CI/CD Pipeline Outline

This outline describes the continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipeline for the vogen.serialization project. The pipeline automates the build, test, and deployment process to ensure the codebase is always in a releasable state.

Build and Test

The CI/CD pipeline uses Azure DevOps to manage the build and test process. Every push to the main branch triggers a new build.

Steps:

1. Checkout Code: The pipeline retrieves the latest code from the main branch of the repository.
2. Restore Dependencies: The pipeline installs all necessary dependencies for the project using the NuGet package manager.
3. Build Solution: The pipeline builds the vogen.serialization solution using the .NET SDK.
4. Run Unit Tests: The pipeline executes all unit tests in the solution using the dotnet test command.
5. Run Integration Tests: The pipeline executes integration tests defined in the vogen.serialization.IntegrationTests project using dotnet test.
6. Publish Artifacts: The pipeline packages the built code and test results into a set of artifacts for later deployment.

Example:

The Azure DevOps pipeline YAML file can be found here:

# Azure DevOps CI/CD Pipeline
          
          trigger:
          - main
          
          pool:
            vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'
          
          steps:
          - task: NuGetToolInstaller@1
            inputs:
              versionSpec: 'latest'
              checkLatest: true
          
          - task: NuGetCommand@2
            inputs:
              command: restore
              restoreSolution: 'vogen.serialization.sln'
          
          - task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
            inputs:
              command: build
              projects: 'vogen.serialization.sln'
          
          - task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
            inputs:
              command: test
              projects: 'vogen.serialization.Tests/vogen.serialization.Tests.csproj'
          
          - task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
            inputs:
              command: test
              projects: 'vogen.serialization.IntegrationTests/vogen.serialization.IntegrationTests.csproj'
          
          - task: PublishBuildArtifacts@1
            inputs:
              PathtoPublish: '$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)'
              ArtifactName: 'vogen.serialization'
          

Deployment

The pipeline uses Azure DevOps for deploying the built artifacts to NuGet. The deployment occurs automatically upon successful completion of the build and test phases.

Steps:

1. Get Artifacts: The deployment stage retrieves the build artifacts created during the previous stage.
2. Publish NuGet Package: The pipeline uses the NuGet task to publish the built package to the vogen NuGet feed hosted on Azure DevOps.

Example:

The Azure DevOps pipeline YAML file contains the deployment stage here:

# Azure DevOps CI/CD Pipeline
          
          stages:
          - stage: Build
            jobs:
            - job: Build
              steps:
              - task: NuGetToolInstaller@1
                inputs:
                  versionSpec: 'latest'
                  checkLatest: true
              - task: NuGetCommand@2
                inputs:
                  command: restore
                  restoreSolution: 'vogen.serialization.sln'
              - task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
                inputs:
                  command: build
                  projects: 'vogen.serialization.sln'
              - task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
                inputs:
                  command: test
                  projects: 'vogen.serialization.Tests/vogen.serialization.Tests.csproj'
              - task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
                inputs:
                  command: test
                  projects: 'vogen.serialization.IntegrationTests/vogen.serialization.IntegrationTests.csproj'
              - task: PublishBuildArtifacts@1
                inputs:
                  PathtoPublish: '$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)'
                  ArtifactName: 'vogen.serialization'
          
          - stage: Deployment
            jobs:
            - job: Deployment
              dependsOn: Build
              steps:
              - task: DownloadBuildArtifact@1
                inputs:
                  buildType: 'current'
                  artifactName: 'vogen.serialization'
                  downloadPath: '$(Pipeline.Workspace)/vogen.serialization'
              - task: NuGetPush@2
                inputs:
                  apiKey: $(nugetApiKey)
                  feed: $(nugetFeedUrl)
                  package: '$(Pipeline.Workspace)/vogen.serialization/vogen.serialization.nupkg'
                  nugetCommand: 'push'
          

CI/CD Best Practices

The CI/CD pipeline for vogen.serialization adheres to industry best practices.

Key Principles:

• Automation: The entire build, test, and deployment process is automated, reducing manual intervention and potential errors.
• Continuous Feedback: Every commit triggers a new build and test, providing developers with immediate feedback on the impact of their changes.
• Version Control: The codebase is managed using Git and Azure DevOps, ensuring version control, collaboration, and rollback capabilities.
• Code Quality: The pipeline includes unit tests and integration tests, ensuring code quality and functionality.
• Deployment Pipelines: The use of distinct build and deployment stages allows for structured and controlled deployment.

Future Enhancements:

• Static Code Analysis: Integrate static code analysis tools to automatically identify potential code issues and enforce coding standards.
• Performance Testing: Incorporate performance testing into the pipeline to ensure the application meets performance expectations.
• Security Scanning: Implement security scanning tools to identify vulnerabilities in the code.
• Automated Documentation: Utilize tools to automatically generate documentation from the codebase.