These code changes help to ensure the quality of the product and customer satisfaction. It can also automate code changes, which enables organisations to focus on their core business practices.
1. What Is CI/CD?
CI/CD stands for Continuous Integration (CI) and Continuous Delivery (CD). The practices require developers to merge all changes made to code continually. All code merges are then combined to create an automatic code build. The subsequent build is then used for test sequencing. CI/CD are a crucial part of the agile methodology. This method allows developers to retrieve results for their testing within a matter of minutes and cuts down on testing time drastically.
Continuous Integration
The goal of Continuous Integration is to produce artifacts that can be deployed quickly. Automated tests are used to verify if artifacts within code are viable for deployment. If any errors are found, they are sent back for fixes.
Continuous Delivery
All code changes are deployed as soon as they are built. It allows the developers to break down development into a step-by-step process. Developers move code from the source repository and directly into the production stage using automation techniques. This practice is known as Continuous Delivery.
2. What Are The Differences Between Continuous Integration, Continuous Delivery, and Continuous Deployment?
Below is a quick overview that will help you understand the difference between CI and CD (continuous delivery and continuous deployment).
Continuous Integration
Developers who make use of continuous integration practices merge changes back into the main branch as frequently as possible. The changes are validated for creating continuous builds and running tests against the current build. CI helps eliminate the integration loop that developers find themselves. Instead of waiting for the release day to merge all changes, things are done systematically throughout the development schedule.
Continuous Delivery
Continuous delivery extends as a branch of continuous integration. It allows you to release all changes made to an application directly to your customers while also maintaining sustainable development. In addition to having access to automated testing, you also automate your release schedule.
Continuous delivery allows you to release applications and updates anytime you want through a simple button press. You can choose your update schedule however, you see fit. Since the patches go into production very early, you can release small patches for your applications consistently instead of releasing large patches at one go.
Continuous Deployment
Continuous deployment goes even further than continuous delivery in various ways. By using this industry-standard practice, all the stages of your production pipeline are directly released to your customers. There is no intervention whatsoever as long as your test results are okay. It accelerates feedback from customers, and as long as your team can handle the pressure of putting user feedback, there are no fixed release dates for patches. It allows developers to build apps and have patches go live for them in a matter of minutes.
3. How Does CI/CD Work?
The CI/CD process automates a lot of the development work. CI/CD can automatically test, run, and deploy the changes in codes. This significantly reduces downtime in case of bugs and maintenance and speeds up updates. The role of CI is to reduce the challenges that developers face during merging code changes with live software.
The CI/CD pipeline begins by storing the source code as an artifact and automates the testing process to check for accuracy and behaviour. It then proceeds to deploy the artifact in staging and production environments. It can then automate the monitoring and testing of the application for errors and performance and then fix them before the final release.
4. CI/CD Tools
Here are some of the popular CI/CD tools that are used by developers engaging in CI/CD practices.
GitLab CI
Gitlab CI is an open-source tool for using GitLab API. GitLab CI lets you install and set up projects hosted on GitLab and even test, build, and deploy your projects. GitLab CI allows you to conduct all your processes for CI/CD in a single application during the DevSecOps lifecycle. This can streamline the development process and reduce the cost. By offering all the necessary tools in a single application, GitLab CI also improves security and developer efficiency.
GoCD
Thoughtworks introduced GoCD in a bid to bring more functionality and efficiency to the world of CI/CD development. The one big differentiator that GoCD holds is the Value Stream Map. The feature allows pipelines to be chained and creates future pipelines. The goal of GoCD is to allow independent development, and let multiple development teams work on the same project with ease. Finding bottlenecks in the development process is very easy, and modules can be reorganized for efficiency.
Travis CI
Travis CI is a hosted CI service that allows developers to create and test projects on GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and Assembla. While Travis CI is free for open-source projects, it charges 34 USD per user per month for private repositories and other Travis CI features. Travis CI can auto-run tests and will notify you if it finds any errors in the source code. Travis CI is easy to configure, can run custom scripts, and can be easily integrated into GitHub and Bitbucket.
Jenkins
Jenkins is yet another project licensed by MIT. It is one of the most standard options that CI/CD adopters go for. It is designed to fix any complex configuration issues, and just like other CI/CD tools, Jenkins makes use of YAML files. Native pipeline functionality is also available, and it is very easy to navigate. Complex development processes are simplified thanks to the Cloud Native Jenkins functionality. It is one of the most innovative CI/CD tools in existence and widely used by developers.
Concourse CI
Licensed by Apache 2.0, Concourse is one of the most-used tools. Since its beta release, it has seen a large number of takers. It makes use of container-based development to make life easier for developers. The entire system makes use of microservices to allow for local development. You need a connection to the main Concourse server for local development, and you will be able to run all your builds just like a real pipeline would allow you to. Running failed builds is also possible from local systems, and you can test specific fixes.
Spinnaker
Spinnaker is a popular CI/CD tool that was used in popular applications like Netflix. It can integrate itself with other major tools like Jenkins and Travis. Spinnaker seeks to ease deployment timelines and reduce the amount of time spent on testing applications. You can also integrate the tool with industry-standard monitoring tools like Datadog and Prometheus. Spinnaker makes CI/CD a simplified process by preventing deployments from occurring during critical times during an application’s life cycle.
Screwdriver
Screwdriver is a CD platform designed to operate on a larger scale. As the application is not tied to any platform, it can support a number of source code services, execution engines, and databases. It is an open-source build platform that emphasises continuous delivery in a pipeline environment. With Screwdriver, you can define your pipeline as a YAML file which streamlines the process of reviews and changes.
5. How Are The Practices Related To Each Other?
If we imagine the development process into two distinct parts, Continuous Integration (CI) can be classified as the first part for creating and optimizing the code, and Continuous Delivery (CD) can be classified as the later part dealing with deploying code. CI and CD are very closely related. One ensures the code is continuously tested and integrated, and the other automates the code delivery to production.
CD is an extension of CI and without CI, CD is next to impossible. The early detection of errors in code by CI is what helps CD to provide the best final products to the end-user.
6. Benefits Of CI/CD (And The Other CD)
Continuous Integration
- Fewer bugs in the production stage.
- Easy application building.
- Reduced context switching.
- Reduced testing costs.
- Reduced QA testing time.
Continuous Delivery
- Simplified deployment.
- Short release windows.
- Short release windows. Better feedback loop from customers.
- Less development pressure for minor changes.
Continuous Deployment
- Faster development.
- Lower risk of bugs and issues.
- Continuous improvements to apps.
- Improved quality of apps over time.
7. What Is CI/CD In DevOps?
Conventional development and delivery methods are slowly getting phased out. As a software development company, we understand that the development process can get very complex, and it would require a large team to collaborate and develop apps consistently. In order to meet the stringent requirements of various industries, expectations from developers are at an all-time high. Software development is in a flux of change, and CI/CD fits right in the mix.
DevOps has always been recognized for its efficiency, and CI/CD is one of the most integral tools in DevOps. Developers that make use of DevOps principles achieve as much as 4600% more deployments. It also boasts of 96 times faster recovery times from any development failures, which is superb.
DevOps and CI/CD can be integrated to help developers deliver software rapidly. Communication and collaboration are also improved, and development cycles are shortened considerably. It enables development teams to meet deadlines and also improve the quality of output.
Continuous integration and continuous delivery are two of the most important pillars when it comes to DevOps. CI/CD’s adoption rate is higher than ever before, and it will only grow over time as the focus on streamlined development practices increases.
#Conclusion
If you adopt CI/CD practices, you will notice faster development times, better coordination between development teams, and more. With pressure from customers and enterprises, it can be difficult to work. The constant testing and deployment that CI/CD enables make it ideal for high-stress development environments. Documentation, marketing, and support are available for CI/CD, and the development community is always at hand to help others out.
If you’re interested in implementing CI/CD (Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery) for your software development projects, we’re here to help. Our team of experts specializes in CI/CD implementation and can guide you through the process of adopting this efficient software development approach. Contact us today to learn more about our CI/CD services and how they can streamline your development pipeline, increase productivity, and improve the quality of your software releases.
FAQs
CI/CD pipeline automated a lot of tasks including building, testing, optimisation, development and delivery. These can streamline your development process, reduce errors, increase productivity, and reduce the cost.
The CI/CD pipeline in Azure DevOps is the automation of processes such as building, testing, and deploying the code. The code is continuously tested and improved upon to ensure the users get the best quality software.
The main principles of CI/CD are automation and continuous improvements. The agile method is built on the philosophy of continuous testing, improvements, development, and deployment.
Continuous testing is the process of automatically and perpetually testing the software, codes, and applications for flaws and errors. This is a crucial part of ensuring the best version of software reaches the end-user.
The best practices for CI/CD are to build the source code only once, focus on automation, often update the software, and ensure security.
CI/CD is rather just a single component of DevOps. DevOps encompasses a broad spectrum of approach in the application development process and CI/CD is one of the many subsets of it.