If you’re a software engineer seeking to hone your existing skills or learn more about continuous integration (CI) and continuous delivery (CD) processes, we recommend the top five books on this subject. These books shed light on the development and deployment processes, empowering software engineers with deeper insights on how to effectively implement CI/CD in their projects.
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So, what precisely does CI/CD mean?
The Roles of CI/CD
By leveraging CI, a software developer working on CI/CD can make secure, small changes to a project’s codebase in a step by step approach.
With the help of automated build and testing process, developers can ensure that their code modifications do not result in any problems. Once the code is released as part of the continuous delivery process, it becomes much easier to make modifications to it. The software industry frequently employs continuous integration and delivery pipelines to automate the process of releasing small, incremental updates to a code base.
What are the advantages of CI/CD?
The Continuous Integration (CI) approach entails a comprehensive package design process that enables businesses to quickly release new software and improve the quality of their product at the same time. This approach facilitates timely updates and bug fixes being deployed to the live server, keeping the organization current and competitive in its industry.
Top reads on Continuous Improvement and Delivery to explore this year
If you’re a software engineer looking to enhance your knowledge of continuous integration and delivery, it’s essential to regularly read literature on the topic. With the growing number of books on the subject, it can be challenging for newcomers to decide which ones are best suited to them.
For this reason, we’ll examine the characteristics and advantages of the finest CI/CD books for both beginner and experienced developers.
Integrating and Deploying Code Without Stopping (2017)
Those seeking a complete insight into the continuous integration process and techniques for producing top-notch software will find this book extremely informative. It delves into all aspects of the CI process and contemporary techniques for software delivery.
This book offers a detailed exploration of continuous integration (CI) and its implementation. It discusses the use of several technologies such as Jasmine, Selenium, and Jenkins, to build a dependable CI environment and pipeline. With step-by-step guidance, the readers can effectively execute the necessary processes.
Key Takeaways from the book:
- Proficient understanding of Unit Testing in theory and practical application
- Source Control: a plethora of information
- Developing skills with integration tests
- Practice exercises in extensive, all-at-once testing and compact, recurring tests
- Establish an efficient Continuous Integration environment and pipeline
DevOps: Constantly Prepared for Deployment, Integration, and Delivery (2018)
Out of all the literature available on DevOps and Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD), this book stands out. DevOps is closely tied to CI/CD, which facilitates the ongoing and gradual updating of software code.
The aim of this book is to offer an extensive summary of the fundamental concepts of DevOps, which include continuous integration, deployment, and delivery. It presents the usage of prominent tools like Jenkins, Chef, and Ansible for readers to grasp the implementation aspects of these technologies in their own enterprises. By reading this book, the audience can acquire a deep comprehension of the basics of DevOps and how to integrate these tools into their development and operational procedures.
This book presents an all-inclusive outlook on the recommended practices linked to the DevOps framework, and acquaints readers with diverse life-cycle models of DevOps. Moreover, it expounds on the abundance of resources obtainable for streamlining the infrastructure, and specifies how the tools Nagios and Splunk can be utilised for steady monitoring.
Key Takeaways from the Read:
- Corporate applications of DevOps
- Connection of DevOps and CI/CD rooted in their fundamental principles
- Advantages of big data for enterprises and the involvement of DevOps in its deployment
- Storing data and software on a distant server
- Computing processes carried out entirely within the memory
A Practical Guide to Continuous Delivery (2017).
This book provides a concise introduction to the advantages of continuous delivery. Following this, it discusses the process of setting up a regular pipeline for continuous delivery.
This publication explores the most commonly employed deployment techniques in continuous delivery, including Continuous Deployment, Blue/Green, and Releasing. Upon concluding the book, the readers will receive suggestions on the optimal means to streamline their software architecture for continuous delivery.
Key Learnings from the Read:
- Explicitly highlighting the challenges with continuous delivery and the corresponding remedies.
- Management of Implementation for Enterprise Continuous Delivery
- Software application that enables smooth implementation of fresh features
- Development of a system for fully automated software
- Verification of sufficient performance capacity through testing
Enhancing Software Quality and Minimising Risks with Continuous Software (2007)
This article, which focuses on continuous integration and continuous deployment, is thoroughly engaging. Despite being first released in 2007, the content it presents remains as pertinent today as it was then. The piece addresses several subjects pertaining to software development and offers a comprehensive account of the field as a whole.
Key Takeaways from the Publication:
- By adhering to these steps, you can master the art of seamless integration in software projects.
- Discover ways to minimise the frequency of repeating tasks during software development.
- Collaborative Approaches to Maximise the Benefits of CI as a Team
- Acquire knowledge on decreasing the probability of issues such as deferred bug resolutions, inferior code quality, obscured indicators, and unusable code.
- Evaluations of the Current State of CI Servers and Related Software
Incorporating and Deploying Modifications Instantaneously (2018)
This piece presents an all-encompassing guide to continuous integration and continuous delivery. It highlights the various server categories employed in this operation, including Jenkins, CircleCI, and Travis. Additionally, we will explore logging and debugging methods.
Key Takeaways from the Publication:
- Continuous Integration and Deployment through Test Automation
- Instances in Business
Conclusion
Are you a software developer seeking employment or planning to pursue a career in this area? If yes, it’s highly recommended to research Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CICD). CICD is a critical concept that software developers should comprehend, and the related literature is considered an indispensable source of knowledge for those working in this field.
These resources assist in expanding software engineers’ comprehension of CI/CD and how it relates to other elements of the software development process.
