You might have a brilliant idea and you want to develop software for that but the competition is hard and delivering the best in time can be challenging. This why using the right method like CI/CD and right tools to complement the methodology like Jenkins is the key to success. Especially if you are developing an app using online android emulator and simultaneously performing mobile testing. But first, let’s start with the basics and understand CI and Jenkins.
What is Continuous Integration?
CI is a development practice in which the programmers frequently integrate the changes in the code into a shared repository. The idea is to make small changes more often which helps to quickly identify if there are any issues with the changes. A continuous integration pipeline consists of tools used to host, monitor, compile and test code changes. Let’s have a look at the different tools that can be used.
CI server: Jenkins, CruiseControl, Bamboo.
Source control tool: GIT, ClearCase, Perforce.
Build tool: Maven, Gradle, ANT.
Automation testing framework: Appium, UFT, Selenium.
What is Jenkins?
Jenkins is written in Java and it is a platform independent open source CI server used to orchestrate a chain of actions to support Continuous integration pipeline. It requires a web server similar to Apache Tomcat. The main function of Jenkins is that it monitors repeated testing of the project build continuously and show errors in early stages.
Jenkins can automate build and test at a faster rate, which speeds up the software development life cycle. Jenkins also supports complete SDLC which makes it a necessary tool to have.
Why Jenkins is the best for choice for CI?
As soon as the developer commits code the code is built immediately and automated build saves time and reduces errors. The code is deployed after successful testing and it’s easier to know whose code caused the build fail. All this adds up to the faster development and thus the features of the products are readily available to the users. Jenkin test code many times a day and if the build is successful then Jenkins will deploy the source into the test server.
Pros and Cons of using Jenkins
Jenkins is managed by an open source community and on the basis of the users feedback a stable version is released every quarter. This means with the changing technology scenario, Jenkins is becoming better and more efficient. Jenkins does provide support to cloud-based architecture and with more than 320 plugins, Jenkins is feature rich and flexible.
Coming to the cons, maintenance of Jenkins is an issue as it runs on the server and a server administrator is needed to monitor the activities. Sometimes continuous integration breaks due to small changes in the settings and there will be a need for the assistance of a developer. Also installing and configuration Jenkins is difficult.
Conclusion
Developing complex software and deploying it one time successfully is difficult. This why the right tools can increase the efficiency of the software development life cycle and make your work easy. An open source tool like Jenkins with regular updates suffices the demand of the CI software. The developers must keep in mind that they integrate the changes every day and delete the text that you no longer need.