Integration with Other Applications > Integrated Software Management > PTC Windchill Integration for Software Build Tools Developer's Guide > Windchill Integration for Software Build Tools > Framework and Features
  
Framework and Features
Software Build Tools is a framework that helps software developers and release engineers manage software build processes through a command-line interface. The framework uses a web service interface to Windchill and a Software Build Tools client. The client is invoked from a build script such as Apache Ant or Apache Maven.
Software builds artifacts are stored as software build objects in Windchill Integrations for Embedded Software. A software build object can either be a single file such as a DLL or an executable or a single ZIP file with multiple files and folders.
Some of the features of Software Build Tools follow:
• The Software Build Tools commands can be invoked from custom build scripts. See Example: Running Software Build Tools Commands from Custom Build Scripts. You can also use a configuration file with all the necessary commands to perform build operations. See the Software Build Tools configuration file for more information.
• Software Build Tools have extensions that automate build scripts such as Apache Ant and Apache Maven.
• Users can run multiple build processes at the same time.
• The software build objects created using Software Build Tools are created, numbered, and placed in a folder of a product, project, or a library in Windchill Integrations for Embedded Software.
The following figure illustrates how Software Build Tools collaborates with Windchill Integrations for Embedded Software to manage build processes: