DevOps Continuous Integration Syllabus

Continuous Integration syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Continuous Integration in DevOps, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Introduction to CI

   2 topics

   • CI Concepts and Practices
   • Benefits of CI
2. 2

   CI Tools

   4 topics

   • Jenkins
   • Travis CI
   • CircleCI
   • GitLab CI/CD
3. 3

   Setting Up a CI Pipeline

   3 topics

   • Writing CI Configuration Files
   • Automated Testing
   • Build Automation

Continuous Integration flashcards for DevOps

21 of 53 cards from the Continuous Integration deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What is Continuous Integration (CI)?

   A software development practice where developers frequently merge their code changes into a shared central repository (often several times a day), after which automated builds and tests are run to detect integration problems early.

2. In CI, how often should developers integrate their code, according to its core principle?

   At least once per day (ideally several times a day), so that integration errors are caught quickly while changes are still small.

3. What is the main problem that Continuous Integration is designed to solve?

   "Integration hell" - the painful, error-prone effort of merging long-diverged branches all at once. CI avoids this by integrating small changes frequently.

4. What is a 'build' in the context of CI?

   The process of converting source code and its dependencies into a runnable/deliverable artifact (e.g. compiling, linking, packaging), often combined with running automated tests.

5. What is the relationship between Continuous Integration, Continuous Delivery, and Continuous Deployment?

   CI automatically builds and tests every change; Continuous Delivery extends CI by keeping the build always ready to release (deploy is a manual button); Continuous Deployment goes further and automatically deploys every passing change to production.

6. What is a CI pipeline?

   An automated sequence of stages (e.g. build, test, package, deploy) that a code change passes through; each stage must succeed before the next runs.

7. What is 'mainline' or 'trunk' in CI practice?

   The single shared, authoritative branch (e.g. main/master/trunk) into which all developers integrate their changes frequently.

8. What does 'fail fast' mean in CI?

   The practice of detecting and reporting build or test failures as early and as quickly as possible, so problems are fixed while the relevant change is still fresh and small.

9. List three core practices of Continuous Integration.

   Maintain a single source repository; automate the build; make the build self-testing (run automated tests on every commit). (Others: commit frequently, keep the build fast, fix broken builds immediately.)

10. Why should a broken build be the top priority to fix in CI?

    A broken mainline blocks everyone else from integrating safely; fixing it immediately restores a known-good state and prevents compounding failures.

11. What is a 'green build' versus a 'red build'?

    A green build means all stages and tests passed (the build is healthy); a red build means a stage or test failed (the build is broken).

12. List four key benefits of Continuous Integration.

    Early bug detection, reduced integration risk, faster feedback to developers, and a consistently releasable/working codebase. (Also: less manual work, higher code quality, easier collaboration.)

13. How does CI reduce risk in software projects?

    By integrating and testing small changes continuously, problems are caught early and isolated to a small recent change, making them cheaper and faster to diagnose and fix than large batched integrations.

14. What is meant by 'fast feedback loop' as a benefit of CI?

    Developers learn within minutes whether their change builds and passes tests, allowing them to fix issues immediately rather than days later when context is lost.

15. What is Jenkins?

    An open-source, self-hosted automation server written in Java, widely used to build, test, and deploy software via CI/CD pipelines, extensible through a large plugin ecosystem.

16. In Jenkins, what is a 'Jenkinsfile'?

    A text file (committed to source control) that defines a Jenkins Pipeline as code, typically written in a Groovy-based domain-specific language.

17. What are the two syntax styles for a Jenkins Pipeline?

    Declarative Pipeline (structured, opinionated, uses a 'pipeline { }' block) and Scripted Pipeline (more flexible, full Groovy, uses a 'node { }' block).

18. In a Jenkins Declarative Pipeline, what is the top-level structure of stages?

    A 'pipeline' block containing an 'agent' directive, then a 'stages' block holding individual 'stage' blocks, each with a 'steps' block of commands.

19. What is a Jenkins 'agent' (formerly 'node/slave')?

    A machine (or container) that connects to the Jenkins controller and executes the build/pipeline work; the controller orchestrates while agents do the execution.

20. How is Jenkins commonly extended to support new tools and integrations?

    Through plugins - thousands of community plugins add support for source control, build tools, cloud providers, notifications, and more.

21. What is Travis CI?

    A cloud-hosted (SaaS) continuous integration service, historically popular for open-source projects on GitHub, configured with a '.travis.yml' file in the repository root.

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