maintain environment specific configuration. Many SOA projects may include references to other external services, for example, http://payment-processing-server-dev:7777/proc/servlet/createCustomer. As you can see from this URL, the developer is referencing some external development server as identified by the hostname payment-processing-server-dev. This URL is hardcoded within the code and ultimately included within the deployable SAR. Prior to deploying...