In the software development process, it is important to have a strategy for how code changes are integrated into a codebase and how those changes are delivered to end users. This is typically referred to as a deployment pipeline.
A deployment pipeline for a backend application can be defined as a series of sequential steps that must be completed before code is deployed to production. These steps usually include some form of testing (e.g. unit, integration, or acceptance testing) as well as compiling, packaging, and deploying the code.
There are many different ways to build a deployment pipeline and the steps involved will vary depending on the specific application and infrastructure. However, there are some common steps that are typically included in most pipelines.
Before code can be deployed to production, it must first go through a series of pre-deployment steps. These steps usually include some form of testing (e.g. unit, integration, or acceptance testing) as well as compiling, packaging, and deploying the code.
Unit testing is a type of testing that isolates individual pieces of code (usually classes or methods) and tests them in isolation. This is in contrast to integration testing, which tests how different pieces of code work together.
Unit tests are typically written by the developers who wrote the code being tested. They are typically written using a testing framework such as JUnit or TestNG.
Integration testing is a type of testing that tests how different pieces of code work together. This is in contrast to unit testing, which isolates individual pieces of code and tests them in isolation.
Integration tests are typically written by the developers who wrote the code being tested. They are typically written using a testing framework such as JUnit or TestNG.
Acceptance testing is a type of testing that is used to determine whether or not a software system meets the Acceptance Criteria for a given stakeholder. Acceptance tests are typically written by the business analysts or product owners who are responsible for the requirements.
They are typically written using a tool such as Cucumber or FitNesse.
Once the code has passed all of the pre-deployment steps, it is ready to be deployed to production. The specific steps involved in the deployment process will vary depending on the application and infrastructure. However, there are some common steps that are typically included.
The first step in the deployment process is to compile the code. This step converts the code from human-readable source code into machine-readable code.
The specific steps involved in compiling code will vary depending on the programming language being used. For example, Java code is typically compiled using the javac compiler, while .NET code is typically compiled using the MSBuild tool.
The next step in the deployment process is to package the code. This step creates a deployable artifact that can be deployed to the target environment.
The specific steps involved in packaging code will vary depending on the application and infrastructure. For example, Java code is typically packaged using the jar tool, while .NET code is typically packaged using the MSBuild tool.
The final step in the deployment process is to deploy the code to the target environment. This step usually involves copying the packaged code to the server and configuring the server to run the code.
The specific steps involved in deploying code will vary depending on the application and infrastructure. For example, Java code is typically deployed using the Tomcat web server, while .NET code is typically deployed using the IIS web server.
A deployment pipeline is a series of sequential steps that must be completed before code is deployed to production. These steps usually include some form of testing (e.g. unit, integration, or acceptance testing) as well as compiling, packaging, and deploying the code.
There are many different ways to build a deployment pipeline and the steps involved will vary depending on the specific application and infrastructure. However, there are some common steps that are typically included in most pipelines.