What does Out of Date mean?
In short, Out of Date means that a newer Pipeline Execution has superseded, or progressed further than, the Pipeline Execution that is Out of Date. Lets look at the below Pipeline Execution as an example:
Note that our Pipeline Execution was created on 11-07-2023 at 13:17:29 and is currently sitting at the External Approval Gate in the Dev Environment. Now lets say a colleague pushes a change to source control that triggers another Snapshot and another Pipeline Execution as seen below:
Notice the later date of 11-07-2023 at 13:24:38. Now we have two Pipeline Executions at the same Gate awaiting approval. What happens when we approve one of the executions? It depends.
What happens when we approve the 13:17:29 snapshot
Since this snapshot is older, i.e. the 24 snapshot has newer content, this 17 snapshot will proceed ahead and the 24 snapshot will remain in the same state
What happens when we approve the 13:24:38 snapshot
This snapshot is newer and since at this point the newer snapshot would be moving further than an older one, the older one instantly shows Out of Date since we have a newer snapshot that is further along.
Why is the Pipeline Execution stuck in “Gates Complete” status
If you find a Pipeline Stage stuck in the Gates Complete status for an extended period of time, there is a very likely scenario playing out to justify the status.
This can happen when two or more Pipeline Executions are executing on the same Stage (Environment). To avoid conflicts and overlap the engine will never run Steps in the same Stage for multiple Pipeline Executions.
Lets imagine the follow Snapshot:
We can see its currently executing in the Dev Stage and currently running Steps, specifically its indefinitely waiting for a manual task approval. Lets say another Snapshot comes along and has all of its Gates approved.
We can see the Gates are approved but the Stage is not moving further than the Gates Complete status. Given what we now know this is completely understandable and expected, the previous Snapshot 13:38:06 is still running Steps in the Dev stage. Until those Steps complete this 13:41:58 Snapshot and any subsequent Snapshots trying to run Steps in this Stage will remain in this state indefinitely.
What is an “Inconsistent” Snapshot?
A common use case for any application is cleaning up old data that is no longer needed or used. In FlexDeploy, this comes via Purge Settings in the System Settings page. When the Purge is enabled is possible that Artifacts and Project Versions included in a Snapshot will be deleted. When this happens the Snapshot becomes “Inconsistent”. Generally this should never impact any ongoing software project but you may come across the term when viewing much older Snapshots during a year-end audit or other reporting.