Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD)

Go to Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/continuous-integration-and-continuous-delivery-ci-cd

Introduction

# Course Review: Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) on Coursera In the fast-evolving world of software development, adopting efficient methodologies is paramount for delivering quality products in a timely manner. The **Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD)** course on Coursera provides a structured and comprehensive introduction to automation in software development, aligning with the principles of DevOps. This review aims to detail the course structure, content, and overall value, ultimately recommending it for aspiring professionals in the field. ## Course Overview The **Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD)** course explores how automation can replace manual processes, improving efficiency and reducing human error in software delivery. By implementing CI/CD practices, teams can continuously integrate code changes and deploy those modifications to production environments seamlessly. ### Learning Outcomes Upon finishing this course, you will: - Understand the core principles of CI/CD and how they fit into the DevOps pipeline. - Gain practical knowledge of various CI/CD tools, including GitHub Actions and Tekton. - Learn to automate software development processes, enhancing your coding efficiency and project management skills. - Complete hands-on labs that will allow you to apply the concepts learned in real-world scenarios. ## Course Syllabus Breakdown ### Module 1: Introduction to CI/CD The course kicks off with a foundational overview of CI/CD. This module presents the benefits of automation in software development, emphasizes the importance of Infrastructure as Code (IaC), and covers various CI/CD tools available in the market. This module prepares participants for the deeper explorations in subsequent modules. ### Module 2: Continuous Integration (CI) In this module, you will dive deeper into Continuous Integration (CI). The focus is on features and benefits, as well as practical skills such as the Git Feature Branch Workflow. Participants learn about established tools like Jenkins, CircleCI, and gain hands-on experience with GitHub Actions. A standout feature of this module is a lab that involves real-world tasks, which enhances the learning experience tremendously. ### Module 3: Continuous Delivery (CD) This module introduces Tekton and its role in the CI/CD processes. Learners will create Tekton triggers and build pipelines for automated testing and delivery of application updates. The hands-on labs, which include creating custom tasks and preparing for Kubernetes deployments, provide a practical understanding of the Continuous Delivery lifecycle. ### Module 4: DevOps and GitOps with OpenShift In this module, participants familiarize themselves with the integration of GitOps in the DevOps pipeline. The course covers OpenShift Pipelines and introduces Argo CD as a tool to manage continuous delivery in Kubernetes environments. This module stands out for its cutting-edge approach, integrating version control with automation. ### Final Exam and Project The course wraps up with a final exam and project, wherein learners will demonstrate their understanding of CI/CD principles and apply their skills in a practical environment. Completing a project requiring the integration of GitHub Actions, Tekton tasks, and OpenShift Pipelines solidifies the knowledge gained throughout the course. ## Why You Should Take This Course 1. **Comprehensive Coverage**: The course meticulously covers CI/CD tools and concepts, leaving no stone unturned. 2. **Hands-On Labs**: The practical labs simulate real-world applications, making the knowledge directly applicable to your projects. 3. **Expert Instruction**: The content is curated by knowledgeable instructors with extensive experience in the field. 4. **Flexible Learning**: As an online course on Coursera, it offers the flexibility to learn at your own pace, making it suitable for both beginners and seasoned professionals. 5. **Alignment with Industry Trends**: CI/CD practices are increasingly being adopted by organizations, making this course relevant for anyone aspiring to work in modern software development environments. ## Conclusion The **Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD)** course on Coursera is not just an educational resource; it is an essential stepping stone for anyone serious about advancing their career in software development and DevOps. With its rich content, hands-on experience, and expert guidance, it thoroughly prepares participants for the demands of modern software delivery practices. I highly recommend this course to anyone looking to enhance their technical skills and be part of the future of software development automation.

Syllabus

Introduction to CI/CD

Welcome to Module 1, Introduction to CI/CD. In this module, you will get a broad introduction to Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery, commonly known as CI/CD. CI/CD is an automated software development and delivery approach that ensures repeatability and reliability. Throughout this module, you will explore the concepts of CI and CD, understanding their advantages when implemented correctly in your DevOps pipeline. You will also study various popular CI/CD tools, recognizing the importance of eliminating manual procedures and acknowledging that different teams within an organization may use other CI/CD tools. Additionally, you will gain insights into Infrastructure as Code (IaC), which involves utilizing code to automate the provisioning and management of infrastructure. IaC serves as a fundamental concept for implementing automation. There are no labs in this first module. The goal is to understand what CI/CD is before we dive deep into each topic individually. Let's get started.

Welcome to Module 2: Continuous Integration! This module provides you with a comprehensive orientation to Continuous Integration (CI). Through this module, you will gain knowledge of CI's features and the benefits it brings to the world of DevOps. We will begin by exploring social coding, a widely adopted practice within the open-source community. Many companies are now adopting this practice for inner source purposes, to capitalize on its efficiency levels and other benefits. In support of that, you’ll learn about the Git version control system, how to practice the Git Feature Branch Workflow, and the essential commands required to manage it. The workflow will ensure that you follow good DevOps practices and work in small batches so your development work never strays too far from the main codebase. This workflow offers several other key features, along with ensuring adherence to good DevOps practices and maintaining close alignment with the main codebase. We will also explore various popular Continuous Integration (CI) tools, such as Jenkins, CircleCI, and Travis CI, and study their comparison. The tool that you will dive deep into is GitHub Actions. It’s a relatively new tool that is rapidly gaining popularity and is available on every GitHub repository. We’ll go into great detail on the events, runners, jobs, steps, and actions that are the essential components of the GitHub Actions workflow. Through hands-on labs, you can apply your knowledge by forking a repository and establishing your own GitHub Actions workflow. This workflow will involve tasks such as, code examination, quality checks, unit testing, and automatic reporting of code coverage. Importantly, this lab is not a simple "hello world" exercise; it represents a real-world example from one of my personal projects. Consequently, the knowledge and skills you acquire during this lab will be directly applicable to your own projects.

The module begins by introducing Tekton and pipelines, establishing a foundation for comprehending their roles in the CI/CD process. You will also learn the significance of triggers in Tekton, enabling pipelines to execute automatically based on specific events or conditions. Through a hands-on lab, you will create a Tekton trigger to initiate pipeline runs in response to external events. You will gain proficiency in effectively utilizing the Tekton Catalog and incorporating its resources into pipelines. The module guides you in creating custom tasks for code linting, unit testing, and other quality assurance processes. Additionally, you will learn how to build container images in preparation for deployment to Kubernetes. Through hands-on labs, you will develop practical skills to effectively implement Tekton pipelines and automate their CI/CD processes.

Welcome to the "DevOps and GitOps with OpenShift" module. In this module, you will understand the DevOps pipeline and its essential elements that automate the software delivery process. You will explore the components of CI/CD pipelines and their utilities. Additionally, you will learn about OpenShift Pipelines, which offer benefits such as seamless integration with Kubernetes tools, scalability, and the ability to leverage OpenShift services. The module will also introduce you to GitOps, an operational framework that combines DevOps best practices with version control and automation. GitOps enables efficient deployment and management of infrastructure and application configurations by utilizing GitOps as the single source of truth. You will discover the fundamental principles, benefits, and workflow of GitOps, including visibility, audibility, and easy rollback of changes. Furthermore, the module will delve into Argo CD, a tool that plays a crucial role in the GitOps ecosystem. You will explore Argo CD's key concepts and features, including its architecture and how it enables continuous delivery and streamlines application deployment processes in Kubernetes environments. By the end of this module, you will have a comprehensive understanding of the DevOps pipeline, CI/CD components, OpenShift Pipelines, GitOps principles, benefits, and the critical features of Argo CD. This knowledge will empower you to automate software delivery, manage configurations, and streamline deployment processes in modern software development environments.

In this module, you will complete a final exam and a final project that tests your knowledge of the course’s content. The exam will include questions on topics including but not limited to CI/CD’s principles, features, benefits, tools, and methods of implementation. The final project lab environment will provide you with a sample application and an OpenShift Cluster, and you will be asked to add CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions, Tekton tasks, and OpenShift Pipelines.