One machine per project
Every project Alan works on gets its own private Linux machine. Here's why, and what it makes possible.
When you give Alan a task, the first thing that happens is that a fresh machine starts up for that project alone. It's a full Linux computer with Node.js and Python, isolated from every other project and from the Davtar site itself.
Why a whole machine
- Real work needs real tools. Alan installs real packages, runs real servers and runs real tests, instead of guessing what code would do.
- Mistakes stay contained. If a command goes wrong, it goes wrong inside that one machine.
- What you see is what ran. The preview link points at the same machine where the tests passed.
Follow-ups keep their place
Because the machine belongs to the project, you can keep talking to Alan after he's done. Ask for a change and he picks up exactly where he left off, with the same files and the same running app, then tests and restarts it.
Today's limits
Right now a project's machine stays alive for about 40 minutes. After that you'll need to start a new build. Keeping projects alive longer, and letting you take the code with you, are next on our list.