An Introduction to CI/CD

Introduction

This article will introduce you to the most important concepts in CI/CD, including what it is, why it's so useful, and how to use it. If you're new to CI/CD, or have heard of the term but aren't quite sure what it really means, this article will help you get started at understanding and using CI/CD.

What is CI/CD?

CI/CD refers to the practice of automating software development processes so that developers can focus on building great products, not repetitive tasks.

CI stands for Continuous Integration, which is the practice of integrating code changes frequently into a shared repository. This allows developers to detect problems early in the development cycle and make sure their code works as expected before committing it to source control.

CD stands for Continuous Delivery, which is the process used to build and deploy an application multiple times per day (or even multiple times per hour) with little or no downtime.

What about Build Pipelines, Release Pipelines and Deployment Pipelines?

A build pipeline is the process of compiling, testing and packaging software code. A release pipeline refers to a continuous deployment process that takes a version of your app from its current state through to production. A deployment pipeline is similar to a release pipeline, but can also include other parts of your development cycle such as test automation and monitoring.

Why should I use a CI/CD Pipeline?

In addition to the obvious benefit of having software that is reliable and bug-free, using a CI/CD pipeline also gives you access to a host of other benefits. Here are three reasons why you might want to consider adopting this method:

• You’ll get a faster turnaround time for new features or bug fixes. Instead of waiting for your QA team or client manager to give you feedback on your code, you can test it yourself as soon as it goes through your pipeline—no waiting around for hours or days for others to get back to you with their thoughts and suggestions!
• You'll save time during deployment by avoiding errors caused by manual processes like FTPing files across networks. Since all deployments occur automatically at the end of each cycle, there's less chance they'll be done incorrectly due to human error (or worse).
• Your automated testing will be more thorough than ever before because everything is happening in one place instead of being spread out across several locations throughout different departments within your company (like operations vs development).

Using the practices in the CI/CD pipeline allows you to release software more frequently while also reducing the possible errors committed by developers.

Using the practices in the CI/CD pipeline allows you to release software more frequently while also reducing the possible errors committed by developers. In other words, it makes your life easier. The pipeline is made up of five main steps: code commit, build, test, package and deploy. Each step can be thought of as a separate script that runs continuously on your machines—for example, every time you push new code to GitHub or Bitbucket.

Conclusion

The CI/CD pipeline is a collection of best practices that software development teams can use to deliver new features and products to customers more quickly and reliably. By automating the build, test, and release process, you get fast feedback when issues occur, making it easier to resolve problems early in the development cycle.