How can continuous integration (CI) / continuous delivery (CD) revolutionize automated testing

One of the recent breakthroughs is automated testing . Before adopting automated testing technology , Most of the software test cases are executed manually . This difficult process has many defects , These include ：

• Inconsistent execution of test cases .
• Manual setting of test environment .
• Boring and slow .
• The test result format is inconsistent .

Automated testing and continuous integration (CI) And continuous delivery (CD) The introduction of , Improve and improve the quality and rhythm of software release by developers . This article will delve into continuous integration (CI)/ Continuous delivery (CD) The Conduit , Learn how to use automated testing to significantly improve the quality and speed of software release . Besides , We'll also look at some that can be used to create continuous integration (CI)/ Continuous delivery (CD) The most popular and practical tool of pipeline .

Continuous integration (CI)/ Continuous delivery (CD) The Conduit

To release software , Some business needs must be met . In some cases , These business requirements include a set of fast system tests and a set of user interfaces (UI) test , Other versions may require more involved requirements . No matter how complex , These business requirements can be conceptualized as a set of serial and parallel steps . In continuous integration (CI)/ Continuous delivery (CD) In terms of , Each step is called a stage , The set of ordered stages is called a pipeline . Here is an example pipe ：

The specific stages in the pipeline will vary according to the business needs of the project , But all the pipes will be in the trigger ( For example, submit ) Execute when activated . Once the execution of the pipeline begins , Each phase will be executed one by one ; When a phase is successfully completed , Carry out the next phase .

When a set of parallel phases is reached , For example, the user acceptance test in the above example 、 Capacity test and staging phase , All phases are performed simultaneously . When all parallel phases are successfully completed , The pipeline will continue to run . for example , Before user acceptance test 、 Before the capacity test and staging are successfully completed , The deployment phase will not begin .

Continuous integration (CI)/ Continuous delivery (CD) All stages of the pipeline do not necessarily have to be automated , In some cases , Introduce automated test cases into continuous integration (CI)/ Continuous delivery (CD) Piping can be difficult . for example ：

• Unclear business requirements and specifications —— in the majority of cases , The difficulty in defining automated tests stems from the business requirements of the project ( Definition CI/ CD The Conduit ) And the specification of the software under test is lack of clarity . In continuous integration (CI)/ Continuous delivery (CD) Before creating a phase in the pipeline , You have to know what needs to be tested and why .
• The user interface (UI) test —— Due to its visibility and volatility , The user interface (UI) Testing can be difficult to automate . You can use the user interface (UI) Testing framework to overcome this problem , for example Selenium.
• Inconsistent reports —— Many continuous integrations (CI)/ Continuous delivery (CD) The pipeline tool includes a test summary , Displays the number of tests that have been executed and successfully completed in a phase . This summary requires automated testing to generate consistent and well-known reports . This requirement can be met by using automated testing tools with well-known report formats , for example JUnit( Or any xUnit frame ) and Cucumber.

Although there may be situations that require manual testing , But when all the tests ( Include UI test ) When both are automated , Continuous integration (CI)/ Continuous delivery (CD) The biggest advantage of pipeline .

Continuous integration (CI)/ Continuous delivery (CD) Automated testing in pipelines

In continuous integration (CI)/ Continuous delivery (CD) The main advantage of using automated testing in pipelines is , For a series of tests ( Including units 、 Integrate 、 System 、 Performance and acceptance tests ) Test individual submissions , Then it can be deployed to the production system without deployment , Without any human interaction . for example , Even in large projects , It is also possible for an engineer to make a submission , This will automatically lead to the deployment of functionality into production in minutes or hours .

On the contrary , Automated pipelines ensure that failed tests prohibit the deployment of functionality to production . for example , If developers add new features , And the unit or integration test fails , The execution of the pipeline will stop immediately , And it will not be deployed . then , Developers will be notified of test failures , And it can trace the error that triggers the submission of pipeline execution failure .

In addition to the benefits for deployment and release , Automated testing also brings many benefits to the quality of the code itself ：

• Record their expected behavior .
• Reduce the number of regressions .
• Decouple into smaller 、 More independent components .
• Reduce test execution time .
• Stakeholders participate in the generation of test specifications ( Acceptance testing ).

Despite continuous integration (CI)/ Continuous delivery (CD) All tests in the pipeline may not be automated , But to get the most out of the pipeline , Efforts should be made to maximize the number of automation phases , And realize the complete automation of pipeline when possible .

Popular continuous integration (CI)/ Continuous delivery (CD) Tools

There are many tools and frameworks available to create automated continuous integration (CI)/ Continuous delivery (CD) The Conduit . The following example is not comprehensive , Represents only what can be used to facilitate continuous integration (CI)/ Continuous delivery (CD) A small number of excellent tools for pipelines . Generally speaking , These tools can be divided into two categories ： Native and third-party tools .

1. Native tools

Native tools are continuous integration that integrates directly into the repository (CI)/ Continuous delivery (CD) Tools . For these tools , Created a configuration file coexisting with the source code , When submitted , The repository uses the configuration file and executes the defined phase .

The two most popular native tools currently available are ：

(1)GitHub Actions—— Direct and GitHub Repository integrated automated workflow tools . It can be done by GitHub Repository's .github/workflows/ Create another new markup language in the directory (YAML) Workflow files to build new pipelines , stay GitHub Operation dictionary is called workflow .

(2)GitLab CI/CD—— And GitHub Actions similar ,GitLab CI/CD Direct and GitLab Repository Integration , Allow developers to pass through GitLab Create... In the root directory of the repository .gitlab-ci.yml File to create a new workflow .

When native tools are available , It's best to use it , Because it provides the highest level of integration with the repository and the source code managed by the repository . for example , If its code is stored in GitHub or GitLab Repository , Should be used separately by default GitHub Actions and GitLab CI/CD, Unless there is an urgent need to use third-party tools .

2. Third party tools

Third party tools are continuous integration that resides outside the repository (CI)/ Continuous delivery (CD) Tools . For many of these tools , A program can be used in the repository to notify third-party tools when submitting . These tools then examine the code from the repository and execute the configured pipeline . The two most popular third-party tools currently available are ：

(1)Jenkins—— This is an open source automation server , Allow developers to automatically build 、 Test and deploy their projects .Jenkins Usually used as an independent service , Deployed by the development team . The pipe can pass directly through Jenkins UI To configure , You can also create in the source code repository Jenkins File to configure .

(2)CircleCI—— This is the GitHub、GitHub Enterprise、Bitbucket Integrated managed automation services .CircleCI The advantage is that the team doesn't have to deploy and maintain CircleCI example , But through circleci.com visit CircleCI. However , Its advantage in convenience lies in its narrow repository support and lack of flexibility .

Although using native tools should be the default option , But in some cases, third-party tools may be a better choice , for example ：

• Native tools cannot provide the required functionality .
• Third party tools allow you to leverage more computing power ( That is, native tools may only allow the use of single machine resources or repository related resources to execute pipelines ).
• Need a separate option , So that continuous integration can be directly managed (CI)/ Continuous delivery (CD) The Conduit ( Want to manage continuous integration within a firewall or corporate subnet (CI)/ Continuous delivery (CD) The server ).

Conclusion

Test automation and will continue to integrate (CI)/ Continuous delivery (CD) The introduction of software development has irreversibly changed the creation of 、 How to test and release software . Despite continuous integration (CI)/ Continuous delivery (CD) The field is still developing and making progress , But you must understand continuous integration (CI)/ Continuous delivery (CD) Basic knowledge of automated testing in , And choose tools that save more time and improve quality .

Original title ：​​Continuous Test Automation Using CI/CD: How CI/CD Has Revolutionized Automated Testing​​, author ：Justin Albano