CI/CD

Continuous Integration (CI) encourages developers to merge their code changes into a central repository frequently, preferably several times a day. This frequent integration can help prevent the dreaded “merge hell.” It allows teams to catch bugs and conflicts early and rectify them when they’re still fresh and relatively easy to fix.

When CI is combined with continuous deployment (CD), we have a robust system that takes the freshly integrated code and automatically tests, builds, and deploys it. This can mean deploying to a staging environment for further testing, or it could mean deploying straight to production if the automated tests provide enough confidence in the quality of the build. This continuous process ensures rapid feedback on the software and quicker delivery of features to the end users.

There are various tools available to implement CI/CD. Jenkins, an open source automation server, provides numerous plugins for building, deploying, and...