The app industry has been present from a couple of decades now. Although, with the increasing pace in development, there are often times when we have to adapt to the situation. For now, there are so many great ideas in the market that have rolled out as applications, a lot of app development company have been using different techniques and methodology to keep there work at pace. One such methodology is to use the concept of Continuous Integration, Continuous Delivery, and Continuous Deployment. Therefore, to at least get a basic idea to get started read our article on it below.
What is Continuous Integration?
As per the definition, “Continuous Integration is a practice used in development to integrate code into the repository several times a day”. This means that the developers will be working on modules and as soon as the work is done he/she will contribute it to the repository without any delay. There is an automated verification system that checks the work and the authenticity of it. This is done in all the big organisation these days to avoid wasting time on unnecessary code aggregation and management that comes with the work.
The reason why Continuous Integration was needed because previously the team used to update a huge pile of code altogether. This huge pile of code generated conflict within a different team. How? Well, suppose there was Programmer A who is working on a particular feature. He takes the requirement and starts to build the code. A single module can take a hefty amount of code and time to develop plus you have the extra bugs as the icing.
Although, he is done with his work but turns out the previous code has changed. Also, the rest of the programmers who were working on a different module have made changes to the previous to fix compatibility issues as well as their current code is not exactly fitting right with yours. All this ruckus created code conflict. The moment you’ll be done sorting all the conflict, a lot of precious time that was under the rug got wasted.
With Continuous Integration, you break your bigger problems into smaller ones. This way you are not dealing with a hefty code and also the work efficiency improves. A team that follows CI will be continuously updating the code with minor changes into the repository. Rather than a tech, it is more of an approach that can save a lot of your precious time.
What is Continuous Delivery?
Continuous Delivery is the practice and the ability to change all types of added new features, experiments, and bug fixes. The procedure is generally carried out during the production stage. Although, these days it is still carried out for applications that are actually in the market.
The goal of Continuous Delivery is to make deployments into systems that are large scale & distributed. The deployment is also done in conditions like a complex production environment, embedded system, or maybe just as a routine affair. All of this is achieved via Continuous Delivery where you make sure that the code is always deployable where thousands of developers are continuously adding their work to the repository.
What is Continuous Deployment?
Continuous Deployment is a strategy that is being widely used by many organisations these days. In this whenever there is code commit then it automatically passed onto the production phase. All of this deployment that is done inflicts change in the software which is either in the making or has already been rolled out.
With Continuous Deployment, there is no need for human intervention. The strategy is carried out automatically and is performed on when the full-team follows the production-ready development practices with heart and soul. This one is also applied when we are applying any sophisticated real-time monitoring in production to negate any issues.
What is CI/CD Pipeline?
A CI/CD pipeline is created to generate code at a much higher pace that too without any bugs. This is important if you wish to have a reliable configuration that doesn’t come up with surprise bugs and errors to fix.
A CI/CD pipeline will help you automate processes that are related to Software Delivery process. This is done to initiate code builds, running automated tests, and deploying to a production environment. An automated pipeline will remove all the unnecessary things like manual errors, provide a standardized loop for feedback, and make your production faster.
Continuous Delivery generally sits on top of continuous integration. Whenever a code integration takes place that triggers a sequence of build and tests. This readily provides infrastructure and makes the deployment easy. All of the processes associated are fully automatic and are entirely visible to the whole team.
When do you need Continuous Integration, Continuous Delivery, and Continuous Deployment?
Well, initially when we use to work on an app development project, the scenario was a little different. The SDLC(Software Development LifeCycle) was based on the Waterfall Model. In this, a client will usually first send his/her SRS(Software Requirement Specification). Based on the SRS, the app development team would quote a price and the time of completion.
Now suppose you are working on Project A. The time of completion for Project A would be 1 year. Well, previously the stakes weren’t high if you get the application after a time of one year. Although, the market changes very rapidly today. There are multiple applications with great new ideas are launched every day. Therefore, in this scenario, the app development company needed something more robust so that they can roll features every week making up with the pace of changes.
To cater to this situation, the concept of Agile Methodology. This further gave basis to think about DevOps. CI/CD in a way is a part of DevOps. In Continuous Integration, you will be dividing a large pile of code into smaller code. This code will be continuously updated to the repository daily. This makes the work faster and also saves you a heck load from commit conflicts for the code. This is these concepts became so famous and widely accepted.
Best Tools to Apply CI/CD?
Jenkins: One of the most popular tools that is being used in CI/CD. The application is based on Java and comes with its UI Web Built. The application is known for its extensiveness for cross-platform development and great platform support. The application was originally developed in Hudson in the year 2004. In the earlier years, it was integrated with a new design known as Blue Ocean which made it way more simple to use. Also, the best part about this application is that it is completely open-source.
GitLab: This one is a great repository if you are looking for many tools in one place. It covers all the aspect of an SDLC. It is a Git Repository that has endless features like issue tracking, analytics including a Wiki. With CI/CD components integrated into the system, you can trigger your builds, run your tests, and code deployment in each code commit or push. This one also allows the integration of virtual machines such as Docker. The service is completely open-source and is available as both on-premise installations as well as a hosted one.
CodeShip: Most of the tools that are offered to you in this category have a UI for advanced configuration. Although, with CodeShip you are more tied to the script. This may make the process a little difficult but gives you the control that one might look for. This service allows you to specify the language of development, the framework, the setup commands, and many other deployment options. The best part is that it will limit the option to those processes itself.
TeamCity: The tool has been created by JetBrains. This one is quite an intelligent CI Server. It detects the technology that has been used in the project and creates the build automatically. For instance, if your app has been developed in Gradle then it will auto-generate a Gradle build. The application allows you to build a docker integration with agents in Docker Containers. You can separate containers to create a build.
CircleCI: This one is more for the people who are developing applications for iOS. It comes with tools that can help deploy iOS and macOS projects. It also allows you to build and test your application. It supports Linux Virtual Machine as well as Docker container. It also gets you a variety of tools for managing the applications with build agent such as SSH, creating save points during the build, and caching images from Docker for future builds.
So this was the reason why CI/CD is used in app development. It is essential to roll out projects in time. Also, the more the number of feature drops, the more client engagement you will get. It will also help you to stay competitive. In case, if you are looking for an app development company then maybe we can help. To check out our app cost calculator, check out the link at the top of the page. In case, if you wish to read an article over Top Technology Trends then click on the link provided. We hope this article may have been of some help to you. Also, thank you for reading the article until the end.