How to handle TeamCity dependencies for both artifacts and build triggering

Question

So I've got a couple of projects (A, B, C, D) where the dependencies look like this:

  B
 / \
A   D
 \ /
  C

That is, B and C depend on artifacts from A, and D depends on artifacts from both B and C.

I'd like to do a couple of things:

1. Artifacts from previous successful builds are used in projects. For instance, when a build for project C is triggered, it uses project A's artifacts that have been previously verified to be good (aka tests pass).
2. Triggered builds in project also trigger builds in project that depend on them. For instance, if a change is made in the B project, the B project is built and then the D project is built using artifacts from the just-built B project. A change in project A rebuilds everything in this order A, B and C (concurrent), then D.

I can achieve VCS triggered builds in the "Build Triggers" section.

I can achieve artifact dependencies in the "Dependencies" section by adding an artifact dependency from "Last successful build" and pulling over my artifacts.

I don't know how to achieve triggered builds in the correct order in the correct dependency chain. If I make project A a snapshot dependency of project B, when B needs to be built, it rebuilds A and then rebuilds B. Similarly, if a change happens in A, only A is rebuilt. I would like a change in A to cause a rebuild for all my projects.

Is this possible? I'm on TeamCity 7.1.3.

Answer 1

It turns out that I can get what I want by using artifact dependencies and "Build Finished" build triggers.

Answer 2

You can also use a VCS trigger. Set B and C have A as a snapshot dependency, and D with a snapshot dependency on B and C. Then set on all 4 a VCS build trigger, making sure to check the option "Trigger on changes in snapshot dependencies".

This way -

Change in A: A is rebuilt, this then triggers a build of B and C. These builds then also trigger a build of D, all in correct order.

Change in B or C: If A is unchanged, they use the existing build, rebuild themselves, and trigger build of D:

Change in D: If A, B, and C are unchanged, it uses the existing builds and builds a new D.

I'm using this setup on version 7.1.2