Programmers know how important it is to always put out good-quality, bug-free software. However, it’s not always an easy feat to accomplish – which is where CI/CD pipelines come in.
To show you the value of these pipelines to software developers, we’ll take you through a CI/CD pipeline definition first. After that, we’ll take a closer look at the ties between the pipelines and the delivery of bug-free software.
Read on to learn more.
First things first: a CI/CD pipeline definition
We’ll start with the basics – there’s no CI/CD pipeline definition without first establishing what the acronyms mean.
CI stands for ‘continuous integration’, and CD is short for ‘continuous delivery’. What that means is that a CI/CD pipeline combines all the work done on a piece of software by each individual, making up the ‘continuous integration’ part of the name. The latter half of the name comes from the fact that the pipeline makes it possible to keep putting out updates or fresh work.
So, in other words, a CI/CD pipeline helps you ensure you’re always putting out software. It’s also useful for boosting the overall quality of that software. However, we’ll get into that below.
CI/CD pipelines and bug-free software
How exactly does a CI/CD pipeline bring you closer to delivering perfectly bug-free software?
We’re going to break down the main factors that lead from adopting CI/CD pipelines to putting out consistently great-quality software that’s never riddled with bugs. The following play the biggest roles.
Importance of automation
Automating your software processes speeds you up while boosting your accuracy.
If you’re not already using automation, you’re missing out on a lot of benefits. For example, you can get all the advantages of having your software testing outsourced, without needing to put in the work to actually outsource it. You can simply hand your testing off to automated programs, and they’ll take care of it for you.
In the same way, the automation that’s employed in CI/CD pipelines is incredibly useful in limiting the amount of manual work that has to go into testing software. Your automated pipeline can run test cases for you without the need for manual input, so your developers can focus exclusively on ironing out glitches that the pipelines pinpoint for them.
Speed of delivery
Finding every last elusive bug can be tiresome work – and perhaps worse, it can be incredibly time-consuming. That leaves developers with a choice: put out bug-riddled software quickly, or take the time to get rid of all the bugs at the cost of their output speed.
CI/CD pipelines help create a third option that gives you the best of both worlds.
Thanks to the automation they employ, CI/CD pipelines make it easier than ever to root out bugs rapidly. They also help get newly-developed bug-free software delivered right away, so there’s no delay between creation and delivery.
Streamlining your processes
It’s a waste of time to ask employees to repeatedly hunt down the latest version of a piece of software, especially in large companies with lots of developers involved in every project. Thankfully, CI/CD pipelines streamline that process.
In other words, they help you go from creating a software project proposal to putting out the final version of that software more easily, as well as more quickly.
Your pipeline can take care of the often tedious task of updating project versions for you. That means testers and developers alike can simply consult the pipeline for the version they should use, and then submit any changes back to the pipeline for others to access.
Making backtracking easy
Sometimes, you need to hit the back button and revert to an earlier version of your software. Whether it’s for an emergency or just to figure out when a bug cropped up, it’s incredibly useful to be able to access those versions with the push of a button.
This is something that CI/CD pipelines make possible.
That also means developers don’t need to concern themselves with saving multiple separate versions of the same piece of software, just in case. The pipelines take care of it for them.
In summary…
We’ve given you a working CI/CD pipeline definition, which sets out both what the acronyms stand for and what the pipelines are used for. As we’ve mentioned, these pipelines are incredibly useful, and can make it much easier to produce bug-free software. Also, performing a regular software audit will help to make sure that you always have the latest version with up to date security and licensing.
Additionally, CI/CD pipelines help a lot when it comes to making the most of automation. They let you speed up release cycles while also ensuring that those releases are of top quality, which in turn makes it easier to boost your company’s reputation.
In short, CI/CD pipelines are a must for software development companies that want to take the overall quality of their software and deliveries to the next level.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Emily Rollwitz is a Content Marketing Executive at Global App Testing, on-demand testing company helping top app teams deliver high-quality software anywhere in the world. She has 5 years of experience as a marketer, spearheading lead generation campaigns and events that propel top-notch brand performance. Handling marketing of various brands, Emily has also developed a great pulse in creating fresh and engaging content. She’s written for great websites like Airdroid and SME News. You can find her on LinkedIn.
