In order to achieve both quality and speed, developers need to focus on three main areas: Continuous Integration (CI), Continuous Delivery (CD), and DevOps automation. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at how each of these areas can be addressed using DevOps.
1. Continuous Integration
Continuous Integration (CI) is the practice of automating the build and testing of code changes. This allows developers to detect errors early on and avoid potential problems down the road. Besides, regular builds help to ensure that the code integrates smoothly and avoids last-minute surprises. For example, let’s say you are developing an app for Android and you make a change to the code. With CI, this change will be automatically built and tested. If there are any errors, you will be notified immediately so that you can fix them right away. Similarly, if you are developing an iOS app, you can use CI to automatically build and test your code changes. This way, you can avoid having to wait for a scheduled build to check for errors, which can save you a lot of time in the long run. In the modern world, Netflix is one of the best examples of the successful use of CI. They have a very large and complex codebase, with hundreds of developers working on it. In order to ensure that their builds are always successful, they have implemented a strict CI policy.
2. Continuous Delivery
Continuous Delivery (CD) is the practice of automatically delivering code changes to a staging or production environment. This allows for faster development cycles and ensures that new features are available to users as soon as they’re ready. Another way to understand Continuous Delivery is to think of it as a way to automate the release process. For example, let’s say you have made a change to your code and you want to deploy it to your staging environment. With CD, this can be done automatically. This not only saves you time but also ensures that your changes are tested in a staging environment before they are made live. Moreover, CD practices can be applied to both; iOS and Android app development. In other words, you can continuously deliver your code changes to either platform without having to wait for a specific release cycle. A good example of this is Facebook’s practice of continuously delivering code changes to their iOS and Android apps. Using CD, Facebook is able to release new features and updates to its users on a regular basis.
3. DevOps Automation
DevOps automation is the practice of automating tasks related to the development and operations of a software application. This includes tasks such as provisioning servers, deploying code changes, and monitoring applications. By automating these tasks, developers can focus on more important things, such as developing new features and fixing bugs. When developing apps for Android and iOS, there are many tasks that can be automated using DevOps tools. For example, you can use an atifactory to manage binaries and dependencies. This is important because it allows developers to quickly and easily find the files they need. Also, you can use an automation server to automate the build process. This can save you a lot of time, as you won’t need to manually run the build process each time there is a change to the code. In addition, DevOps automation can help to speed up development cycles by reducing the time it takes to complete tasks. For example, let’s say you need to provision a new server. With DevOps automation, this can be done automatically. This way, you don’t have to wait for someone else to do it manually, which can save you a lot of time. Wrap Up In conclusion, using DevOps tools can help to balance quality and speed in mobile app development. By automating many of the tasks involved in the development process, developers can focus on more important things, such as developing new features and fixing bugs. What do you think? Is there anything you would add to this list? Let us know in the comments below.
