Continuous Integration and Deployment (CI/CD) for Web Developers
Now, before you pop a vein or two trying to make sense of the complicated-sounding words, don’t run away! I promise you, as my precious beginners, we’re not going to swim too deep, too quickly, into the web development waters. But, boy, are we gonna have fun!
First off, our topic today, ladies and gentlemen, is Continuous Integration and Deployment, aka CI/CD. I see some of you shivering! No need for that folks, it’s all easy peasy, lemon squeezy (or as our future programmer-selves would call it – optimising code commit and application deployment).
Let’s begin!
A “forking” amazing short-story: the tale of CI/CD
Once upon a time, there were some diligent developers who liked to be efficient (unbelievably, too efficient for their coffee breaks). They came up with this idea of CI/CD – to improve their work and save their precious time.
The idea is pretty neat: Continuous Integration (CI) is like that trustworthy, reliable buddy who always checks your work. You finish some cool codes? CI checks! Fine-tunes! Works its magic! Just to make sure everything is up to the mark. Saves you a load of time and effort from manually checking and debugging after large chunks of work.
Continuous Deployment (CD), on the other hand, is that genie in a magic lamp for web developers. You ask, and voila! Your code leaps from GitHub to your users’ screens, right after you commit them – all because your trusty CD makes it so!
Learning to work it like the Web Developer Wizard
Now, you may ask, how do these amazing processes work? Hold your horses, let’s go step-by-step.
Step 1: Keeping up with Continuous Integration (CI)
As aspiring web developers, we are going to be buddies with our code – and that means CONSTANT interaction. CI helps us by integrating our codes into a shared repository every day, multiple times a day. Here’s how:
1. We write our codes.
2. We commit changes to our source control (like Git, for instance. Don’t worry if this all sounds alien, our next chapters cover all these terms).
3. CI tool automates the compiling, testing, and checking of this new piece of code.
4. Sends back feedback about the overall health and compatibility of your code.
Step 2: The Continuous Deployment (CD) Dance!
Once our code is all tested, passed, and ready for showtime, the CD steps in. It’s like that enthusiastic stage manager who just can’t wait to get your performance live for the audience.
1. CD, on receiving the tested piece of code, builds the release.
2. The built release is then deployed to the servers for testing.
3. If it passes, the CD auto-deploys it to the live servers. And…you’re live!
Our story comes to a happy ending, where the combined forces of CI/CD guide web developers like us to create, test, and deploy codes – quickly, accurately, and efficiently. Remember, CI/CD isn’t a scary monster. It’s a magical puppet master that brings your code to life in front of the audience (users) rapidly and flawlessly. So, get ready to choreograph that dance!
In the next chapters, we will delve into more details. Till then, happy coding! And remember, even the smartest minds took their time to debug their lives. You’re a step ahead, with your CI/CD pals!
