What is continuous integration and why is it important?

What is continuous integration and why is it important?

Continuous integration (CI) is a software development practice where code changes are automatically tested and merged into a shared repository. It's important because it helps catch bugs early, improves software quality, and accelerates the development process.

How does continuous integration work in a typical workflow?

In a typical CI workflow, developers push their code changes to a version control system. Automated tests are triggered to run, and if they pass, the changes are merged into the main branch. This process ensures that the codebase remains stable.

What tools are commonly used for continuous integration?

Common CI tools include Jenkins, Travis CI, CircleCI, and GitHub Actions. These tools automate the testing and deployment processes.

Can you explain the difference between continuous integration and continuous deployment?

Continuous integration focuses on automatically testing and merging code changes, while continuous deployment goes a step further by automatically deploying those changes to production after passing tests.

What are some best practices for implementing continuous integration?

Best practices include maintaining a single source repository, automating the build process, running tests frequently, and ensuring that the CI pipeline is fast and reliable.