Final answer:
Continuous Integration (CI) is the process of merging code changes frequently into a central repository, where automated tests ensure integration, while Continuous Delivery (CD) is the automated process of deploying code to production environments. Together, they form a loop of continuous development, reducing the time for release and improving software quality.
Step-by-step explanation:
Continuous Integration / Continuous Delivery (CI/CD)
Continuous Integration (CI) and Continuous Delivery (CD) are key practices in modern software development that form a part of the agile methodology. CI involves developers merging their code changes into a central repository frequently, where automated builds and tests run to ensure new code integrates nicely with the existing codebase. The goal of CI is to detect and fix integration problems early to facilitate continuous development and improve software quality.
Continuous Delivery follows CI and refers to the automated process of deploying all code changes to a testing or production environment after the build stage. This ensures that software can be deployed quickly and reliably whenever needed, aligning with the view that development is a cumulative process. Through CD, teams aim to reduce the time it takes to release new updates and features, implementing a gradual improvement approach to existing skills and software capabilities.
By adopting CI/CD, organizations are better equipped to respond to market changes, fix bugs, and add features more rapidly. This continuous process of development, and testing help produce quality software that meets customer demands and improves over time.