Chapter 1: A Brief History of CI/CD

Application development has not always worked the way it does today. Not so long ago, the processes were much different, as was the available technology for software engineering. To understand the importance of continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD), it is essential to take a step back and see how it all started. In this chapter, you will learn how CI/CD came to where it is right now and where it might go in the future. You will take a small trip back in time – about 20 years ago – to see how application deployment was done back then, when I was still a junior developer. We will then look at various turning points in the history of software development practices and how this impacted the way we deploy applications today.

You will also learn about how cloud computing changed the way that we deliver software compared to how it was done about two decades ago. This will set the foundations for learning how to build powerful CI/CD pipelines with Tekton.

Finally, you will start to understand how CI/CD can fit into your day-to-day life as a software developer. Pipelines can be used at various stages of the application life cycle, and you will see some examples of their usage.

In this chapter, we are going to cover the following main topics:

• The early days
• Understanding the impacts of Agile development practices
• Deploying in the era of the cloud
• Demystifying CI versus CD versus CD