Introduction

The Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) workflow is crucial for maintaining high code quality and ensuring smooth deployments. In the moj-analytical-services/splink_demos project, a CI/CD setup is currently not yet established.

Next Steps for CI/CD Setup

To integrate CI/CD into this project, consider the following steps:

  1. Choose a CI/CD tool: Popular options include GitHub Actions, Jenkins, CircleCI, and Travis CI. Choose one that fits your project needs.

  2. Create CI/CD Configuration Files: For example, if using GitHub Actions, create a .github/workflows/ci.yml file.

  3. Define CI/CD Pipeline Stages:

    • Build: Compile the code or dependencies.
    • Test: Execute unit tests to ensure code correctness.
    • Deploy: Automatically deploy to the desired environment.
  4. Add Testing Frameworks: Integrate testing frameworks like pytest for Python or others depending on your project’s requirements.

  5. Set Up Continuous Deployment: Specify how artifacts are deployed to production after passing tests.

Example CI/CD Configuration with GitHub Actions

Here’s an example configuration for a simple CI/CD pipeline using GitHub Actions:

name: CI/CD Pipeline

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main
  pull_request:
    branches:
      - main

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v2
      
      - name: Set up Python
        uses: actions/setup-python@v2
        with:
          python-version: '3.8'

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: |
          pip install -r requirements.txt
      
      - name: Run Tests
        run: |
          pytest tutorials/ 

      - name: Deploy
        run: |
          echo "Deployment step can go here"

Important Considerations

  • Automated Testing: Ensure that tests are designed to cover a wide array of scenarios and edge cases.

  • Code Quality: Incorporate static analysis tools like flake8 or black in the pipeline to maintain code style and conventions.

  • Environment Variables: Ensure that sensitive information is stored securely and accessed via environment variables in the CI/CD pipeline.

  • Notifications: Set up notifications (e.g., Slack, email) to alert developers about the status of builds and deployments.

Conclusion

Implementing a CI/CD workflow is essential for enhancing collaboration and code quality in moj-analytical-services/splink_demos. By following the outlined steps and leveraging the provided examples, the project can significantly streamline its development process. Further enhancements can be tailored as the needs evolve.