Continuous Integration (CI) in DevOps

Continuous Integration is a set of processes that carry out the task of building a pipeline. In DevOps, both teams use the same control tool to deposit the code. Developers create some individual code, and a master copy of the code remains in the main branch. Here CI does the work of merging the developers’ code into the master copy.

Core Work of CI Process

The core work of CI is merging the code with the mainline. It compiles the code and builds a pipeline. The server of CI hosts the tool. The tool keeps monitoring the code, and when it finds any check-in, it starts the automated process. It builds and runs the unit test. It uses static code analysis and automated security code testing.

There are different types of tools to carry out different tasks. For example, Jenkins, TestNG, NUnit is for unit testing. Sonar does static code analysis. Fortify is for security testing. With the help of these tools, CI builds the pipeline. The whole process of building the pipeline works in an automated way.

Why Use CI in DevOps?

The main benefit of using CI is it is an automated process. Manually doing the building, testing, and merging is hectic work. It also takes a long time to find bugs and fix them. But in an automated process, all these tasks are done within minutes. It also reduces human error.

CI removes the dependency for others to check-in. Members can check and re-check the code as many times as they want. For this, they do not have to wait for others to complete the coding and then check the code.

CI helps the developer’s team to test if the integration process of code has been a success. As the entire process takes a few minutes to complete, individuals can check-in the code very quickly. They also get feedback in a short time. When they find any possibility of failure, they quickly solve the problem. Members can also check a small amount of code to improve quality. Thus developers can rest assured that the code is bug-free and ready to implement.

Continuous Integration increases the software’s quality, hence increasing the developers’ confidence about the code. The DevOps team can rely on this process to build a successful code. Businesses are staying ahead using CI in DevOps.