Azure DevOps CI/CD Tutorials

Welcome to the Azure DevOps CI/CD tutorials. This section provides comprehensive guides to help you implement Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines using Azure DevOps Services. Master the art of automating your software delivery process, from code commit to production deployment.

What is CI/CD?

Continuous Integration (CI) is the practice of automating the integration of code changes from multiple contributors into a single software project. Continuous Deployment (CD) is an extension of CI, where code changes automatically pass through various stages of testing and are then deployed to production.

Getting Started with Azure DevOps CI/CD

Azure DevOps provides a powerful set of tools for building, testing, and deploying your applications. Our tutorials will guide you through the essential concepts and practical implementation steps.

1. Introduction to Azure Pipelines

Learn the basics of Azure Pipelines, including how to create your first build and release pipelines. Understand YAML syntax for pipeline definitions and explore the Azure DevOps portal.

2. Setting up Continuous Integration (CI)

Configure your pipelines to automatically build and test your code whenever changes are pushed to your repository. Explore triggers, tasks, and artifacts.

Note: Ensure your code repository is connected to Azure DevOps for seamless CI integration.

3. Implementing Continuous Deployment (CD)

Automate the deployment of your tested artifacts to various environments, such as development, staging, and production. Learn about deployment gates, approvals, and environment management.

4. Advanced CI/CD Concepts

Dive deeper into advanced topics such as multi-stage pipelines, variable management, service connections, security best practices, and integrating with other services.

Tip: Explore the Azure DevOps Marketplace for extensions that can enhance your CI/CD workflows.

Code Examples and Best Practices

We provide practical code snippets and best practices to help you build robust and efficient CI/CD pipelines.

Example: A Basic YAML Pipeline for a Web Application

Here's a simplified example of a YAML pipeline that builds a .NET Core web application and publishes it as an artifact.

trigger:
- main

pool:
  vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'

steps:
- task: UseDotNet@2
  displayName: 'Use .NET SDK'
  inputs:
    version: '6.x'

- task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
  displayName: 'Build'
  inputs:
    command: 'build'
    projects: '**/*.csproj'
    arguments: '--configuration Release'

- task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
  displayName: 'Publish'
  inputs:
    command: 'publish'
    publishWebProjects: true
    arguments: '--configuration Release --output $(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)'
    zipAfterPublish: true

- task: PublishBuildArtifacts@1
  displayName: 'Publish Artifact'
  inputs:
    artifactName: 'drop'
    pathtoPublish: '$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)'

This example demonstrates:

Defining a trigger for the main branch.
Specifying a build agent image.
Using tasks to set up the .NET SDK, build the project, and publish the output.
Publishing the output as a build artifact named drop.

For more complex scenarios, consider incorporating testing, security scanning, and deployment to different environments. Explore our dedicated tutorials for specific deployment targets like Azure App Service, Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), and more.

Caution: Always thoroughly test your CI/CD pipelines in a non-production environment before implementing them for live deployments.

Next Steps

We encourage you to follow the step-by-step tutorials to gain hands-on experience. Experiment with different tasks, triggers, and configurations to tailor your CI/CD process to your project's needs.